Computer Sciences

Cloud data storage security approach taps quantum physics

Distributed cloud storage is a hot topic for security researchers around the globe pursuing secure data storage, and a team in China is now merging quantum physics with mature cryptography and storage techniques to achieve ...

Engineering

Using quantum physics to secure wireless devices

From access cards and key fobs to Bluetooth speakers, the security of communication between wireless devices is critical to maintaining privacy and preventing theft. Unfortunately, these tools are not foolproof and information ...

Energy & Green Tech

Harvesting big energy from small movement

Since the ancient Greeks, humankind has known that if you bring two things into contact, a small amount of electricity is created. One example is that we can rub a balloon with our hair and generate enough electricity to ...

Computer Sciences

A computational shortcut for neural networks

Neural networks are learning algorithms that approximate the solution to a task by training with available data. However, it is usually unclear how exactly they accomplish this. Two young Basel physicists have now derived ...

Computer Sciences

A language for quantum computing

Time crystals. Microwaves. Diamonds. What do these three disparate things have in common?

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Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the submicroscopic scale (at the atomic level). Notable among these principles are simultaneous wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation ("Wave–particle duality"), and the prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certainties. Classical physics can be derived as a good approximation to quantum physics, typically in circumstances with large numbers of particles. Thus quantum phenomena are particularly relevant in systems whose dimensions are close to the atomic scale, such as molecules, atoms, electrons, protons and other subatomic particles. Exceptions exist for certain systems which exhibit quantum mechanical effects on macroscopic scale; superfluidity is one well-known example. Quantum theory provides accurate descriptions for many previously unexplained phenomena such as black body radiation and stable electron orbits. It has also given insight into the workings of many different biological systems, including smell receptors and protein structures.

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