Science & Environment
A carefully timed pair of light pulses can amplify the motion of atomic layers in a quantum material
Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories · Published
The principle "Work smarter, not harder!" apparently also applies to controlling quantum materials with light. Many of their fascinating properties depend on how the atoms are arranged in the crystal. Ultrashort laser pulses can be used to alter these structures in a targeted way
The principle "Work smarter, not harder!" apparently also applies to controlling quantum materials with light. Many of their fascinating properties depend on how the atoms are arranged in the crystal. Ultrashort laser pulses can be used to alter these structures in a targeted way—the light first excites electrons, whose changed energy and dynamics exert forces on the atomic nuclei and can thereby set the atoms in motion.
Such processes unfold within femtoseconds, a millionth of a billionth of a second.
Related stories
A cosmic 'leaf blower': Light-propelled winds help explain early universe's bright galaxies
When astronomers looked at photos of the early universe taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, they found something odd: an overabundance of bright galaxies. Based on what they knew about the early universe, such galaxies should have been far less common in the few hundred mill
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·
Mitigating the ecological consequences of light pollution
Light pollution is one of the fastest-growing and least-regulated environmental changes worldwide. It disrupts biological processes at all levels—from genes to entire ecosystems—and contributes significantly to global biodiversity loss. A recent review article, in which the Leibn
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·
New data infrastructure service strengthens interdisciplinary research
The "Geolinking Service SoRa" research data infrastructure helps to close a gap in the German research landscape. Many questions—such as those regarding social inequality or environmental justice—can only be answered through interdisciplinary analyses, such as linking social scie
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories ·
The Indian workers filming their work to train AI
Indian workers are being paid to film themselves at work and the footage is used to train AI.
feeds.bbci.co.uk ·
Why Gen Z are planning for life without a state pension
Many younger people do not believe the state pension will exist when they are older
feeds.bbci.co.uk ·