sexta-feira, 14 de maio de 2010

Transistor Óptico Quântico

Optical quantum transistor using single atoms


Physicists at MPQ control the optical properties of a single atom!

Due to the continued miniaturization of computer chip components, we are about to cross a fundamental boundary where technology can no longer rely on the laws of the macroscopic world. With this in mind, scientists all over the world are researching technologies based on quantum effects that can be used to communicate and process information. One of the most promising developments in this direction are quantum networks in which single photons communicate the information between different nodes, e.g. single atoms. There the information can be stored and processed. A key element in these systems is Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT), an effect that allows to radically change the optical properties of an atomic medium by means of light. Previously, scientists have studied this effect and its amazing properties, using atomic ensembles with hundreds of thousands of atoms. Now, scientists in the group of Prof. Gerhard Rempe, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching and Head of the Quantum Dynamics Division, have managed to control the optical response of a single atom using laser light (Nature, Ad-vanced Online Publication, DOI: 10.1038 /nature09093 May 2010). While representing a corner stone in the development of new quantum based technologies, these results are also fundamental for the understanding of how the quantum behaviour of single atoms can be controlled with light.

Revista FAPESP

MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUTE

NATURE
Advanced Online Publication
(DOI: 10.1038/nature09093, May 2010)

terça-feira, 23 de março de 2010

Discovering the Solar System


Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition covers the Sun, the planets, their satellites and the host of smaller bodies that orbit the Sun. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject for science students, and examines the discovery, investigation and modelling of these bodies. Following a thematic approach, chapters cover interiors, surfaces and the atmospheres of major bodies, including the Earth. The book starts with an overview of the Solar System and its origin, and then takes a look at small bodies, such as asteroids, comets and meteorites.
  • Offers a comprehensive introduction, assuming little prior knowledge.
  • Includes full coverage of each planet, as well as the moon, Europa and Titan. The Second Edition includes new material on exoplanetary systems, and a general update throughout.
  • Presents latest results from the Mars Rover and Cassini-Huygens missions
  • Includes a colour plate section
2007 | Wiley | ISBN: 0470018305 | PDF | 470 pages | 10,7 mb

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