11.05.2010

“[...] Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley have recorded  the first observation and characterization of a critical physical phenomenon behind photosynthesis known as quantum entanglement.

Previous experiments led by Graham Fleming, a physical chemist holding joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, pointed to quantum mechanical effects as the key to the ability of green plants, through photosynthesis, to almost instantaneously transfer solar energy from molecules in light harvesting complexes to molecules in electrochemical reaction centers. [...]”

Source/article: Berkeley Lab

03.05.2010

“New research by UCR physicists could help develop gamma ray lasers and produce fusion power

Positronium is a short-lived system in which an electron and its anti-particle are bound together. [...]

Spin is a fundamental and intrinsic property of an electron, and refers to the electron’s angular momentum. Spin polarized atoms are atoms that are all in the same spin state. A collection of spin polarized positronium atoms is needed to make a special form of matter, called the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The BEC, predicted in 1924 and created in 1995, allows scientists to study atoms in a unique manner. [...]

“There are fundamental processes that can be looked at in new ways when you have matter in the BEC state,” Mills said. “Having Bose-condensed atoms makes it easier to probe the way they interact under certain conditions. Moreover, to have motionless positronium atoms is an important aspect for making something called a gamma ray laser, which could have military and numerous scientific applications.”

According to Mills and Cassidy, the new research could lead also to the production of fusion power, which is power generated by nuclear fusion reactions. [...]”

Source/article: Innovations Report