Flying insects are able to navigate their environments efficiently, processing visual stimuli to avoid obstacles and land safely on a variety of surfaces. Over the past decade or so, research teams worldwide have been trying to replicate these capabilities in...
A growing number of companies and research groups worldwide are now developing compliant sensors based on composite materials, which can have a wide range of possible applications. Composite materials, those made of two or more substances, often have unique and...
Our current, well-established understanding of phases of matter primarily relates to systems that are at or near thermal equilibrium. However, there is a rich world of systems that are not in a state of equilibrium, which could host new and fascinating phases of matter.
Ideally, human beings should be able to use the resources available to them in ways that are both fair and effective, particularly at times of economic or social struggle. Thrift, defined as the ability to use money or other resources wisely, could thus be...
The sending-or-not-sending twin-field (SNS-TF) protocol has so far proved to be a highly promising strategy for achieving high rates over long distances in quantum key distribution (QKD) applications. In fact, by tolerating large misalignment errors, this protocol can...
Laser technology confines light inside a resonator containing a gain medium, a material with quantum properties that can amplify light. As laser resonators are generally far larger than the wavelength of light, lasing inside their cavities can occur in a wide range of...
Researchers at Syracuse University in New York have recently developed a system that can detect the presence of humans in a given environment by analyzing ambient radio frequency (RF) signals. This new system, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, employs a...
Solar-powered technology, such as photovoltaics (PVs), could address some of the environmental challenges of our times, enabling the sustainable production of electrical energy in many geographical areas, including arid or desert regions. Many arid regions are located...
Over the past few decades, researchers have developed increasingly advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools and computational techniques that can be applied in a variety of settings. Among these, techniques that can generate written or spoken language have...
Neutral atoms and charged ions can be cooled down to extremely low temperatures (i.e., to microkelvins, 1 millionth of a degree above absolute zero) using laser techniques. At these low temperatures, the particles have often been found to behave in accordance with the...