I remembered when I almost started a PhD some years ago on the aerodynamical study of birds flight. To me, with an aeronautical background, it sounded very interesting, as it covers different scientific disciplines from biology to physics, and can be applied to future technologies (e. g. robotics). My career path brought me to another field in the end, but I find always fascinating understanding life from a physical perspective. When I found this article, I wanted to share it with all of you right away. The article is published HERE, but you can also find the full article just by clicking on the image below. Enjoy the physics of nature! ![]()
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As you might have already realised, I quite enjoy to share news about future technologies. In this occasion I have considered this article, which covers different new technologies in what is called the Internet Of Things.
Not only your fridge will order directly when you run out of milk, but sensors will change the ambient light accordingly to protect you from depression or skin cancer, to cite just a couple of examples. Enjoy the article by clicking on the picture below! I am sure you love scrambled eggs for breakfast. They can be a good way to start in the morning!
Have you heard of "scramble" in another context? Scramble means to mix up, shuffle, melee; in general, you scramble something when it becomes disorganized, chaotic, leading to a lose of information. In physics, it has been conjectured that black holes are the fastest scramblers in nature [link1, link2], as any information thrown into them is "scrambled" with what is inside, and then is released very fast (emission known as Hawking radiation). This also called "Butterfly effect" indicates that an initial perturbation induces the spreading of information and a growth of chaos. There is a lot of research going on about the role of scrambling in black holes, string theory and the connection with quantum gravity. One example can be found here. The next step leads us to thermodynamics, as thermal systems are considered chaotic as well. The phenomenon of thermalization (the process of physical bodies reaching thermal equilibrium through mutual interaction) is very sensitive to the initial conditions. Now we start to see a link with the process of scrambling in black holes described above. We are now ready to understand the link at the quantum level. If we look at the process of thermalization in a quantum system, it is the same as to understand the spreading of information, or in other words, how the system scrambles. The out-of-time-order correlators (OTOC) are used to measure quantum chaos, and therefore many of the current experiments (to know more click on the image below) focus on trying to measure these correlators through non local measurements. The idea is to be able to set a time scale on which black holes should start releasing information. And to make everything even harder to understand, it seems in the process of scrambling time flows in both directions! All in all, the important concepts are here. Furthermore, any additional information can be found in the links provided. In summary, any information falling into a black hole gets scrambled and the released of radiation that follows could be key to understand quantum gravity. It is like putting milk into your coffee, mixing them (process of thermalization), and then you are trying to understand where the milk comes from, although everything is already light brownish and you have no means to access the initial white milk. As it is not possible to study black holes in the lab, the idea is use many-body quantum physics and quantum chaos, by studying thermalization in a bunch of atoms (spins) through these out-of-time correlators, thus suggesting a table-top simulation for quantum gravity. In the Physicsworld magazine of this month there are very interesting articles about physicists working in fields related to the dangers of our own planet: fire, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes...
These scientists get very very close to these hazards to be able to study them. Still, it seems we are far away of understanding the mechanisms and the science behind them. To get a taste of this kind of research you can enjoy a couple of videos if you click on the image below. Where are the limits? Could it be than in a not so distant future robots will surround us and be part of our daily life?
Could robots start reasoning? It seems that scientists have moved forward on developing algorithms which help computer to start using logic for relational reasoning. Click on the image below to know more about this study. Don't be afraid, we are not yet THERE. Entanglement, that "spooky action at a distance" that drove Einstein crazy. Once more it has been demonstrated that entanglement exists, and this new record opens up possibilities for quantum communication and, yes, teleportation. It will not be in the near future that we could travel "instantaneously" to another corner in the universe. However, this small step could be a giant leap for quantum physics.
If you want to know more about this achievement, please click on the image below. For more information and an introductory video about quantum entanglement click HERE. Yes, teleportation is possible.. in the quantum world!
Click on the image below and enjoy the video! If you have any further question, do not forget to use the Forum! Research in Photonics opens up a new world of new technologies. The applications of optics in almost all sciences is just everywhere around us.
This time I would like to share with you this article about the bionic eye, where optoelectronic technology makes possible sight restoration. Click on the image below to know more. The bionic man is here! This is a very interesting study about mental health problems in PhD students. Work environment, organisation, and work-life balance are key! Download the paper below! ![]()
Quite often a Phd student (or Master student for instance) is facing the question: what are you going to do after you finish your degree? Mostly of the times the answer is one of the multiple versions of the same statement: I don't know.
Even though I have this document since a while ago, I have decided to share it now, because I think it can be very helpful for a lot of people. The clarity on the day to day of specific jobs in different fields makes of this document a must read for any person who wants to seek for a career in physics. Click on the image below to access the document. There are SO many options, do you know them all? And now: what do you want to do after you finish your degree? |
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