University of Queensland researchers have combined quantum liquids and silicon-chip technology to study turbulence for the first time, opening the door to new navigation technologies and improved understanding of the turbulent dynamics of cyclones and other extreme weather.
Professor Warwick Bowen, from UQ’s Precision Sensing Initiative and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems said the finding was “a significant advance” and provided a new way to study turbulence.
“Turbulence is often described as the oldest unsolved problem in physics,” Professor Bowen said.
“Our finding allows us to observe nanoscale quantum turbulence, which mirrors the sort of behaviour you see in cyclones.
“This advance is enabled by the properties of quantum liquids, which are fundamentally different to everyday liquids.”
Professor Bowen said it was postulated more than 50 years ago that the turbulence problem could be simplified using quantum liquids.
“Our new technique is exciting because it allows quantum turbulence to be studied on a silicon chip for the first time,” he said.
The research also had implications in space, where quantum liquids are predicted to exist within dense astrophysical objects.
“Our research could help to explain how these objects behave,” Dr Bowen said.
Dr Yauhen Sachkou, the paper’s lead author, said rotating neutron stars lost angular momentum in fits and starts.
“The way this occurs is thought to hinge on quantum turbulence,” Dr Sachkou said.
Dr Christopher Baker, who co-led the research, said the finding made possible silicon-chip based accelerometers with sensitivity far beyond current state of the art.
“In quantum liquids, atoms behave more like waves than particles,” Dr Baker said.
“This allows us to build laser-like sensors from atoms.”
The research was a collaboration between researchers in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronic Technologies (FLEET) in Australia, and the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies in New Zealand. It was supported by the United States Army Research Office and the Australian Research Council, and was published today in Science.
Watch a short video, titled Simulations of the dynamics of quantised vortices — the quantum analogue of a vortex in water or a tornado – as they interact on a silicon chip. (Credit: Dr Matthew Reeves.)
https://vimeo.com/380426436
Learn more: No storm in a teacup – it’s a cyclone on a silicon chip
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Nanoscale quantum turbulence
- BC physicist Brian Zhou receives NSF CAREER Award
The five-year $567,000 grant will support the project “Imaging Light-Matter Interactions in Quantum Materials with Nanoscale Quantum Sensors.” Zhou and his team will spatially image the flow of ...
- Gold owes its 'glow' and luminescence to the quantum realm
New research reveals luminescence and quantum effects in thick gold films, enhancing understanding and opening doors for energy solutions.
- Toward unification of turbulence framework -- weak-to-strong transition discovered in turbulence
Astrophysicists have made a significant step toward solving the last puzzle in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence theory by observing the weak to strong transition in the space plasma turbulence ...
- Astrophysicists work toward unification of turbulence framework—weak-to-strong transition discovered in turbulence
Turbulence is ubiquitous in nature. It exists everywhere, from our daily lives to the distant universe, while being labeled as "the last great unsolved problem of classical physics" by Richard Feynman ...
- Using Gold Luminescence to Probe Nanoscale Processes
Reviewed by Lexie Corner In a recent paper published in the journal Light: Science & Applications, EPFL researchers created the first thorough model of the quantum-mechanical processes underlying ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Nanoscale quantum turbulence
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nanoscale quantum turbulence” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Turbulence
- Connecticut companies tied to Boeing’s fate amid aerospace giant’s turbulence
Greater Waterbury is home to about a dozen companies who are part of Boeing's huge supply chain. They are the makers of screws and bolts, medals, snaps, fasteners, fiber optics, and high tech rivets, ...
- Seniors who entered college in 2020 experiencing second wave of protests, turbulence
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are a part of a number of demonstrations roiling campuses from California to Massachusetts.
- Vietnam parliament chief quits amid deepening political turbulence
The chairman of Vietnam's parliament Vuong Dinh Hue resigned over unspecified "violations and shortcomings", the ruling Communist Party said on Friday, a new sign of political turbulence weeks after ...
- Expect Turbulence Ahead as State AGs and DOT Join Forces to Investigate Airlines and Travel Agencies
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced an Airline Passenger Protection Partnership with state AGs (Partnership), which is the latest example of how AGs continue to expand ...
- Toward unification of turbulence framework -- weak-to-strong transition discovered in turbulence
Astrophysicists have made a significant step toward solving the last puzzle in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence theory by observing the weak to strong transition in the space plasma turbulence ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Turbulence
[google_news title=”” keyword=”turbulence” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]