Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, have announced the development of a method for ultra-effective reflection of light at an atomic scale. Light usually spreads out in all directions and when the light hits an object, it is reflected and is scattered even more. So light is normally quite uncontrollable. But researchers want to be able to control light all the way down to the atomic level in order to develop future q...

The human body is controlled by electrical impulses in, for example, the brain, the heart and nervous system. These electrical signals create tiny magnetic fields, which doctors could use to diagnose various diseases, for example diseases of the brain or heart problems in young foetuses. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have now succeeded in developing a method for extremely precise measurements of such ultra-small magnetic fields with a...

Quantum physics has moved from theoretical thought experiments to becoming a reality in advanced laboratories, and the next step is to develop quantum technology for commercial use, such as quantum information technology. In a major effort to translate quantum physics into practical quantum technology, the Danish Innovation Fund has invested 80m kr. in a nationwide project involving three universities.

Quantum physics is no longer theoretical thought experiments, it is real experiments in laboratories and the next step is to develop quantum technology for commercial use, such as quantum information technology. In a major new effort to translate quantum physics into practical quantum technology, the Innovation Fund Denmark has therefore invested 80 million kroner in a nationwide project involving three universities: the Niels Bohr Institute at t...

When we talk about climate change today, we have to look at what the climate was previously like in order to recognise the natural variations and to be able to distinguish them from the human-induced changes. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have analysed the natural climate variations over the last 12,000 years, during which we have had a warm interglacial period and they have looked back 5m years to see the major features of the Earth&...

Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionise computation, cryptography and simulation of quantum systems. However, quantum physics places a new demand on information processing hardware: quantum states are fragile, and so must be controlled without being measured. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have now demonstrated a key property of Majorana zero modes that protects them from decoherence.

Quantum technology based on light has great potential for radical information technology based on photonic circuits. Up to now, the photons in quantum photonic circuits have behaved in the same way whether they moved forward or backward in a photonic channel. This has limited the ability to control the photons and thus build complex circuits for photonic quantum computers. 

The latest research from the Niels Bohr Institute shows that LEDs made from nanowires will use less energy and provide better light. The researchers studied nanowires using X-ray microscopy, a method with which they can pinpoint exactly how the nanowire should be designed to give the best properties. The results are published in the scientific journal, ACS Nano.

The 27km long subterranean particle accelerator, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN, is ready to start up again. The LHC is the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world. After a break of two years, which was a technical stop to prepare the machinery to run at almost double its previous energy levels, CERN is ready to begin a new three-year period of groundbreaking research.

Atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks in the world. In an atomic clock, electrons jumping from one orbit to another decides the clock’s frequency. To get the electrons to jump, researchers shine light on the atoms using stabilised laser light. However, the laser light has to have a very precise frequency to trigger very precise electron jumps.

Researchers around the world are working to develop optical chips where light can be controlled with nanostructures. These could be used for future circuits based on the behaviour of photons instead of electrons - that is, photonics instead of electronics. But it has proved to be impossible to achieve perfect photonic nanostructures: by nature they are inevitably imperfect.

In order to develop future quantum computer networks, it is necessary to hold a known number of atoms and read them without them disappearing. To do this, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute have developed a method with a trap that captures the atoms along an ultra thin glass fibre, where the atoms can be controlled. The results are published in the scientific journal, Physical Review Letters.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute are behind the discovery of a new type of ‘nanowire’ crystal that fuses semiconducting and metallic materials on the atomic scale. The breakthrough has great potential, and could lay the foundation for future semiconducting electronics, potentially enabling technologies such as quantum computation and solar cells.