12 outstanding physical events in 2006

In 2006, in addition to the water circuits on Mars and the " first invisibility cloak ", physicists have also made important advances in quantum-level material research, giving us deeper and more fundamental understanding of the material as well as the promotion of future technologies such as quantum computers come closer to reality.

1. January: Quantum tangle between light and atoms.

Puppet is an important foundation of quantum information theory and is one of the foundations for quantum computers. The groundbreaking research of the team of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) has opened up the prospect of realizing the application of these very unstable turbulence phenomena.

2. February: Large clay balls.

Is lightning a natural phenomenon or merely pure product of imagination? Physicists in Israel have done a remarkable study to answer this question. They used a special type of microwave oven to simulate how ordinary lightning is believed to produce rock lightning. They obtained the fireballs described as "flaring and floating in the air."

3. March: Storm intensity is related to warming oceans.

The world's leading climate physicists have warned that an increase in sea surface temperatures is increasing the number of extremely intense storms across the planet.

Hurricane Cimaron's path (satellite image)

4. April: Fermilab detects material-antimatter transitions.

An international collaboration group at Fermilab has made the most accurate measurement so far for rapid transitions between matter and antimatter, providing new bases for studying symmetric violation CP. The experiment showed that there are certain B-mesons observed that can transform spontaneously into their respective antiparticles. And B-antonons are converted back into corresponding B-mesons. This reciprocal transformation occurs at three trillion times per second.

5. May. Three-dimensional quantum gases.

Optical network is a system of lasers used to trap atoms arranged according to certain rules. Two groups of independent physicists have for the first time succeeded in trapping both boson and fermion particles simultaneously in a three-dimensional optical network. This breakthrough has resulted in an efficient model system to study the interaction between electrons (fermions) and phonons (bosons) in materials.

6. June. New look on glass.

US scientists have reported that glass can be completely transferred to its original state after being bombarded by high-energy electrons. This high degree of thermodynamic stability is completely unexpected with the chaotic atomic structure of glass. This result can be applied effectively in the treatment of nuclear waste.

7. July: Graphene material.

A two-dimensional carbon film with a thickness of just one atom, it is a material with many special properties. US scientists have developed a technique to treat graphene by covering it in a highly durable polymer matrix. This step opens the door to the development of new transistors and components that exploit the superior two-dimensional properties of graphene.

(Photo: masonmade.com)

8. August: Vote for the world's most innovative physicist.

According to Physics Web, theorist Philip Anderson (Nobel Prize) was voted the world's most innovative contemporary physicist. Steven Weinberg came in second place. The third position belongs to string theorist Eduard Witten. All three scientists are linked to Princeton University and Physic Web also considers New Jersey the most creative place in physics.

(Photo: nobelpreis)

9. September: Bose-Einstein condensation at high temperatures.

There are two research groups that have published Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) at higher temperatures than previously thought. BEC is a phenomenon where a large number of bosons return to the same ground state when the temperature drops near absolute zero. But one research team said that they observed BEC at 19K, while the other group claimed that they had witnessed this phenomenon at room temperature. Some people still question whether these phenomena are actually considered BECs.

10. October: " Invisibility cloak ".

US scientists have developed a device that can make an object invisible in microwave radiation, the type of wave used in some radar systems. This " cloak " is made of a metamaterial that bends microwave radiation and makes it circulate around objects, like a water flowing through a slippery stone.

11. November: Measure spin without destroying status.

American physicists first used a laser to read the spin state without destroying that state. This is a principle breakthrough to be able to apply the quantum properties of single electrons and photons in the transmission of information.

12. December: Water circuits on Mars.

The first compelling evidence of recent sediment activity on Mars was given by American scientists. They observed images of the surface of the red planet by NASA's probe and showed traces that showed that seven years ago there were liquid fluids flowing in two different positions. This event supports the association of the possibility of survival on Mars.

TTD