The orientation of a single
para-xylene molecule within a zeolite pore can be used to monitor the van der Waals interactions between that molecule and the porous material
A recently developed electron microscopy technique has allowed scientists to measure van der Waals interactions by precisely imaging the changes in orientation of individual
para-xylene molecules confined in the channels of a zeolite matrix.
1 The setup resembles a nanoscale compass in which the hydrocarbon molecule is the rotating pointer and the positions of the atoms around the hole define the direction markers.
‘Our results provide a method to directly “see” single molecules and their interactions,’ says Xiao Chen from Tsinghua University in China. She points out that van der Waals forces play an important role in many processes but measuring such interactions is challenging and usually involves sophisticated techniques. Using an imaging mode called integrated differential phase contrast scannin
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Credit: Alex Tokarev, Ella Maru Studio Aalto University
A team of theoretical and experimental physicists have designed a new ultra-thin material that they have used to create elusive quantum states. Called one-dimensional Majorana zero energy modes, these quantum states could have a huge impact for quantum computing.
At the core of a quantum computer is a qubit, which is used to make high-speed calculations. The qubits that Google, for example, in its Sycamore processor unveiled last year, and others are currently using are very sensitive to noise and interference from the computer s surroundings, which introduces errors into the calculations. A new type of qubit, called a topological qubit, could solve this issue, and 1D Majorana zero energy modes may be the key to making them.