Quantum bell rings to electron beat.Before the invention of the transistor, telephone switching Telephone switching Moving one's assets from one mutual fund or variable annuity to another by telephone. telephone switching The movement of an investor's funds from one mutual fund to another mutual fund on the basis of an order given via stations clicked with the sound of small metal arms gating the flow of electricity. A new invention New Invention may refer to:
German researchers have come up with a device that takes control of electricity by shuttling electrons across a gap with metronome-like regularity. The mechanism has potential uses in electronic odor detectors and extremely accurate current gauges. A team including Artur Erbe and Robert H. Blick of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich reports its findings in the Aug. 27 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS Physical Review Letters is one of the most prestigious journals in physics.[1] Since 1958, it has been published by the American Physical Society as an outgrowth of The Physical Review. The researchers gave the silicon-containing device an apt name: the quantum bell. Its centerpiece is a clapper that oscillates at 100 megahertz One million cycles per second. See MHz. MegaHertz - (MHz) Millions of cycles per second. The unit of frequency used to measure the clock rate of modern digital logic, including microprocessors. when voltage is applied to either side. Attached to its tip is an island of metal electrically isolated from the clapper. As the island bounces back and forth, it transfers electrons between two plates. "They use the mechanical motion of the clapper sort of like an [electron] turnstile," explains Andrew Cleland at University of California, Santa Barbara History The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase persuaded the State . By cooling the apparatus to 4.2 kelvins, the researchers came close to their goal of reproducibly moving one electron with each clapper oscillation. If such one-electron precision is attained, it could lead to an extremely accurate way to tally an electron flow, Cleland speculates. By cooling the device further or changing its blueprint, the researchers will reach that goal, they predict. "This paper describes probably the most difficult steps toward achieving that," says Cleland. He says it remains to be seen whether this approach can ultimately perform better than the transistors presently used to measure current and calibrate To adjust or bring into balance. Scanners, CRTs and similar peripherals may require periodic adjustment. Unlike digital devices, the electronic components within these analog devices may change from their original specification. See color calibration and tweak. electronic circuits. Erbe imagines that the quantum bell could have practical applications at room temperature. For example, if airborne molecules stick to the clapper, they may slow down the oscillation frequency The Oscillation frequency (fundamental period): to give an example you can think of a grandfather clock. The pole swings beating the second; the time it takes to start from a point and then go back to that point is the oscillation period (as you can see, the grandfather clock has and thus the flow of electrons. That could form the basis for a mechanical nose, he says. Erbe adds that devices based on the quantum bell, with its high-frequency clapper, could ultimately be used to miniaturize min·i·a·tur·ize tr.v. min·i·a·tur·ized, min·i·a·tur·iz·ing, min·i·a·tur·iz·es To plan or make on a greatly reduced scale. min communication tools, including cell phones and radios. Such devices use filters to convert the low frequency of the human voice into high-frequency waves. A quantum-bell-based device would be smaller than current filters and would use less electricity. |
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