Category Archives: Popular Science

Time Crystal – A New Take on Perpetual Motion

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Henning Dekant

Update: Here’s the link to Wilczek time crystal paper It is a given that at room temperature there is plenty of perpetual chaotic and truly perpetual motion to be had.  And sometimes this motion takes on some more organized forms as … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Mechanics | 6 Comments

If a Fighter Writes a Paper to go for the Kill …

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Henning Dekant

You don’t want to take on this man in the rink: And you don’t want to take on his namesake in the scientific realm. In my last post I wrote about the Kish Cypher protocol, and was wondering about its … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Cryptography | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Quantum Cryptography Made Obsolete?

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Henning Dekant

Electrical engineering is often overshadowed by other STEM fields. Computer Science is cooler, and physics has the aura of the Faustian quest for the most fundamental truths science can uncover.  Yet, this discipline produced a quite remarkable bit of research … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Cryptography | 4 Comments

Nobel Laureates on the QM Interpretation Mess

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Henning Dekant

Update:  Perusing the web I noticed that John Preskill [not yet a Nobel laureate ] also blogged on the same survey.  Certainly another prominent voice to add to the mix. ~~~ In the LinkedIn discussion to my earlier blog post that … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Mechanics | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Something is Rotten in the State of Physics.

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Henning Dekant

How else to explain that almost a century after the most successful modern physics theory has been coined leading experts in the field can still not agree on how to interpret it? Exhibit (A) this bar chart from a survey … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Mechanics | 19 Comments

The Wave Particle Duality – A Deadly Divide

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Henning Dekant

The curious fact that matter can exhibit wave-like properties (or should this rather be waves acting like particles?) is now referred to as the wave particle duality.  In old times it was often believed that there was some magic in giving something a … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Mechanics, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Peak Copper – No More

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Henning Dekant

This has been reported all over the Web, but it is just too good to pass up, especially since the year in the Quantum Computing world started on a somewhat more contentious note (more about this in the next blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science | 6 Comments

Big Bad Quantum Computer Revisited

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Henning Dekant

A recent DefenseNews article again put Shor’s algorithm front and center when writing about Quantum Computing.  Yet, there is so much more to this field, and with Lockheed Martin working with D-Wave one would expect this to be an open … Continue reading →

Posted in D-Wave, Popular Science, Quantum Computing | 4 Comments

Physics and Math – a Complicated Love Affair

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Henning Dekant

Usually I restrict myself to physics on this blog.  Not because I don’t love and adore pure math, but mostly because news from this field leaves most readers in about the same state as captured in this comic. Take the recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science, Quantum Computing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Transmuting Waste and Worries Away

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Henning Dekant

Alchemists of old yearned for the philosopher stone, a substance of magical quality that would allow them to transmute other elements into gold.  Nowadays, it would be even more valuable to have this mythical device, since its transmuting power could be harnessed … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Science | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments