2000 atoms in two places at once

The quantum superposition principle has been tested on a scale as never before in a new study. Hot, complex molecules composed of nearly two thousand atoms were brought into a quantum superposition and made to interfere. By confirming this phenomenon — 'the heart of quantum mechanics', in Richard Feynman's words — on a new mass scale, improved constraints on alternative theories to quantum mechanics have been placed.

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Smartphone typing speeds catching up with keyboards

The largest experiment to date on mobile typing sheds new light on average performance of touchscreen typing and factors impacting the text input speed. Researchers analyzed the typing speed of tens of thousands of users on both phones and computers. Their main finding is that typing speeds on smartphones are now catching up with physical keyboards.

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Beyond Einstein: Mystery surrounding photon momentum solved

According to Einstein, light consists of particles (photons) that transfer only quantized energy to the electron of the atom. If the photon's energy is sufficient, it knocks the electrons out of the atom. But what happens to the photon's momentum in this process? Physicists are now able to answer this question. To do so, they developed and constructed and new spectrometer with previously unattainable resolution.

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High-performance low-cost thermoelectrics

Researchers have reported the high-performance SnS thermoelectric crystals combining the desirable features of low-cost, earth-abundant materials and environmental friendliness. For the first time, they discovered the interplay of triple electronic bands leading to the high performance of thermoelectric SnS crystals, which is promoted by Se alloying. Furthermore, Se alloying plays a second important role in lowering the thermal transport.

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Tetravinylallene, a small but powerful molecule, synthesized for first time

Many natural compounds used in medicine have complex molecular architectures that are difficult to recreate in the lab. Help could come from a small hydrocarbon molecule, called tetravinylallene, which has been synthesized for the first time by scientists. Tetravinylallene can be used to construct complex molecular frameworks more quickly and with less environmental impact than by using established methods.

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