A team of physicists has found that in a carbon nanotube spin of an electron is coupled to the electron orbit, or in other words the spin interacts with the orbit. The finding means that researchers hope to use carbon nanotubes for quantum computation, in which the spin of an electron would represent one bit of data may have to change their approach to design, especially how to read or change the spin, but then offers a new way of manipulating it, changing the orbit.

The research was conducted by Paul McEuen and Daniel Ralph, professors of physics at Cornell University and former researchers from the university, Shahal Ilani, now at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Ferdinand Kuemmeth, now at Harvard University. (more…)

A new sensor that measures the motion created by sound waves under water could be used to develop compact networks capable of capturing the presence of submarines. Such networks could detect stealthy underwater objects and provide unambiguous information about the direction of the sound.

Using optical fibers, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have found a way to create a sensor that detects where it comes from the perceived sound underwater. This directional component means a significant improvement over current technology. (more…)