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Ytterbium

All articles tagged with #ytterbium

science1 year ago

Quantum Cat Sets New Record with 23-Minute Superposition

A team of scientists led by Zheng-Tian Lu has achieved a groundbreaking feat by maintaining a quantum superposition, or "cat state," for 23 minutes, a significant leap from the usual fleeting existence of such states. Using ytterbium atoms cooled to near absolute zero and precisely tuned lasers, the researchers managed to stabilize these states, which are highly sensitive to environmental changes. This advancement could revolutionize quantum information processing and enhance the sensitivity of probes for detecting subtle magnetic forces, pushing the boundaries of quantum technology.

physics2 years ago

Gamma Rays Transform Ytterbium Metal into Something Strange

Ytterbium, a "strange metal" with unique electrical conductivity, has been found to have two absorption peaks for radiation instead of the usual one. Researchers exposed an alloy of ytterbium, aluminum, and boron to gamma rays to study its response to temperature and pressure. They observed charge fluctuations producing a double peak in the absorption spectrum, which may be a distinctive feature of all strange metals. The behavior of ytterbium's conductivity under cold conditions presents an anomaly that researchers hope to explain and could prove useful in the search for high-temperature superconducting materials.