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Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 06.03.2023

Connecting Canada and Europe through quantum satellite communication
New HyperSpace collaboration envisions secure quantum connections across the Atlantic Ocean By Elizabeth Kleisath Institute for Quantum Computing Dr. Thomas Jennewein, a faculty member at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and the University of Waterloo's Department of Physics and Astronomy, has his sights set high and wide - specifically on a quantum satellite orbiting high above the Earth to connect Canada and Europe via a secure quantum communication link.

Physics - 03.03.2023

Researchers’ model could help avert global helium supply crisis
A new theoretical model developed by earth scientists at the University of Oxford, University of Toronto and Durham University may help alleviate a global supply shortage of helium - a naturally occurring gas critical for a wide range of medical, scientific and industrial applications, from cooling the magnets of MRI scanners to filling non-combustible balloons.

Physics - Microtechnics - 27.02.2023

Tiny new climbing robot was inspired by geckos and inchworms
The untethered soft robot could one day help doctors perform surgery A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible gripping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of inchworms. The new robot, developed by engineers at the University of Waterloo, utilizes ultraviolet (UV) light and magnetic force to move on any surface, even up walls and across ceilings.

Materials Science - Physics - 07.02.2023

AI used to discover clean energy materials ’faster and more efficiently’
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a method of harnessing artificial intelligence to discover new and more efficient materials for clean energy technology. A team led by Alex Voznyy , an assistant professor in the department of physical and environmental sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough, used machine learning to significantly speed up the amount of time needed to find new materials with desired properties.

Physics - Chemistry - 01.02.2023

New discovery may be key to controlling chemical reactions
Unexpected resonance frequencies observed in reactions between two molecules A new study published today in Nature is changing our understanding of chemical reactions and overturning previous theoretical models by finding an unexpected resonance frequency during the reaction of two molecules. Resonance is when one object vibrating at the same natural frequency as a second object forces that second object into vibrational motion.

Physics - Architecture - 31.01.2023

’Liquid windows’ inspired by squid skin could help buildings save energy
Inspired by the dynamic colour-changing skin of organisms such as squid, University of Toronto researchers have developed a multilayered fluidic system that can reduce the energy costs of heating, cooling and lighting buildings. The platform, which optimizes the wavelength, intensity and dispersion of light transmitted through windows, offers much greater control than existing technologies while keeping costs low due to its use of simple, off-the-shelf components.

Physics - Chemistry - 16.01.2023

Experimental physicists take step toward understanding natural quantum systems
"Suppose you knew everything there was to know about a water molecule - the chemical formula, the bond angle, etc.," says experimental physicist  Joseph Thywissen . "You might know everything about the molecule, but still not know there are waves on the ocean - much less how to surf them," he says.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 16.01.2023

Astronomers capture radio signal from distant galaxy
How do stars form in distant galaxies? Astronomers have long been trying to answer this question by detecting radio signals emitted by nearby galaxies. However, these signals become weaker the further away a galaxy is from Earth, making it difficult for current radio telescopes to pick up. Now researchers from Montreal and India have captured a radio signal from the most distant galaxy so far at a specific wavelength known as the 21 cm line, allowing astronomers to peer into the secrets of the early universe.

Physics - 01.12.2022

What causes some icicles to form with ripples
Experimental physicists at the University of Toronto are closer to understanding why some icicles form with ripples up and down their outsides, while others form with smooth, slick, even surfaces. By growing icicles from water samples with different contaminants like sodium chloride (salt), dextrose (sugar) and fluorescent dye, the researchers discovered that water impurities become entrapped within icicles as they form and subsequently create chevron patterns that contribute to a ripple effect around their circumferences.

Physics - Innovation - 21.11.2022

New quantum tool developed in groundbreaking experimental achievement
Scientists recreate properties of light in neutral fundamental particles called neutrons For the first time in experimental history, researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have created a device that generates twisted neutrons with well-defined orbital angular momentum. Previously considered an impossibility, this groundbreaking scientific accomplishment provides a brand new avenue for researchers to study the development of next-generation quantum materials with applications ranging from quantum computing to identifying and solving new problems in fundamental physics.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 10.11.2022

Scientists reconstruct gravity to better understand the universe
A Simon Fraser University physicist led an international team of scientists in reconstructing the laws of gravity-to gain a better understanding of how they work in the larger universe. The study, published in Nature Astronomy and featured in The Conversation , explored whether modifying General Relativity could help resolve some of the open problems of cosmology.

Physics - Chemistry - 26.10.2022

Subatomic MRI could lead to new drug therapies
A new imaging technique using quantum science may lead to novel drug therapies and treatment options, a recent study has found. Researchers at the University of Waterloo and supported by Transformative Quantum Technologies have demonstrated the feasibility of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance diffraction (NMRd) to investigate the lattice structure of crystalline solids on an atomic scale, a feat that had only been possible for larger-scale imaging applications like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Physics - 06.10.2022

Scientists invent new material to improve drug delivery to patients
Western scientists have developed a new material that could eventually improve the way drugs are administered to patients, by allowing doctors to "see” exactly whether drugs are reaching the targets and working properly. Lijia Liu By combining a material already used to deliver medication to specific sites in the body with another that glows in the dark (optical probe), chemistry professor Lijia Liu and graduate student Ellie W.T Shiu have created a composite that can be used to track the path of a drug carrier through the human body.

Life Sciences - Physics - 03.10.2022

Breaking new ground on ’untapped’, alternative brain imaging technique
A new research group is paving Western's way into a domain with potentially life-changing implications for our access to brain scanning technology. In 2006, Western neuroscientist Adrian Owen found landmark evidence for the consciousness of a patient in a vegetative state when a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan revealed her brain activity after his team told her to imagine herself playing tennis.

Health - Physics - 15.09.2022

Researchers explore use of light-activated treatment to target wider variety of cancers
Chemotherapy drugs can be lifesaving - but they don't work for all patients or for all cancers. That's why a team of researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga is looking at new ways to use special types of light to target cancer cells resistant to current drug therapy - an approach that might be easier on some patients than traditional chemotherapy.

Physics - 04.08.2022

Up a creek without a paddle? Researchers suggest ’gunwale bobbing’
Stand up in a canoe and you'll probably find yourself in the water before too long. Jump up and down on the upper edges of the sides of the canoe, and you'll likely end up in the drink as well. But get the balance right and you'll be able to move yourself along by as much as one metre per second, according to  a study published in  Physical Review Fluids  examining gunwale bobbing.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 13.07.2022

Astronomers detect a radio ’heartbeat’ billions of light-years from Earth
Astronomers at McGill University, MIT and elsewhere have detected a strange and persistent radio signal from a far-off galaxy, that appears to be flashing with surprising regularity. Classified as a fast radio burst, or FRB, this new signal persists for up to three seconds, about 1,000 times longer than the average FRB.

Computer Science - Physics - 13.07.2022

Missing photonic link to enable an all-silicon quantum internet
Researchers at Simon Fraser University have made a crucial breakthrough in the development of quantum technology. Their research, published in Nature today, describes their observations of silicon -T centre- photon-spin qubits, an important milestone that unlocks immediate opportunities to construct massively scalable quantum computers and the quantum internet that will connect them.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 28.06.2022

A new planet hunter is on the watch
The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher instrument, designed in part at Laval University, has successfully made its first observations The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) instrument, designed in part at the University of Montreal and Laval University, has successfully made its first observations. Installed on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, NIRPS' mission is to search for new exoplanets around stars in the solar neighborhood.

Physics - 16.06.2022

How wet chopsticks hitting hot oil advance our understanding of physics
Researchers find the physics of frying food far more complex than anticipated By Cooks throughout Asia put moist bamboo chopsticks into oil in a frying pan, watching the bubbles that form and listening to the sizzling sound they make as they burst to gauge the perfect cooking temperature. An international team of researchers used the technique as inspiration to learn about the complex physics behind wet chopsticks hitting hot oil.