Look Ma, No Hands!

BE11548

- During early 1960s, NASA scientists developed the first magnetic liquids (ferrofluids) as an alternative means to move liquid fuels in a gravity-free environment. Since that time, ferrofluids have found many other uses within industrial, commercial and biomedical settings, but the original goal of practical liquid manipulation in a compact system with magnetic fields alone remained elusive... Until now. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time a general approach that allows direct pumping of ferrofluids at controllable speeds in closed-loop geometries without any mechanically moving parts. Since the pumping action involves nanoparticle rotation within the entire liquid body, the physics of this ferrohydrodynamic pumping mechanism is easily scalable to all sizes – from microfluidic devices to industrial-scale pumping systems. Here, we illustrate the simplicity of this “no-hands” pumping scheme utilizing a stereo amplifier, ordinary plumbing materials from the local hardware store and a commercially available mineral oil/magnetite ferrofluid that is easy to make and safe to handle. We believe our approach could lead to highly compact, integrated, completely quiet and very efficient liquid cooling schemes for portable, high-performance consumer electronics. With biocompatible ferrofluids, direct ferrohydrodynamic pumping could enable highly compact chambers for continuous-flow cellular perfusion and incubation, as well.

Record-Low Error Rate for Quantum Information Processing with One Qubit Achieved

LE13372AR

- Thanks to advances in experimental design, physicists have achieved a
record-low probability of error in quantum information processing with
a single quantum bit (qubit) - the first published error rate below
the theoretical threshold for building viable quantum computers. A
quantum computer could potentially solve certain problems that are
intractable using today’s technology, even supercomputers. The NIST
experiment, with a single beryllium ion qubit, is a milestone for
simple quantum logic operations, demonstrating a probability of error
of only 1 per 50,000 logic operations. For comparison, one error per
10,000 logic operations is a commonly agreed upon target for a low
enough error rate to use error correction protocols in a quantum
computer. However, a working quantum computer will also require
two-qubit logic operations with comparably low error rates. The record
low error rate was made possible by two changes in the group’s
experimental set-up. First, the scientists manipulated the ion using
microwaves instead of the usual laser beams. Second, the ion trap was
placed inside a copper vacuum chamber and cooled to 4.2 K with a
helium bath to reduce errors caused by magnetic field fluctuations in
the lab.