30 under 30: a practitioner of quantum chromodynamics and classicalballet - China LED Safety Vest

The annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting brings a wealth ofscientific minds to the shores of Germany"s Lake Constance.Every summer at Lindau, dozens of Nobel Prize winners exchangeideas with hundreds of young researchers from around the world.Whereas the Nobelists are the marquee names, the younger contingentis an accomplished group in its own right. In advance of thisyear"s meeting, which focuses on physics, we are profilingseveral promising attendees under the age of 30. The profile belowis the first in a series of 30. Name: Let鱈cia Faria Domingues Palhares Age: 27 Born: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Nationality: Brazilian and Portuguese Current position: Postdoctoral scholar, State University of Rio de Janeiro Education: Bachelor"s, master"s and Ph.D. Emergency Warning Triangle

degrees from FederalUniversity of Rio de Janeiro What is your field of research? I investigate different aspects of nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics , from the mechanism of confinement in vacuum to the differentphases of matter under extreme conditions of temperature anddensity, as found in the early universe, ultra-relativisticheavy-ion collisions and ultra-compact stars. What drew you to physics, and to that research area in particular? What brought me to physics in the first place was the desire ofcontinuously learning new things and in some sense my choice ofresearch area also reflects this, since the study ofnonperturbative quantum chromodynamics media is a veryinterdisciplinary topic, requiring usage of tools from statisticalmechanics and quantum field theory combined with phenomenologicalknowledge of particle and nuclear physics as well as analogouscondensed matter systems. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In 10 years, I see myself as a university professor in Brazilalways keeping my desire of investigating new topics at the edge ofscientific knowledge as well as re-learning from a differentperspective basic and classical results while teaching and guidingstudents. Who are your scientific heroes? I do not have specific heroes, but whoever made me (or allowed meto) admire the beauty and complexity of yet another aspect ofnature felt like a hero for me at that moment. China LED Safety Vest

What activities outside of physics do you most enjoy? A hobby that has been mostly present in my life since early yearsand that I value a lot is classical ballet. This is an activitythat exercises mind and body in a different way and helps me toreset my thoughts when I need it the most. What do you hope to gain from this year"s Lindau meeting? The Lindau Meeting is a unique opportunity to acquire a richpicture of nature as viewed by the elite of physics. More importantthan to accumulate specific knowledge, the close contact with thevision of Nobel winners of their fields is extremely inspiring fora young researcher, like me, who is starting to build their ownapproach to scientific questions. Also, the diversity of areasenhances the experience of contrasting different views, identifyingalignments and experiencing the complementarity of varioussuccessful scientific approaches. China Reflective Warning Triangle

I hope to leave Lindau inspiredby the examples and vision of Nobelists, carrying a broad and richpicture of physics and how it should be pursued. Are there any Nobelists whom you are particularly excited to meetor learn from at Lindau? Even though it will be extremely interesting to have contact withNobel winners from my field of research, like [Martinus J. G.]Veltman and [David] Gross, I am particularly interested incomparing visions of Nobel winners from very different domains andapproaches, theorists and experimentalists.

Quantum computers move closer to reality, thanks to highly enrichedand highly purified silicon

Research involving physicist Mike Thewalt of Simon FraserUniversity offers a new step towards making quantum computing areality, through the unique properties of highly enriched andhighly purified silicon. Quantum computers right now exist pretty much in physicists'concepts, and theoretical research. There are some basic quantumcomputers in existence, but nobody yet can build a truly practical one -- or really knows how. Such computers will harness the powers of atoms and sub-atomicparticles (ions, photons, electrons) to perform memory andprocessing tasks, thanks to strange sub-atomic properties. What Thewalt and colleagues at Oxford University and in Germanyhave found is that their special silicon allows processes to takeplace and be observed in a solid state that scientists used tothink required a near-perfect vacuum. Promotional Computer Accessories

And, using this 28 Si they have extended to three minutes -- from a matter of seconds-- the time in which scientists can manipulate, observe and measurethe processes. "It's by far a record in solid-state systems," Thewaltsays. "If you'd asked people a few years ago if this waspossible, they'd have said no. It opens new ways of usingsolid-state semi-conductors such as silicon as a base for quantumcomputing. "You can start to do things that people thought you could onlydo in a vacuum. Apple Iphone Accessories

What we have found, and what wasn't anticipated,are the sharp spectral lines (optical qualities) in the 28Siliconwe have been testing. It's so pure, and so perfect. There's noother material like it." But the world is still a long way from practical quantum computers,he notes. Quantum computing is a concept that challenges everything we knowor understand about today's computers. China Cute Wireless Mouse

Your desktop or laptop computer processes "bits" ofinformation. The bit is a fundamental unit of information, seen byyour computer has having a value of either "1" or"0." That last paragraph, when written in Word , contains 181 characters including spaces. In your home computer,that simple paragraph is processed as a string of some 1,448"1"s and "0"s. But in the quantum computer, the "quantum bit" (alsoknown as a "qubit") can be both a "1" and a"0" -- and all values between 0 and 1 -- at the same time.

Says Thewalt: "A classical 1/0 bit can be thought of as aperson being either at the North or South Pole, whereas a qubit canbe anywhere on the surface of the globe -- its actual state isdescribed by two parameters similar to latitude andlongitude." Make a practical quantum computer with enough qubits available andit could complete in minutes calculations that would take today'ssuper-computers years, and your laptop perhaps millions of years. The work by Thewalt and his fellow researchers opens up yet anotheravenue of research and application that may, in time, lead topractical breakthroughs in quantum computing.