More Evidence of Time Travel being a possibility? Majorana fermions are very interesting -- not only because their discovery opens up a new and uncharted chapter of fundamental physics; they may also play a role in cosmology. Princeton University scientists used scanning-tunneling microscope to show the atomic structure of an one-atom-wide iron wire on a lead surface. The zoomed-in portion of the image depicts the quantum probability of the wire containing an elusive particle called the Majorana fermion. Importantly, the image pinpoints the particle to the end of the wire, which is where it had been predicted to be over years of theoretical calculations. If you thought the search for the Higgs boson — the elusive particle that endows matter with mass — was epic, spare a thought for the physicists who have been trying to find a way to discover another subatomic particle that has remained hidden since it was first theorized in 1930s. But now, through the use of a two story-tall microscope, the very strange and (potentially) revolutionary particle has been tracked down. Introducing the Majorana fermion: a particle that is also its own antiparticle, dark matter candidate and possible quantum computer enabler. In addition to its implications for fundamental physics, the finding offers scientists a potentially major advance in the pursuit of quantum computing. In quantum computing, electrons are coaxed into representing not only the ones and zeroes of conventional computers but also a strange quantum state that is both a one and a zero. This anomalous property, called quantum superposition, offers vast opportunities for solving previously incalculable systems, but is notoriously prone to collapsing into conventional behavior due to interactions with nearby material. Despite combining qualities usually thought to annihilate each other -- matter and antimatter -- the Majorana fermion is surprisingly stable; rather than being destructive, the conflicting properties render the particle neutral so that it interacts very weakly with its environment. This aloofness has spurred scientists to search for ways to engineer the Majorana into materials, which could provide a much more stable way of encoding quantum information, and thus a new basis for quantum computing. Antimatter/Matter Duality The Majorana fermion is named after the Italian physicist who formulated the theoretical framework that described this unique particle, Ettore Majorana. In 1937, Majorana predicted that a stable particle could exist in nature that was both matter and antimatter. In our everyday experience, there is matter (which is abundant in our known universe) and antimatter (which is very rare). Should matter and antimatter meet, they both annihilate, disappearing in a flash of energy. Ettore Majorana / The Conspiracy? What Happened to him? In 1938, Ettore Majorana boarded a ship to Naples, and never got off at the other end. Since then people have been debating what happened to the physicist, and whether or not he had a larger part in the history of physics than hes given credit for. Enrico Fermi, the brilliant physicist who developed the first nuclear reactor and won the Nobel prize for his explorations of radioactivity, might possibly have been eclipsed in his own time by one of his colleagues. Five years younger than Fermi, Ettore Majorana was a rising star in physics when he disappeared in 1938, at the age of 32. Rumors have been swirling around his disappearance since the moment he failed to step off the boat that he was spotted boarding in March - a boat set for Naples. Its no surprise that Majorana was the center of such a mystery. During his life, he was famously enigmatic. There is evidence that he came up with the proof of the neutron before the official confirmation by James Chadwick, but did not publish his findings. Majorana, it is said, was sure that someone else would discover them and unlike almost everyone else in his profession he hated the spotlight. Fermi, though only slightly older, took it upon himself to mentor Majorana, including hounding him into publishing his paper about some particles, like photons, being their own antiparticles. This brought attention to Majorana; attention he responded to by working in near-complete isolation for years. Majoranas disappearance caused a sensation and a search at the time, but there have been no real clues turned up since he was first reported missing. Majorana was shy, isolated, and occasionally depressed, and some people worried that he had committed suicide. Although its possible, his family pointed out that he withdrew his entire savings account shortly before he took the trip. He was also, according to multiple sources, a devout Catholic, making suicide less likely for religious reasons. Some people say he left physics for the quiet life of the Church. Others believe that he had some ties to the mafia and was running from them - or murdered by them. The overall timing of the event is also suspicious. Europe, in 1938, was at the edge of a precipice. Physicists the world over would soon be engaged in one war effort or another. Its possible that Majorana was not interested in becoming part of that effort. Although at the time of his disappearance, no one had conceived that an atomic bomb was possible, some biographers have posited that Majorana was quietly a few steps ahead of everyone and wanted no part of what was to come. Even the single concrete detail in the case, that Majorana stepped onto a certain boat on a certain day in March, is in dispute. Some believe he deliberately placed a decoy on the boat. Others think the boat trip was simply a fabrication of those he left behind, who naturally wanted some evidence to cling to. Fermi, when discussing Majoranas disappearance, famously said, Ettore was too intelligent. If he has decided to disappear, no-one will be able to find him. It looks like he may have been right. sciencedaily/releases/2014/10/141002141757.htm
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 17:50:59 +0000
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