[HN Gopher] Coupling nitrogen-vacancy center spins in diamond to...
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Coupling nitrogen-vacancy center spins in diamond to a grape dimer
Author : bookofjoe
Score : 52 points
Date : 2024-12-25 17:05 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (journals.aps.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (journals.aps.org)
| lifeisstillgood wrote:
| Immediately ran to the domestic microwave to try generating
| sparks and plasma with grapes. No success so far, building
| transparent Tupperware explosion containers before continuing
| throw5959 wrote:
| Please report back, I'm going to try later too
| NotYourLawyer wrote:
| Remember, not all Pyrex uses borosilicate glass anymore.
| nom wrote:
| if you can't get it to work with two whole grapes touching you
| can also try to cut a grape almost in half, leave a tiny bit of
| the skin connected and place it folded open with the cut facing
| up.
| rzzzt wrote:
| Every word in the title makes sense to me individually.
| xeonmc wrote:
| veritasium video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrtk-pyP0I
|
| Essentially, when this gets commercialized we'll be able to
| make room-temperature qubits using two grapes and a diamond in
| a microwave oven.
|
| This opens up a whole new field of "grapetronics" for scalable
| quantum computing hardware.
| gilleain wrote:
| Is is naive to think that the same effect could be replicated
| with something the same size and density (and some other
| properties?) of the grapes.
|
| Basically, an artificial grape.
| xeonmc wrote:
| While similar substitutes does also let you make some crude
| sparks, it turns out that the composition and quality of
| the grapes are crucial in the finessed focusing of energy
| needed for this application.
|
| Only the grapes grown in vineyards of the finest chateaux
| are capable of achieving the maximum performance needed for
| bleeding edge grapetronics.
|
| This propels France into a quantum computing superpower,
| being in sole control of the limited quantity coveted by
| nation states as strategic assets, with anciliary equipment
| such as Taiwanese microwave ovens manufactured by Tatung
| becoming a critical link in the supply chain.
| ohyes wrote:
| Yes, using anything less than the finest of French grapes
| from the Champagne region is just a sparking qbit.
| eig wrote:
| I've gotten it working with small cherry tomatoes, but you
| have to cut it into quarters to get the right wavelength.
| bookofjoe wrote:
| AG
| gus_massa wrote:
| Warning: It may break ypur microwave. Use a spare microwave
| or ensure your S.O. is at least as crazy as you.
| pimlottc wrote:
| I have no idea what a "dimer" is (as opposed to "dimmer")
| tempodox wrote:
| https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dimer
|
| I suspect the grapes take up the role of the molecules here.
| gilleain wrote:
| In chemistry, a 'monomer' is a single unit and a 'dimer' a
| pair.
|
| Haemoglobin in your blood, for example is a 'tetramer' of
| four separate units (although technically more like ABAB so a
| dimer of dimers).
| tempodox wrote:
| Sneaky grapes hurling sparks at each other if you put them in a
| microwave and switch it on.
| nu11ius wrote:
| "They did physics on a grape"
| Finnucane wrote:
| "These grapes in the fridge are getting old. Should we toss
| them or can we get a paper out of it?"
| fastneutron wrote:
| This might be a good candidate for the 2025 Ig Nobel prize in
| physics [1].
|
| More seriously, NV centers are one of the most accessible quantum
| hardware platforms, and do very sensitive measurements on all
| kinds of interesting stuff.
|
| 1. https://improbable.com/ig/about-the-ig-nobel-prizes/
| eig wrote:
| For people who want to try making plasma from grapes in a
| microwave, here are the steps that work for me every time (I've
| done it for friends and highschoolers about 20 times)
|
| 1. Cut a large grape (1.5cm diameter) partially in half, leaving
| just a sliver of skin connecting the two halves.
|
| 2. Dry the cut sides by dabbing with a paper towel.
|
| 3. Place the grape halves cut side down on a Pyrex dish. Keep the
| turntable in the microwave (important, since microwaves have
| hotspots). Place the dish with the grape so that the grape orbits
| inside the microwave.
|
| 4. Microwave on high for 30s.
|
| If you don't hear a hum and see sparks within 10 seconds, you may
| have too large a grape. In that case you can try splitting the
| grape into two quarters, connected by a thin sliver of skin.
| Don't forget to dry all the cut sides!
| eszed wrote:
| I've never dried the surfaces, and I put the cut sides _up_.
| Also never fails. Gonna try cut-side down when my kid gets up
| (and if we have some grapes); that might look (even) cooler.
| eig wrote:
| I suppose if the grape is in a puddle of electrolyte, it can
| short out the quarter wave antenna. So drying probably only
| matters if your grape is very juicy!
| acrophiliac wrote:
| I love coming to HN for titles like this that blow my mind
| because the only thing that I understand is the verb.
| paltman wrote:
| Claude, can you please explain this for someone with a high
| school level understanding of science?
|
| I'll break this down into simpler terms!
|
| You might have seen viral videos or heard about what happens when
| you put two grapes in a microwave - they create impressive sparks
| and even plasma (which is like a super-hot, glowing gas, similar
| to what's in those plasma ball toys).
|
| The key points of this paper are:
|
| First, some background: - When two grapes are placed close
| together in a microwave, they act like a special kind of antenna
| or lens for microwave energy - This creates an incredibly intense
| concentration of energy between the grapes (they call this a
| "hotspot")
|
| What's new in this research: - The scientists used tiny diamonds
| that contain special defects called nitrogen-vacancy centers
| (think of these like extremely sensitive sensors) - They placed
| these special diamonds between two grapes in a controlled setup -
| Using these diamond sensors, they could measure how strong the
| magnetic field was between the grapes - They found that the
| magnetic field between the grapes was twice as strong as it would
| be normally
|
| Why this matters: - Previous research only looked at the electric
| fields between the grapes - This study confirms that grapes can
| also concentrate magnetic fields - This could be useful for
| quantum computing and other advanced technologies that need
| precise control of magnetic fields
|
| Think of it like this: If you put two magnifying glasses next to
| each other, they can concentrate light into a very bright spot.
| The grapes are doing something similar, but with microwaves
| instead of light. The scientists used special diamonds as a tool
| to measure just how concentrated this "microwave spot" becomes.
|
| ---
|
| I don't even try reading stuff like this on my own anymore. Maybe
| I'm just dumber than most, but I find Claude's explanation so
| much more accessible.
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