Casimir Inc.は、カシミール効果を利用して真空からエネルギーを取り出す装置を開発するため、多額のベンチャーキャピタルによる出資を受けてステルスモードから脱却した。同社は、固定されたプレートと柱の間で量子トンネル効果を利用することで、継続的なフリーエネルギーを生成できると主張している。今回の発表により、創業者らが以前取り組んでいた電磁推進装置への関心が再び高まっている。
同社のアプローチは、近接した金属板の間で仮想粒子が圧力を生み出す現実の量子効果である「カシミール効果」に関連している。Casimir Inc.は、プレートを固定し柱を追加することで電子を非対称にトンネルさせ、接続された負荷を駆動する電圧を発生させる手法を提案している。同社によれば、測定ではすでに予測通りの電圧降下が確認されており、この結果は2026年の「Physical Review Research」誌に掲載された論文によって裏付けられている。
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Physicists at MIT have developed a new microscope using terahertz light to directly observe hidden quantum vibrations inside a superconducting material for the first time. The device compresses terahertz light to overcome its wavelength limitations, revealing frictionless electron flows in BSCCO. This breakthrough could advance understanding of superconductivity and terahertz-based communications.
Researchers propose updating a 1773 experiment by Henry Cavendish to detect millicharged particles, a potential dark matter candidate. The design uses nested metal shells and could be 10,000 times more sensitive than past methods. The setup promises to be cheaper and faster than particle accelerators.
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Physicists with the STAR collaboration have observed particles emerging directly from empty space during high-energy proton collisions at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The experiment provides strong evidence that mass can arise from vacuum fluctuations, as predicted by quantum chromodynamics. Quark-antiquark pairs promoted to real particles retained spin correlations tracing back to the vacuum.
Researchers at EPFL have created a new membrane using lipid-coated nanopores that boosts the efficiency of blue energy production from mixing saltwater and freshwater. The innovation allows ions to pass through more smoothly, generating up to three times more power than existing technologies. This advance could make osmotic energy a more viable renewable source.
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Researchers in Australia have developed and tested what is described as the world's first proof-of-concept quantum battery, which charges faster as it scales up. Led by CSIRO in partnership with the University of Melbourne and RMIT, the prototype leverages quantum mechanics for rapid energy absorption. Findings were published in Light: Science & Applications.
Meta is investing in space-based solar power technology to beam energy from orbit. The initiative aims to provide nonstop power for its data centers. The plans were detailed in recent reports.
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Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have observed a sequence of exotic magnetic phases in an ultrathin material, validating a theoretical model from the 1970s. The experiment involved cooling nickel phosphorus trisulfide to low temperatures, revealing swirling magnetic vortices and a subsequent ordered state. This discovery could inform future nanoscale magnetic technologies.