A quantum engine that relies on the shifting nature of particles at the quantum level has been proposed. Such an engine could potentially power other quantum technologies in the future.
All particles can be categorized as either fermions or bosons, and their behavior in large groups is determined by which category they fall into. Researchers at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau in Germany have developed an engine using a collection of atoms that can be manipulated to act as both fermions and bosons.
This engine was built using a few hundred thousand lithium atoms cooled to a temperature close to absolute zero. By adjusting magnetic fields, the researchers were able to make the atoms behave either as fermions or bosons. They started with a group of boson-like paired atoms, compressed them, converted them into fermions, and then let them expand. By tweaking the magnetic fields again, the atoms were switched back to bosons, resulting in a repeated cycle of compressing and expanding the fluid-like atoms.
Currently, the efficiency of the ultracold atom engine is around 25 percent, but further improvements could increase its efficiency. Although not practical for everyday use, the researchers believe that this engine demonstrates the ability to harness a purely quantum form of energy.
Sebastian Deffner, a physicist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, highlights that the difference between fermions and bosons is a quantum property that cannot be utilized in conventional machines. This makes the new engine a truly quantum resource. Deffner suggests that further exploration is needed to determine if this resource can be used in technologically advantageous ways.
In the future, quantum engines could potentially be used to charge other devices, such as quantum batteries, and could even be used to cool down devices like quantum computers, which operate less reliably at higher temperatures.
Topics:
- quantum mechanics
- quantum physics
