https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/ en https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/media/2025/07/14/physicists-learn-control-electricity-quantum-scale <span>Physicists learn to control electricity at the quantum scale</span> <span><span>tomwt</span></span> <span><time datetime="2025-07-14T15:21:17-07:00" title="Monday, July 14, 2025 - 15:21">Mon, 07/14/2025 - 15:21</time> </span> <a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/in-the-media">More CNAS in the Media</a> Eric Ralls | Earth.com <time datetime="2025-07-14T12:00:00Z">July 14, 2025</time> <p>EARTH.COM - Today’s flagship processor packs more than 100 billion transistors, yet squeezing them any closer is turning design into a wrestling match with quantum physics.</p><p>As the footprints of silicon switches approach the dimensions of a few dozen atoms, stray electrons tunnel across barriers that once looked rock‑solid, wasting power and scrambling signals.</p><p>Physicists are asking whether that unruly behavior can be steered instead of suppressed, and a new study from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), claims the answer is yes.</p><p>The team shows that by shaping atom‑perfect silicon clusters they can turn electron flow off and on through quantum interference, the same wave effect that makes light cancel itself in noise‑canceling headphones.</p><p><strong>How silicon molecule switches current</strong><br><a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/timothy.su" target="_blank" title="Tim Su"><strong>Tim Su</strong></a><strong> of UC Riverside and colleagues</strong> built their switch by assembling silicon atoms into a molecule called sila‑adamantane, a miniature copy of the crystal motif found in commercial chips.</p><p>“We found that when tiny silicon structures are shaped with high symmetry, they can cancel out electron flow like noise‑canceling headphones,” said Su.</p><p><a class="btn-ucr" href="https://www.earth.com/news/control-electricity-with-silicon-switches-opens-door-to-better-switches-faster-electronics/" target="_blank" title="Read the Full Article" aria-label="Read the Full Article">Read the Full Article</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="tags-title">Tags</div> <div class="tags-list"> <div><a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/tags/department-chemistry" hreflang="en">Department of Chemistry</a></div> <div><a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/tags/timothy-su" hreflang="en">Timothy Su</a></div> </div> <div class="sharing-title">Share This</div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/media/2025/07/14/physicists-learn-control-electricity-quantum-scale" data-a2a-title="Physicists learn to control electricity at the quantum scale"><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_x"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin"></a><a class="a2a_button_google_plus"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_printfriendly"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" aria-label="more options to share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fcnasscholarships.ucr.edu%2Fmedia%2F2025%2F07%2F14%2Fphysicists-learn-control-electricity-quantum-scale&amp;title=Physicists%20learn%20to%20control%20electricity%20at%20the%20quantum%20scale"></a></span><script> (function () { const customClassName = 'show-for-sr'; const targetContainer = document.querySelector('.a2a_kit.addtoany_list'); if (!targetContainer) return; const addClassToLabels = () => { const labels = targetContainer.querySelectorAll('.a2a_label'); if (labels.length > 0) { labels.forEach(label => { if (!label.classList.contains(customClassName)) { label.classList.add(customClassName); } }); console.log('Successfully applied show-for-sr class to AddToAny labels.'); return true; } return false; }; const observerConfig = { childList: true, subtree: true }; const observer = new MutationObserver((mutationsList, observer) => { if (addClassToLabels()) { observer.disconnect(); } }); if (!addClassToLabels()) { observer.observe(targetContainer, observerConfig); } })(); </script> Mon, 14 Jul 2025 22:21:17 +0000 tomwt 3877 at https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu