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In the developing world, building a research community might not seem a priority, but it is a means to strengthen the development agenda and secure the future.
South Africa has recognized the importance of science in the development of its society, in moving away from its apartheid past and striving to eradicate poverty. Opportunities abound in its growing programme of physics research.
Combining the strong nonlinearity of single-photon emitters with the light-focusing characteristics of metal nanowires could soon enable the realization of a single-photon transistor — a device that would revolutionize the field of quantum optics.
In the fractional quantum Hall effect, the quasiparticles carry fractional charge. But neutral excitations with fractional spin have been elusive in two-dimensional magnets. Is it possible that they have already been observed?
Our social behaviour has evolved primarily through contact with a limited number of other individuals. Yet as a species we exhibit uniformities on a global scale. This kind of emergent behaviour is familiar territory for statistical physicists.
A quantum dot is usually charged by inserting electrons. But electrons can also be removed from a neutral dot. Unexpectedly, positively charged dots are different from highly charged negative ones, which have their own peculiarities.
Exotic quasiparticles known as 'anyons' have intriguing fundamental and practical properties. A proposal for a solid-state structure in which anyons might 'live' provides fresh ideas for getting a practical handle on them.
