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Sharp metal needles can be used to emit electrons. A quantum effect opens up new possibilities of controlling electron emission with extremely high accuracy. In an electron microscope, electrons are emitted by pointy metal tips, that way the can be steered and controlled with high precision. Recently, such metal tips have also been used as high precision electron sources for generating x-rays.

Scientists observe how quantum superpositions build up in a helium atom within femtoseconds. Just like in the famous double-slit experiment, there are two ways to reach the final outcome. It is definitely the most famous experiment in quantum physics: in the double slit experiment, a particle is fired onto a plate with two parallel slits, so there are two different paths on which the particle can reach the detector on the other side.

Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna, Austria) and Germany present the most accurate time measurements of quantum jumps to date. Quantum particles can change their state very quickly - this is called a 'quantum jump'. An atom, for example, can absorb a photon, thereby changing into a state of higher energy.

It is the Philosopher's Stone of Nanotechnology: using a technological trick, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) have succeeded in creating nanostructures made of pure gold.

How can you produce a magnet with exactly the right magnetic field? TU Wien has a solution: for the first time, magnets can be made with a 3D printer. Today, manufacturing strong magnets is no problem from a technical perspective. It is, however, difficult to produce a permanent magnet with a magnetic field of a specific pre-determined shape.

Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) found a way to compress ultrashort laser pulses, increasing its peak power to half a terawatt - which is equivalent to the output of hundreds of nuclear reactors. It is a very unusual kind of laser: researchers at the photonics institute at TU Wien (Vienna) have built a device which emits ultrashort flashes of infrared light with extremely high energy.

Intricate nanostructures can be created on crystal surfaces by hitting them with high energy ions. Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna) can now explain these remarkable phenomena.

Mathematical models analysing the interplay between society and hydrological effects have been developed at TU Wien (Vienna).

Electrons reveal their quantum properties when they are confined to small spaces. Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna), Aachen and Manchester have created tiny quantum dots in Graphene.

Electrons reveal their quantum properties when they are confined to small spaces. Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna), Aachen and Manchester have created tiny quantum dots in Graphene. The charged tip of a scanning tunneling microscope and an additional magnetic field lead to localized stable electron states in graphene.

The remarkable behaviour of platinum atoms on magnetite surfaces could lead to better catalysts. Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) can now explain how platinum atoms can form pairs with the help of carbon monoxide. At first glance, magnetite appears to be a rather inconspicuous grey mineral. But on an atomic scale, it has remarkable properties: on magnetite, single metal atoms are held in place, or they can be made to move across the surface.

"Exceptional points" give rise to counter-intuitive physical effects. Researchers from TU Wien (Vienna) make use of these phenomena to create a novel kind of wave guide, which is now being presented in the journal "Nature". No matter whether it is acoustic waves, quantum matter waves or optical waves of a laser - all kinds of waves can be in different states of oscillation, corresponding to different frequencies.

Using electron microscopes, it is possible to image individual atoms. Scientists at TU Wien have calculated how it is possible to look inside the atom to image individual electron orbitals. An electron microscope can't just snap a photo like a mobile phone camera can. The ability of an electron microscope to image a structure - and how successful this imaging will be - depends on how well you understand the structure.

Viruses smuggle their genetic material into our cells. How this actually works is currently being investigated at TU Wien (Vienna) using a new combination of analysis methods. Cold viruses cause us irritation by penetrating into our cells and transporting their RNA into the cytoplasma of the infected cells.

Virtually all membrane proteins have been reported to be organized as clusters on cell surfaces, when in fact many of them are just single proteins which have been counted multiple times. A method developed at TU Wien (Vienna) can now distinguish between both cases. Light cannot be used to image any structures smaller than half its wavelength - for a long time, this was considered to be the ultimate resolution limit in light microscopy.

Completely ordinary photos are being transformed into clean, high-resolution 3D worlds thanks to algorithms from TU Wien.

Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna) are proposing a new method for creating extremely strong spin currents. They are essential for spintronics, a technology that could replace today's electronics. A laser pulse hits nickel (green). Spin-up-electrons (red) change into silicon (yellow). Electrons with both spin-orientations change back from silicon into nickel.

When current comes in discrete packages: Viennese scientists unravel the quantum properties of the carbon material graphene. In 2010 the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for the discovery of the exceptional material graphene, which consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice.

Scientists from Austria, Finland and Hungary are using laser scanners to study the day-night rhythm of trees. As it turns out, trees go to sleep too. Most living organisms adapt their behavior to the rhythm of day and night. Plants are no exception: flowers open in the morning, some tree leaves close during the night.