Nature In an article published in Nature magazine on August 10, TU Delft researcher Jorden van Dam reports on supercurrent reversal with single electrons.
Van Dam and his team of researchers have succeeded in bridging two superconducting contacts with a nanoscale wire of semiconductor material. A section of the wire (about 70 nm long) functions as a box confining a small and controllable number of electrons, called a quantum dot. Van Dam demonstrated that a supercurrent . an electrical current without resistance . can flow through such a semiconductor quantum dot. The team of scientists also demonstrated that the supercurrent flow . a billion Cooper pairs per second . can be reversed by adding only one electron to the quantum dot. This striking effect is due to the quantum mechanical nature of the quantum dot. This research is part of the Dutch FOM concentration group ‘Solid state quantum information processing’ at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, with funding provided by the European Union and the Japanese International Cooperative Research Project (ICORP).
Formula team
TU Delft’s Formula Student Team finished in third place at this year’s Formula Student competition. The field includes 40 teams from other leading universities of technology. The event was held from August 3-6 in Hockenheimring, Germany. Formula Student is an international design competition in which technology students are challenged to design a racing car and then build it and race it. The students must also find sponsors by presenting a business plan. The team displaying the best combination of speed, safety, reliability, cost effectiveness and driving skill wins the competition. The Delft Team’s performance was outstanding in many areas. Delft won the ‘skid pad’ round, which tests how fast cars can take corners. Delft’s business plan presentation was also judged ‘best of the bunch’. During the endurance test race, Delft finished in fourth place, with less than half the other cars managing to complete the course. The TU Delft team car also earned a second place finish for fuel efficiency. Switzerland’s Graz University of Technology was the overall winner.
9/11
Five years after the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, 9/11 remains a symbol for international terrorism. During the month of September, Studium Generale is organizing a comprehensive program about 9/11, approaching it from various perspectives. How has 9/11 influenced politics in the USA, Europe and the Netherlands? How does the fear of terrorist attacks affect people? Can you use violence to spread democracy? How is the media reporting on terrorism? Studium Generale invites all TU Delft students to participate in this special program of events.
www.sg.tudelft.nl
Wasub II
Wasub II, the human-powered submarine built by TU Delft students, won two prizes this summer at the Human Powered Submarine Contest (HPS) 2006 in Escondido, California. It won prizes for the Best Sub Design and Best Manufacturing. Wasub is a TU Delft student team that designs, builds and races human-powered submarines. The team comprises Dutch and Belgian students, enrolled in various TU faculties. The Wasub II, successor to Wasub from 2005, has a torpedo-shaped hull in which one pilot can fit. The pilot lies on his stomach and must cycle to propel it. The submarine is filled with water and the pilot must breathe compressed air. Wasub II has now been shipped back to the Netherlands, where the team will repair the sub and improve its design. The team believes that after a few small modifications their submarine will be good enough to sail its way to a world record. The student team plans to compete again next summer at the International Submarine Race in Washington, D.C.
Help wanted
Part-time jobs available writing for Delta’s English Page. We seek foreign students/staff to write articles in English, for payment, on a freelance basis. No experience necessary. We’re looking for enthusiastic, creative foreign students/staff to contribute articles, cartoons, illustrations, photographs. Interested, please send a brief introductory email to: d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl
Nature
In an article published in Nature magazine on August 10, TU Delft researcher Jorden van Dam reports on supercurrent reversal with single electrons. Van Dam and his team of researchers have succeeded in bridging two superconducting contacts with a nanoscale wire of semiconductor material. A section of the wire (about 70 nm long) functions as a box confining a small and controllable number of electrons, called a quantum dot. Van Dam demonstrated that a supercurrent . an electrical current without resistance . can flow through such a semiconductor quantum dot. The team of scientists also demonstrated that the supercurrent flow . a billion Cooper pairs per second . can be reversed by adding only one electron to the quantum dot. This striking effect is due to the quantum mechanical nature of the quantum dot. This research is part of the Dutch FOM concentration group ‘Solid state quantum information processing’ at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, with funding provided by the European Union and the Japanese International Cooperative Research Project (ICORP).
Formula team
TU Delft’s Formula Student Team finished in third place at this year’s Formula Student competition. The field includes 40 teams from other leading universities of technology. The event was held from August 3-6 in Hockenheimring, Germany. Formula Student is an international design competition in which technology students are challenged to design a racing car and then build it and race it. The students must also find sponsors by presenting a business plan. The team displaying the best combination of speed, safety, reliability, cost effectiveness and driving skill wins the competition. The Delft Team’s performance was outstanding in many areas. Delft won the ‘skid pad’ round, which tests how fast cars can take corners. Delft’s business plan presentation was also judged ‘best of the bunch’. During the endurance test race, Delft finished in fourth place, with less than half the other cars managing to complete the course. The TU Delft team car also earned a second place finish for fuel efficiency. Switzerland’s Graz University of Technology was the overall winner.
9/11
Five years after the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon, 9/11 remains a symbol for international terrorism. During the month of September, Studium Generale is organizing a comprehensive program about 9/11, approaching it from various perspectives. How has 9/11 influenced politics in the USA, Europe and the Netherlands? How does the fear of terrorist attacks affect people? Can you use violence to spread democracy? How is the media reporting on terrorism? Studium Generale invites all TU Delft students to participate in this special program of events.
www.sg.tudelft.nl
Wasub II
Wasub II, the human-powered submarine built by TU Delft students, won two prizes this summer at the Human Powered Submarine Contest (HPS) 2006 in Escondido, California. It won prizes for the Best Sub Design and Best Manufacturing. Wasub is a TU Delft student team that designs, builds and races human-powered submarines. The team comprises Dutch and Belgian students, enrolled in various TU faculties. The Wasub II, successor to Wasub from 2005, has a torpedo-shaped hull in which one pilot can fit. The pilot lies on his stomach and must cycle to propel it. The submarine is filled with water and the pilot must breathe compressed air. Wasub II has now been shipped back to the Netherlands, where the team will repair the sub and improve its design. The team believes that after a few small modifications their submarine will be good enough to sail its way to a world record. The student team plans to compete again next summer at the International Submarine Race in Washington, D.C.
Help wanted
Part-time jobs available writing for Delta’s English Page. We seek foreign students/staff to write articles in English, for payment, on a freelance basis. No experience necessary. We’re looking for enthusiastic, creative foreign students/staff to contribute articles, cartoons, illustrations, photographs. Interested, please send a brief introductory email to: d.mcmullin@tudelft.nl
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