Baltic Dry Index. 3325 +64 Brent Crude 73.68
Spot Gold 1778
Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000
Deaths 53,100
Coronavirus Cases 07/12/21 World 266,738,30
Deaths 5,278,047
And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/judgment-of-solomon_bible/
Today it’s all about the virtual meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin. Politically neither can appear to back down. Neither wants war, but that’s exactly what’s at stake. A blunder like 1914 is at risk today.
President Biden’s team have put him in an almost impossible position to compromise from.
President Putin has little reason to accept President Biden’s public position. A NATO Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia just like a nuclear armed Iran would be to Israel.
From London, it seems to me, we badly need a leader like Solomon.
Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher as virus fears ease
BEIJING (AP) — Asia stock markets followed Wall Street higher Tuesday as anxiety about the coronavirus’s latest variant eased.
Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices gained for a second day.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 1.2% after the chief White House medical adviser said the omicron variant might be less dangerous. That might allow travel and business restrictions to ease.
Reports from South Africa, where omicron first was spotted, that hospitals haven’t been overwhelmed “is fueling some optimism” among traders who sold earlier, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.3% to 28,282.01 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.4% to 23.678.51. The Shanghai Composite Index added less than 0.1% to 3,589.95.
The Kospi in Seoul advanced less than 0.1% to 2,974.00 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 7,273.10.
New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets gained.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose to 4,591.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9% to 35,227.03. The Nasdaq added less than 0.1% to 15,225.15.
More than 85% of stocks in the S&P 500 gained, led by technology and banks.
Airlines, cruise lines and other travel companies that stand to gain from avoiding more anti-coronavirus controls advanced after Dr. Anthony Fauci said early indications suggested omicron may be less dangerous than the earlier delta variant.
Norwegian Cruise Line vaulted 9.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. American Airlines climbed 7.9%, while United Airlines gained 8.3%.
It will still take a few weeks to learn whether omicron is more contagious, causes more severe illness or evades immunity.
Investors also are factoring mixed U.S. jobs data and the Federal Reserve’s plan to accelerate its withdrawal of stimulus to cool inflation pressures.
The U.S. government is due to report November consumer inflation on Friday.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 59 cents to $70.08 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $3.23 on Monday to $69.49. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, added 38 cents to $73.46 per barrel in London. It surged $3.20 the previous session to $73.08 per barrel.
https://apnews.com/article/business-china-asia-australia-tokyo-2eac49f604b1da18cb450d62773015b8
European markets head for mixed open as investors weigh up omicron risks
LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in mixed territory on Tuesday as investors weigh new developments relating to the omicron Covid variant.
The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 10 points lower at 7,230, Germany’s DAX 32 points higher at 15,426, France’s CAC 40 up 10 points at 6,889 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 137 points higher at 26,583, according to data from IG.
The more tepid start for European stocks comes after the region moved higher on Monday as investors continued to monitor developments around the omicron Covid variant.
White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that the initial data regarding the variant was “encouraging,” though he cautioned that more information was needed to fully understand it.
Stocks across Asia-Pacific jumped on Tuesday, bouncing back from Monday losses as Wall Street rallied on optimism that the omicron variant risk might not be as bad as feared. U.S. stock futures were flat in overnight trading after a rebound on Monday.
Meanwhile, investors are also weighing the likelihood of the U.S. Federal Reserve removing its pandemic easing policies and hiking rates sooner than expected.
Comments by Fed officials suggest the central bank is likely to decide to double the pace of its taper to $30 billion a month at its December meeting next week. Initial discussions could also begin as soon as the December meeting about when to raise interest rates and by how much next year.
Data releases include German industrial production figures for October, Dutch inflation figures for November, Switzerland’s unemployment rate for November and French trade data for October. There are no major earnings Tuesday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/european-markets-as-investors-weigh-up-omicron-risks.html
In political news, it’s showdown time between President’s Biden and Putin. So will it be war or peace?
From all the huffing and puffing coming out of Washington ahead of the showdown, President Biden has deliberately painted himself into a corner.
But can President Putin allow the Ukraine to join NATO?
After the humiliating debacle in Afghanistan, are Moscow and Beijing even cowed anymore?
Is today the Disaster of December, or the Diplomacy of December?
Biden to warn Putin of economic pain if he invades Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border.
Biden aims to make clear that his administration stands ready to take actions against the Kremlin that would exact “a very real cost” on the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to demand guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to include Ukraine, which has long sought membership. That’s a non-starter for the Americans and their NATO allies.
“We’ve consulted significantly with our allies and believe we have a path forward that would impose significant and severe harm on the Russian economy,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday in previewing the meeting. “You can call that a threat. You can call that a fact. You can call that preparation. You can call it whatever you want to call it.”
The leader-to-leader conversation — Biden speaking from the Situation Room, Putin from Moscow — is expected to be one of the toughest of Biden’s presidency and comes at a perilous time. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has massed 70,000 troops near the Ukraine border and has made preparations for a possible invasion early next year.
The U.S. has not determined whether Putin has made a final decision to invade. Still, Biden intends to make clear to the Russian leader that there will be a “very real cost” should Russia proceed with military action, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
----The eastward expansion of NATO has from the start been a bone of contention not just with Moscow but also in Washington. In 1996, when President Bill Clinton’s national security team debated the timing of membership invitations to former Soviet allies Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Defense Secretary William Perry urged delay in order to keep Russian relations on track. Perry wrote in his memoir that when he lost the internal debate he considered resigning.
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited in 1997 and joined in 1999. They were followed in 2004 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Since then, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia have joined, bringing NATO’s total to 30 nations.
A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country. And no outsider has membership veto power. While there’s little prospect that Ukraine would be invited into the alliance anytime soon, the U.S. and its allies won’t rule it out.
----Ahead of the Putin call, Biden on Monday spoke with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy to coordinate messaging and potential sanctions.
The White House said in a statement that the leaders called on Russia to “de-escalate tensions” and agreed that diplomacy “is the only way forward to resolve the conflict.”
Ahead of the Biden-Putin faceoff, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
----State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken “reiterated the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression.”
The Kremlin has made clear that Putin planned to seek binding guarantees from Biden precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Biden and aides have indicated no such guarantee is likely, with the president himself saying he “won’t accept anyone’s red line.”
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Finally, in China news, get ready for the winter Olympics punch up. “Citius, Altius, Fortius!” and all that. May the best man/woman win.
China Evergrande still the great unknown.
China's Zhangjiakou to deploy 655 hydrogen buses for 2022 Winter Games
December 6, 2021 9:30 AM GMT
BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) - China's Zhangjiakou city will deploy 655 hydrogen-fuelled buses in the competition zone during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the state-backed Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
China, the world's biggest greenhouse gases emitter, vowed to host a "green" Olympics by using high-technology to reduce carbon emissions.
It is also powering all event venues in Beijing and the neighbouring city of Zhangjiakou with cleaner energy such as natural gas, renewables and hydrogen.
Zhangjiakou, which will host events such as Alpine skiing and snowboarding, currently has two hydrogen plants with a combined production capacity of 6 tonnes per day, as well as eight hydrogen refuelling stations.
In 2019 the city targeted establishing annual hydrogen production capacity of 100,000 tonnes, or 27.4 tonnes per day, before the Winter Olympics Games kick off next February.
Chinese government and energy firms such as China National Petroleum Corp (CNPET.UL) (CNPC) and Sinopec have been striving to make the Winter Olympics a showcase for next-generation fuels and to boost its hydrogen industry as the country aims to bring its carbon emissions to a peak by 2030.
China threatens countermeasures if U.S. boycotts Beijing Olympics
December 6, 2021 9:16 AM GMT
WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) - U.S. politicians should stop calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics to avoid hurting bilateral ties and China will take "countermeasures" if necessary, China's foreign ministry said on Monday.
The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that U.S. government officials will not attend the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, CNN reported on Sunday.
Those calling for a boycott are "grandstanding" and should stop "so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas," said Zhao Lijian, China's foreign ministry spokesman.
"If the U.S. insists in wilfully clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures," he said at a news conference.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last month that he was considering such a diplomatic boycott to protest China's human rights record, including what Washington says is genocide against minority Muslims. The administration has been under pressure from activists and members of Congress to skip the games.
The White House declined to comment on CNN's report on Sunday. Four sources with knowledge of the administration's thinking previously told Reuters that there was a growing consensus within the White House to keep U.S. officials away from the Beijing Olympics.
CNN said the U.S. boycott would not prevent its athletes from competing in the games.
The State Department did not respond to questions about the report late Sunday.
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/us-officials-boycott-beijing-olympics-cnn-2021-12-06/
Evergrande set for restructuring, with no word on first formal default
Evergrande is set to forge ahead into a restructuring that would include all of its offshore public bonds and private debt, according to analysts.
The troubled real estate developer, swamped by $300 billion of liabilities, also said Tuesday that it’s setting up a risk management committee, which will play a role in mitigating and eliminating future risks for the firm. The world’s most indebted property developer has been struggling to raise funds to pay suppliers and investors.
Those developments lifted its shares from a record low, as it bounced back over on Tuesday although they later lost steam. Stocks of other Hong Kong-listed property firms also jumped.
Sentiment has also been buoyed by China’s move toward an emphasis on easing. On Monday, the country’s central bank said it would cut the reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, for the second time this year. That frees up 1.2 trillion yuan ($282 billion) to boost slowing growth amid the pandemic.
“It seems quite likely now that a restructuring of Evergrande’s offshore public bonds and private debt obligations will be taking place soon,” Martin Hennecke, head of Asia investment advisory and communications at St. James’s Place, told CNBC on Tuesday.
Those private debt obligations would likely include bonds of joint venture Jumbo Fortune and unit Scenery Journey, according to Luther Chai of CreditSights, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings.
There was still no word from the developer on whether it has paid $82.5 million worth of interest — the 30-day grace period ended Monday. Analysts said, however, it was unlikely the interest was paid, given the firm’s restructuring plans.
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“Angry
people are not always wise.”
Pride and Prejudice.
Global Inflation/Stagflation Watch.
Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Top Bank of England rate setter warns inflation will breach five per cent soon
Monday 06 December 2021 12:50 pm
A top rate setter at the Bank of England has today warned inflation will soar far above the Old Lady’s target and breach five per cent.
Ben Broadbent, a deputy governor at the Bank, said in a speech in Leeds “in the spring of next year… [inflation] will probably climb comfortably through five per cent, a long way north of the monetary policy committee’s two per cent target”.
Broadbent sent a strong hawkish signal underlining that the Bank is ready to tighten policy to get inflation back toward target.
“What we can do – and what is the best possible approach – is to think at every meeting about the level of interest rates that will maximise our chances, a couple of years from now, of hitting the inflation target exactly. That is what we will continue to do,” he said.
The Old lady has a mandate to keep inflation in check at two per cent. However, price rises have spiralled out of control since the Covid-19 unlocking, driven higher by supply chains creaking under the weight of red hot global demand.
An energy crunch has put a rocket under wholesale gas prices, prompting a string of British energy providers to go to the wall and the UK’s energy watchdog to hike a cap on the amount firms can charge customers, causing inflation to take off.
Prices are 4.2 per cent higher than they were a year ago, the highest rate of increase in nearly a decade, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Broadbent warned Ofgem, the energy regulator, is likely to raise the price cap again in April, the main factor driving inflation to over double the Bank’s target.
A sudden rise in demand for goods triggered by consumers ramping up spending on tangible products amid long periods of being confined to their homes and denied access to services activities has thrown a spanner in global supply chains.
“Inflation in global goods prices looks to be the result of a big shift in global consumer demand, induced by the pandemic, away from services and towards goods,” Broadbent added.
Broadbent also warned that inflationary pressures could emanate from the jobs market in the coming months, a key risk identified previously by the Bank to price rises becoming more entrenched in the UK economy.
German factory orders see 2nd big drop in 3 months
December 6, 2021
BERLIN (AP) — German factory orders dropped steeply in October, pushed down by much lower demand from countries outside the euro area, according to official statistics released Monday.
The Economy Ministry said orders were down 6.9% compared with the previous month, the second big drop in three months. Orders fell 8.8% in August and gained 1.8% in September.
Factory orders are an important indicator for the German economy, Europe’s biggest. The latest figures come as business confidence is weighed down by persistent supply-chain bottlenecks and a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
Demand for investment goods such as factory machinery was down 10.7% in October, the Economy Ministry said. The overall performance was dragged lower by an 18.1% drop in orders from countries outside the 19-nation eurozone and a 3.2% fall in orders from Germany’s eurozone partners. Domestic demand was up 3.4%.
The ministry said overall orders were 1% lower than a year earlier. It cautioned, however, that the index is volatile at the moment and recent developments “should not be overinterpreted.” It said that, if bulk orders were excluded, orders would have been down only 1.8% on the month.
https://apnews.com/article/business-europe-germany-economy-693cc3a7eb58cb141b223b73cd76f68f
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Coronavirus in Israel: 521 new cases, 112 serious cases
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF Published: DECEMBER 6, 2021 10:35
521 new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Israel on Sunday, with 112 patients in serious condition, according to a Monday morning update by the Health Ministry.
Of those infected, 62 were on ventilators. The death toll stood at 8,204.
4,100,145 Israelis had received the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of Monday morning.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/coronavirus-in-israel-521-new-cases-112-serious-cases-687963
South African data offers preliminary insights into Omicron variant
Rich Haridy December 05, 2021
Little more than a week after the World Health Organization formally labeled a recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern as Omicron it has been detected in at least 38 countries around the globe. A pair of new reports out of South Africa are offering some very early insights into how this new variant could behave in humans as it rapidly spreads.
A patient profile from researchers in the South African district of Tshwane, an epicenter of the Omicron outbreak, indicates the new variant may lead to less severe illness compared to prior variants. And a reinfection study is suggesting Omicron is causing high rates of SARS-Cov-2 cases in people previously infected with the virus.
A new report from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) offers a snapshot of patients currently in hospital with COVID-19 in the Tshwane District Hospital Complex. Authored by Fareed Abdullah, a doctor working with the SAMRC, the report offers preliminary insights into the profile of hospitalized patients experiencing COVID-19 from the omicron variant.
Abdullah is cautious to note the report is only based on patients seen in the first two weeks of the omicron wave, so it is entirely possible this patient profile will change over the coming weeks. However, the early signs indicate this Omicron wave is very different to prior waves seen in the local Tshwane region.
The main observation reported in this analysis is the majority of patients in COVID wards are not oxygen dependent. Few patients currently need supplemental oxygen and Abdullah reports this is markedly different to what was seen in hospitals in prior COVID-19 waves. Interestingly, most of these patients were initially admitted into hospital for other medical reasons and routine testing picked up the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“This is a picture that has not been seen in previous waves,” the report states, “In the beginning of all three previous waves and throughout the course of these waves, there has always only been a sprinkling of patients on room air in the COVID ward and these patients have usually been in the recovery phase waiting for the resolution of a co-morbidity prior to discharge. The COVID ward was recognizable by the majority of patients being on some form of oxygen supplementation with the incessant sound of high flow nasal oxygen machines, or beeping ventilator alarms.”
Complicating these promising indications is the fact that most COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tshwane are in younger people. In fact, according to the SAMRC report, 80 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 in the last two weeks are in those under the age of 50.
Abdullah speculates the higher rates of positive cases in younger people could be a sign vaccines are working against Omicron. He notes 57 percent of those over 50 in the local region have been vaccinated whereas the rate for those under 50 is only 34 percent.
Of course, it may also be that the virus simply hasn't yet started spreading through more vulnerable older communities. Speaking to STATNews, Baylor College of Medicine’s Peter Hotez reads the new data as promising but stresses it is way too early to claim this is the definitive behavior of Omicron.
“Potentially it means that the severity of illness is less with Omicron,” Hotez said to STAT while commenting on the SAMRC report. “But I think we have to be very cautious about making any definitive statement. Right now, it’s an interesting anecdote as much as anything else. And we’ll see as Omicron accelerates in the United States whether if falls along a similar pattern.”
Another new study on Omicron comes from the South African Centre of Excellence in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis. Published as a preprint and yet to be peer-reviewed, the research reports on an ongoing surveillance study tracking the rate of COVID-19 reinfections in the local region.
The study began at the start of 2021, and the initial findings published as a preprint in early November tracked rates of reinfection across Beta and Delta variant waves. That study, also not yet peer-reviewed or published in a journal, concluded there was no evidence those particular variants led to unusual rates of reinfection in those individuals with prior encounters with the virus.
Over the course of October the researchers started seeing a shift in the data. Reinfections were increasing rapidly in some South African regions. When Omicron was recently identified the researchers quickly updated their study to include data up to the end of November.
This new data paints a very different picture to the initial findings, suggesting Omicron may behave differently to prior Beta and Delta variants. Rapid increases in SARS-CoV-2 reinfections across October and November were seen to correlate with the emergence of Omicron.
“We find evidence of a substantial and ongoing increase in the risk of reinfection that is temporally consistent with the timing of the emergence of the Omicron variant in South Africa, suggesting that its selection advantage is at least partially driven by an increased ability to infect previously infected individuals,” the researchers conclude.
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Omicron v. delta: Battle of coronavirus mutants is critical
As the omicron coronavirus variant spreads in southern Africa and pops up in countries all around the world, scientists are anxiously watching a battle play out that could determine the future of the pandemic. Can the latest competitor to the world-dominating delta overthrow it?
Some scientists, poring over data from South Africa and the United Kingdom, suggest omicron could emerge the victor.
“It’s still early days, but increasingly, data is starting to trickle in, suggesting that omicron is likely to outcompete delta in many, if not all, places,” said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School.
But others said Monday it’s too soon to know how likely it is that omicron will spread more efficiently than delta, or, if it does, how fast it might take over.
“Especially here in the U.S., where we’re seeing significant surges in delta, whether omicron’s going to replace it I think we’ll know in about two weeks,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Many critical questions about omicron remain unanswered, including whether the virus causes milder or more severe illness and how much it might evade immunity from past COVID-19 illness or vaccines.
On the issue of spread, scientists point to what’s happening in South Africa, where omicron was first detected. Omicron’s speed in infecting people and achieving near dominance in South Africa has health experts worried that the country is at the start of a new wave that may come to overwhelm hospitals.
The new variant rapidly moved South Africa from a period of low transmission, averaging less than 200 new cases per day in mid-November, to more than 16,000 per day over the weekend. Omicron accounts for more than 90% of the new cases in Gauteng province, the epicenter of the new wave, according to experts. The new variant is rapidly spreading and achieving dominance in South Africa’s eight other provinces.
More
Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.
World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)
https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.
Harvard scientists observe new state of matter, a quantum spin liquid
Michael Irving December 05, 2021
An exotic state of matter originally hypothesized almost 50 years ago has been observed for the first time. Created by Harvard researchers, this material called quantum spin liquid could eventually help improve quantum computers.
For materials to become magnetic, the spins of the electrons in the material need to be highly ordered. The most common type of magnetism, as seen on your fridge, works because the spins of all the electrons in the material align in the same direction. Other types of magnetism can arise when the spins of neighboring electrons alternate up and down in a checker box pattern – it still works as long as there’s order.
But in 1973, physicist Philip Anderson hypothesized a state of matter called quantum spin liquids, which wouldn’t follow these rules. When the material was cooled, it wouldn’t form a solid and, importantly, their electrons wouldn’t stabilize into a highly ordered state. Instead, they would be constantly switching around, entangling with each other in a complex quantum state.
Now a team of scientists led by Harvard has created and observed a quantum spin liquid for the first time. To do so, the researchers used a programmable quantum simulator they developed a few years ago, which suspends 219 atoms in a grid using lasers. The properties of these atoms can be carefully manipulated, including the spins of their electrons.
For this study, the team arranged the atoms in a triangular lattice, which means that each has two immediate neighbors. A pair of electrons can magnetically stabilize one way or the other, because their spins can either align or alternate – but having a third wheel throws off that balance, creating a “frustrated magnet” that can’t settle.
The resulting quantum spin liquid exhibits a few useful quantum phenomena, such as entanglement – where atoms can influence each other across vast distances and even “teleport” information – and quantum superposition, where atoms can exist in multiple states at once. Both of these are useful for building quantum computers that should be more resilient against external interference.
“We show the very first steps on how to create this topological qubit, but we still need to demonstrate how you can actually encode it and manipulate it,” says Giulia Semeghini, lead author of the study. “There’s now a lot more to explore.”
The research was published in the journal Science.
Source: Harvard
“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
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