Looks like today's the day to head out to the garage and build yourself a perpetual motion machine, since Japanese physicists have just shown how to smash the classical second law of thermodynamics to smithereens using quantum entanglement.

Physics doesn't lie, kids. It's bad news for fans of the Dark Knight: four physics students have proven that while the construction of the bat cape would allow Batman to glide from tall buildings, unfortunately it would do little to slow his rapid descent and eventually drop him on the pavement like a ton of bricks.

Quantum cryptography may be theoretically secure, but in practice, there are certain limitations that allow clever attackers to read encrypted messages. A new system that ditches quantum mechanics for classical mechanics may prove to be even more secure, backed up by the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Electrons are generally known as "fundamental particles," meaning they're not made up of anything: you can't smash an electron to bits, because there are no bits to smash it into. Under the right circumstances, electrons can be broken up into quasiparticles, and the third one of these has just been identified: the orbiton.