https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Physicists have long categorized every elementary particle in our three-dimensional universe as being either a boson or a fermion—the former category mostly capturing force carriers like photons, the latter including the building blocks of everyday matter like electrons, protons, or neutrons. But in lower dimensions of space, the neat categorization starts to break down. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-class-strange-dimensional-particles.html General Physics Tue, 03 Feb 2026 12:20:01 EST news689342039 In 1977, an American physicist named John H. Van Vleck won the Nobel Prize for his work on magnetism. In his Nobel lecture, amid a discussion of rare earth elements, one sentence leaps out: https://phys.org/news/2025-12-amelia-frank-life-forgotten-physicist.html Quantum Physics Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:34:14 EST news685622041 Boron, a chemical element next to carbon in the periodic table, is known for its unique ability to form complex bond networks. Unlike carbon, which typically bonds with two or three neighboring atoms, boron can share electrons among several atoms. This leads to a wide variety of nanostructures. These include boron fullerenes, which are hollow, cage-like molecules, and borophenes, ultra-thin metallic sheets of boron atoms arranged in triangular and hexagonal patterns. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-fullerenes-2d-principle-boron-nanostructures.html Nanomaterials Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:26:16 EST news684429961 A joint research team has made important progress in the field of photoneutron cross section measurement. The team proposed a substitution measurement method that avoids the use of expensive and hard-to-prepare high-purity isotope targets, successfully measuring the 65Cu(γ,n)64Cu reaction cross section with high precision. This method only relies on natural copper (natCu) and previously measured copper-63 (63Cu) data, without modifying experimental facility parameters, making it simple, efficient, and low-cost. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-substitution-method-enables-high-precision.html General Physics Sun, 23 Nov 2025 11:00:01 EST news682956010 Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have achieved a breakthrough in quantum noise characterization in quantum systems—a key step toward reliably managing errors in quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-symmetry-quantum-noise-analysis-paving.html Condensed Matter Fri, 21 Nov 2025 12:30:04 EST news682950601 All around us are elements forged in stars, from the nickel and copper in coins to the gold and silver in jewelry. Scientists have a good understanding of how these elements form: In many cases, a nucleus heavier than iron captures neutrons until one decays, turning it into a heavier element. There's a slow version of this neutron capture, the s-process, and a rapid version, the r-process. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-stars-forge-elements-uncharted-ways.html Astronomy Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:48:24 EST news682696097 The molecular hydrogen ion H₂⁺ is the simplest molecule. This simplicity makes it a perfect study object for physicists, as its properties—for example, its energy levels—can be calculated precisely. In turn, this enables theoretical predictions to be compared with experimental measurements to determine whether the theories reflect reality correctly. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-physicists-precision-proton-electron-mass.html General Physics Tue, 09 Sep 2025 14:35:08 EDT news676647297 Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have developed a novel method for investigating the internal structure of atoms and discovered previously unknown atomic transitions in samarium, a rare earth element. Their findings were published in the journal Physical Review Applied. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-dual-spectroscopy-reveals-previously-unknown.html General Physics Mon, 25 Aug 2025 15:21:03 EDT news675354061 Researchers have developed a technique to fold glass sheets into microscopic 3D photonic structures directly on a chip—a process they call photonic origami. The method could enable tiny, yet complex optical devices for data processing, sensing and experimental physics. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-photonic-origami-glass-microscopic-3d.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 21 Aug 2025 10:00:02 EDT news674908381 One of ANSTO's advanced imaging instruments Dingo now delivers a rare fusion of simulation and radiobiology, becoming a launchpad for an innovative neutron therapy innovation. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-neutron-platform-simulation-biology-advanced.html General Physics Fri, 25 Jul 2025 08:22:26 EDT news672650541 You may not have realized it yet, but the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-year-journey-quantum-science-technology.html Quantum Physics Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:30:06 EDT news671800512 A team of Rice University researchers reported the first direct observation of a surprising quantum phenomenon predicted over half a century ago, opening pathways for revolutionary applications in quantum computing, communication, and sensing. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-scientists-exotic-quantum-phase-thought.html Condensed Matter Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:54:10 EDT news663843243 Phase transitions, like water freezing into ice, are a familiar part of our world. But in quantum systems, they can behave even more dramatically, with quantum properties such as Heisenberg uncertainty playing a central role. Furthermore, spurious effects can cause the systems to lose, or dissipate, energy to the environment. When they happen, these "dissipative phase transitions" (DPTs) push quantum systems into new states. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-secrets-phase-transitions-quantum-hardware.html Superconductivity Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:55:04 EDT news660826502 Combining concepts from statistical physics with machine learning, researchers at the University of Bayreuth have shown that highly accurate and efficient predictions can now be made as to whether a substance will be liquid or gaseous under given conditions. They have published their findings in Physical Review X. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-machine-physics-merge-liquid-gas.html Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:23:05 EST news658599774 Since the 1950s, scientists have used radio waves to uncover the molecular "fingerprints" of unknown materials, aiding in tasks as varied as scanning the human body with MRI machines and detecting explosives at airports. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-quantum-technology-reveals-atomic.html Nanophysics Mon, 06 Jan 2025 11:01:10 EST news655383661 The magnetic moment of the muon is an important precision parameter for putting the Standard Model of particle physics to the test. After years of work, the research group led by Professor Hartmut Wittig of the PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has calculated this quantity using the so-called lattice quantum chromodynamics method (lattice QCD method). https://phys.org/news/2024-12-anomalous-magnetic-moment-muon-standard.html General Physics Thu, 19 Dec 2024 07:54:04 EST news653817242 Finding a reasonable hypothesis can pose a challenge when there are thousands of possibilities. This is why Dr. Joseph Sang-II Kwon is trying to make hypotheses in a generalizable and systematic manner. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-physics-based-combined-big-systematically.html Mathematics Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:55:09 EST news652985701 Science can be difficult to explain to the public. In fact, any subfield of science can be difficult to explain to another scientist who studies in a different area. Explaining a theoretical science concept to high school students requires a new way of thinking altogether. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-human-topological-insulator-choreographed-quantum.html General Physics Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:56:37 EST news650019389 Fine tuning an experimental setup improved a detector's sensitivity to neutrinos and perhaps eventually dark matter—two difficult-to-measure forms of matter which hold great importance for understanding particle physics and experimental cosmology. The University-of-Michigan-led study is published in Physical Review D. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-detector-sensitivity-neutrinos-dark-latest.html General Physics Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:00:03 EST news649944001 The search for new elements comes from the dream of finding a variant that is sufficiently stable to be long-lived and not prone to immediate decay. There is a theory in nuclear physics about an island of stability of superheavy elements. This is a potential zone in the upper part of the periodic table of as-yet-undiscovered elements that could remain stable for longer than just a few seconds. The aim is to explore the limits of stability of atomic nuclei. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-successful-paves-discovery-element.html General Physics Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:23:13 EDT news648987787 Physicists share a common interest in understanding how the physical world works. For example, when a particle physicist breaks apart a particle into smaller pieces, they ask themselves: are those the smallest pieces we can find in nature? https://phys.org/news/2024-10-propel-quantum-higher-energy-orbit.html General Physics Wed, 09 Oct 2024 12:10:01 EDT news647596082 A research team has achieved the loophole-free test of Hardy's paradox for the first time. The team successfully demonstrated Hardy's nonlocality while closing both the detection efficiency loophole and the locality loophole. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-quantum-nonlocality-loophole-free-hardy.html Quantum Physics Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:52:52 EDT news643978368 A new optical phenomenon has been demonstrated by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath, with significant potential impact on pharmaceutical science, security, forensics, environmental science, art conservation and medicine. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-physicists-probe-deeper-invisible-energy.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 31 Jul 2024 12:03:11 EDT news641646186 Research from Los Alamos National Laboratory shows that a new rock physics model will provide more comprehensive and actionable data about how carbon dioxide changes rock properties throughout geologic storage sites, which will make monitoring for geologic carbon storage more reliable. The results were published in Communications Earth & Environment journal. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-physics-seismic-carbon-storage.html Earth Sciences Thu, 11 Jul 2024 11:26:03 EDT news639915962 One of the challenges of cramming smarter and more powerful electronics into ever-shrinking devices is developing the tools and techniques to analyze the materials that make them up with increasingly intimate precision. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-physicists-method-atom-defects-semiconductors.html Condensed Matter Thu, 04 Jul 2024 05:00:01 EDT news639232201 A study systematically measured the charge-changing reaction cross section of 24 light nuclei on carbon and hydrogen targets at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-approach-deducing-proton-radii.html General Physics Thu, 23 May 2024 16:52:03 EDT news635701921 Diamond is the hardest material found in nature—diamond also has the highest thermal conductivity, allowing the most heat to flow through it rapidly. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-drastic-thermal-diamonds-stress.html Condensed Matter Tue, 14 May 2024 10:35:57 EDT news634901753 Experimental and theoretical physicists from the Würzburg Institute for Topological Insulators have observed a re-entrant quantum Hall effect in a mercury telluride device and have identified it as a signature of parity anomaly. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-physicists-parity-anomaly-topological-insulator.html Condensed Matter Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:03:05 EDT news630666181 The progress of science in the last 400 years is mind blowing. Who would have thought we'd be able to trace the history of our universe to its origins 14 billion years ago? Science has increased the length and the quality of our lives, and the technology that is commonplace in the modern world would have seemed like magic to our ancestors. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-mystery-consciousness-limit-science.html Other Mon, 18 Mar 2024 13:20:02 EDT news629984978 In a joint effort with various international institutions, researchers from the University of Innsbruck have described the movement patterns of the bacterium Escherichia coli. To do so, they used an engineered bacterial strain, experiments under the microscope and complicated functions. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-function-movement-patterns-coli.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:41:46 EST news625844502