https://phys.org/physics-news/ en-us The latest news in physics, materials science, quantum physics, optics and photonics, superconductivity science and technology. Updated Daily. Quantum batteries, devices that store energy by exploiting quantum mechanical phenomena, could, in principle, be charged faster and more efficiently than classical ones. Despite their potential, connecting these batteries to chargers is known to create quantum correlations that can trap some energy inside the combined battery-charger system. This can reduce useful work, or the energy available to complete a task that can be extracted from the battery alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-battery-environmental-sensitivity-advantage.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:40:07 EDT news706351396 Despite science's best efforts to classify the vast menagerie of subatomic particles discovered over the past few decades, some exotic varieties defy explanation. Now, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility have found evidence of two unexpected structures that could help better sort the zoo of exotic particles. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strange-quark-sector-reveals-particle.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:20:05 EDT news706350601 Standing on the sandy, windswept shores of Provincetown, Massachusetts, people may find themselves squinting at the horizon, waiting for a whale to make its grand entrance with a spectacular breach. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-echo-einstein-unexpected-link-whale.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:00:10 EDT news706350301 In the coming years, increasingly larger and more powerful quantum systems are expected to tackle problems that are difficult or impossible to solve using conventional computers. However, the more powerful quantum simulations become, the more difficult it is to independently verify their results. Where classical simulation is still feasible, results can be cross-checked directly; beyond that regime, other methods are needed. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-simulators-gain-quantitative-error.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:45:31 EDT news706351469 Niobium-94, an isotope of niobium with 41 protons and 53 neutrons, is a critical crossroads in the complex nuclear processes that forge heavy elements under the intense pressures and temperatures of dying stars. In an article published in Physical Review Letters, the n_TOF Collaboration reports the first-ever measurement of the probability of niobium-94 taking one of the paths at this crossroads—that is, undergoing neutron capture. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-neutron-capture-ancient-stardust.html General Physics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:20:05 EDT news706349342 To commercialize quantum computing, manufacturers need high-quality superconducting materials for microchips, but they also require a reliable, sustainable nanofabrication process. Tantalum is a corrosion-resistant metal that meets the first criterion but not the second. That's because it has to be deposited on a substrate at temperatures that typically exceed 400°C (752°F)—too hot for many semiconductor foundries' current tools. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-krypton-gas-emerges-ingredient-quantum.html Superconductivity Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:40:06 EDT news706277341 Quantum communication promises many advantages over today's standard technologies, including absolutely secure transmission of large amounts of data. However, it requires single photons—and generating them is very difficult. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) have developed a new method that overcomes the problems of previous approaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-photonic-crystal-method-photon-sources.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:00:04 EDT news706273921 Many materials, both living and engineered, are powered from within. Scientists have thoroughly investigated how such 'active' materials operate, but so far, mostly in circumstances where the curvature of the environment does not play a role. In research published in Physical Review Letters this week, a team of physicists proposes a framework to describe how active materials operate in the presence of curvature. The framework explains striking biological observations and may lead to geometry as a design parameter for new materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-surfaces-reshape-materials-localizing-vibrations.html Soft Matter Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:30:01 EDT news706288381 Being able to measure something plays a vital role in our ability to understand many phenomena. But measuring can often affect what we are trying to measure. This is particularly the case when measuring substances that are very small, soft or fragile. In a recent study published in PRX Life, a research team led by the University of Osaka successfully used acoustic tweezers as a contactless method to investigate an important type of fragile material called biopolymer condensates. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-based-reveal-fragile-biomolecular-droplets.html Soft Matter Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:20:01 EDT news706284410 Optical fibers are already the backbone of global communication systems. Recently, however, physicists have started to explore how their functionality could be boosted further by conveying information via entangled quantum particles—potentially enabling instantaneous exchanges of information across vast distances. Such a system could eventually be the basis of a future 'quantum internet,' offering a level of security and computing power beyond anything possible today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-entangle-quantum-memories-km.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:30:01 EDT news706284107 Anyone who has had to share a room—or worse, a bed—with a loud snorer knows the effect unchecked snoring can have on sleep, sanity and emotional stability. An entire industry of products, technologies and treatments claims to cure or prevent loud snoring, with varying degrees of success. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-loud-simulation-reveals-physical-mechanism.html General Physics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news706203002 Close to a phase transition, very different materials can follow the same mathematical rules. The concept of universality, which groups seemingly distinct systems based on their common properties, was developed to describe this phenomenon. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-range-magnetic-interactions-ferrimagnet-approaches.html General Physics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news706264082 Superconductors are materials in which electrical current flows with a resistance of zero, typically below specific temperatures. In conventional superconductors, this state of matter emerges when two electrons bind together at low temperatures, forming so-called Cooper pairs. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unusual-superconductivity-emerge-valley-imbalanced.html Condensed Matter Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:40:03 EDT news706179882 Quantum sensors, devices that collect measurements by exploiting quantum-mechanical phenomena, could potentially detect extremely weak magnetic, gravitational and electromagnetic signals with greater sensitivity than classical sensors. Some quantum sensors leverage entanglement, a phenomenon that prompts distant particles to become so strongly linked that the physical state of one particle dictates the state of the others. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-approach-noise-resistant-quantum-sensors.html Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:00:07 EDT news705926571 From helping doctors detect cancer to guiding self-driving cars through traffic, many modern imaging systems rely on near-infrared light, producing a crisp picture when visible light would scatter and yield a blurry picture. But near-infrared systems struggle when light passes through materials like deep tissue or dense fog, succumbing to the same scattering effect in which photons deviate from their path. Existing near-infrared imaging systems also rely on specialized detectors made from expensive materials, limiting their affordability and widespread use. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gating-technique-deep-tissue-dense.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 18:40:03 EDT news706191901 What is heat, and what is useful work if a machine consists only of an atom and light particles? In modern quantum technologies, this kind of question connects thermodynamics with quantum physics. Researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland, have developed a theoretical approach that can reconcile both theories. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-links-atom-photon-thermodynamics.html General Physics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:30:02 EDT news706204501 Physicists at the University of Twente have improved the standard test for the quality of individual particles of light. By letting three photons interfere at the same time instead of two, they draw more information from every measurement. Their experiment outperforms even a perfect, noise-free run of the old method. The work appeared in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-photons-standard-photon.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news706188421 New results from the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) suggest that gluons, the glue-like particles that hold quarks together inside protons, play a central role in the conservation of baryon number—an essential part of a particle's quantum identity. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gluons-play-central-role-baryon.html General Physics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:40:07 EDT news706187401 Researchers at Monash University have predicted a new type of quantum matter that challenges decades of thinking about how ultracold particles behave. The paper, "Quantum droplets in a resonant Bose-Fermi mixture," is published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:20:03 EDT news706186441 An electron is supposed to be indivisible. It carries one fundamental unit of electric charge, and every electron is exactly the same. But under extreme conditions, large numbers of electrons act together and give rise to new quantum objects called quasiparticles. These act as if they carry only a fraction of an electron's charge, making them one of the strangest phenomena in modern physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-graphene-device-fractional-electric-quantum.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:40:10 EDT news706185841 Researchers at Monash University have developed a new X-ray imaging technique that can image two overlapping samples at the same time, potentially doubling scanning efficiency while opening new possibilities for industrial inspection and scientific research. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ray-imaging-technique-scanning-efficiency.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:20:07 EDT news706184461 A new study published in Science Advances takes a closer look at how AI agents' choices are influenced by their peers. The team found that more advanced models tend to follow the majority when shown other agents' choices, and they maintain stable agreement in groups far larger than those seen in humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-agents-behavior-based-majority.html General Physics Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:40:09 EDT news706188771 A study has been published in Nature Communications that identifies an unusual regime of quantum oscillations in a three-dimensional topological insulator. The results show that, when subjected to temperatures near absolute zero and extreme magnetic fields, electrons in the material zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe₅) exhibit behavior that deviates from the pattern predicted by conventional theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-anomalous-quantum-oscillations-reveal-physics.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:40:05 EDT news706178521 Researchers at Rice University have found that gently squeezing a crystal of iron sulfide can change two of its unusual properties at the same time: its tiny magnetic signal and the way electricity moves through it. The result gives scientists a clearer picture of how a newly recognized class of magnetic materials works and suggests a simple way to control their behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-small-reveals-clues-unusual-kind.html Condensed Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news705895000 Time-reversal symmetry is an exotic behavior found in systems whose internal physics looks different when running forward versus backward in time. For some time, physicists have searched for this behavior in systems with almost no overall magnetization. Such phases are highly prized for spintronics, where information is carried using the quantum spins of electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strain-flips-hall-altermagnetic-manganese.html Condensed Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:04 EDT news705839192 The strongest glasses have an Achilles' heel that causes them to fail catastrophically when pushed past their limit. They do not bend or stretch, as all damage concentrates into a single plane and the material fails in an instant. This brittleness has long capped the usefulness of high-stability amorphous solids, from bulk metallic glasses to engineered metamaterials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-particles-stable-glasses-stronger-catastrophic.html Soft Matter Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news705982865 Theoretical physicists have long predicted the existence of millicharged particles (mCPs), hypothetical particles that carry a very small electric charge. These particles are expected to interact very weakly with ordinary matter and electromagnetic fields; hence, they would be difficult to detect in conventional particle physics experiments. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-centuries-physics-millicharged-particles.html General Physics Sun, 16 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news705918245 Fusion reactors, devices that generate energy by fusing light atomic nuclei at extremely high temperatures, could contribute to ongoing efforts aimed at producing electricity more sustainably. The extreme environment inside these devices, however, can damage materials that surround the superheated, electrically charged plasma where the nuclear fusion reaction takes place. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tungsten-fusion-reactors.html Condensed Matter Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news705839207 Over the past two decades, photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) have shown promise as a type of advanced semiconductor laser useful in defense- and aerospace-related applications. Typically, these devices are made with photonic crystal patterns that repeat across the area of the device. But new research from the lab of electrical and computer engineering professor Kent Choquette has demonstrated a quasi-periodic photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser (QPCSEL). Fabricated with their buried dielectric platform, the group's device highlights a new avenue for creating tunable, more reliable semiconductor lasers. Their findings appear in Applied Physics Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nonrepeating-photonic-crystal-enable-tunable.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:05 EDT news705982806 Basic biology courses teach that cells contain organelles—such as the nucleus, mitochondria and Golgi apparatus—set apart by lipid membranes to get things done. Recent cell biology research has revealed another organizational principle at work in cells across all orders of biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cell-biochemistry-membranes-condensate-physics.html Soft Matter Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news705933481