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. By rapidly twisting a microscopically small tip back and forth, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have unlocked a new way to detect subtle changes on the surface of a material flexing in response to infrared light. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-high-res-view-2d-materials.html Nanomaterials Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:00:03 EDT news705327588 For the first time, researchers have determined the shape of the actinide nucleus of fermium-255 and measured its structure with high precision and resolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-laser-spectroscopy-reveal-hidden-nuclear.html General Physics Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news705325561 Using light to process quantum information is one of the most promising approaches to building future quantum computers. Light particles, known as photons, are excellent carriers of quantum information, but their lack of natural interactions has created a major challenge for researchers seeking to build systems capable of performing a full range of computations. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-shifting-architecture-versatility-photonic-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 07 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news705325201 A tall glass of ice water isn't just a thirst quencher; it's also an everyday example of coexisting phases. Water can exist simultaneously in both liquid and solid phases. As it turns out, this phase duality can also exist in more exotic quantum materials, in ways that are far more complicated to tease apart. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-material-electrons-reassemble-coexisting.html Condensed Matter Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:00:01 EDT news705315901 Using a detector filled with nearly 9 metric tons of liquid xenon, researchers have delivered some of the most sensitive dark matter results ever recorded. In the latest analysis from the XENON collaboration, working at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, researchers carried out a "blind" test to avoid bias in measurements of the XENONnT detector, pushing the experiment's sensitivity to unprecedented levels. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-xenonnt-detector-narrows-dark.html General Physics Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705310263 Astronomers have found evidence that one of the most massive white dwarfs known has an oxygen-neon core instead of the more common carbon-oxygen core. The finding is important because the composition of a white dwarf's core determines how it will evolve. A paper outlining this discovery was published in The Astrophysical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ultramassive-white-dwarf-earth-size.html Astronomy Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news705228617 Researchers have demonstrated a solid-state organic laser microcavity fabricated entirely by solution processing. The device operates in the strong light–matter coupling regime, where light and matter form hybrid states called polaritons. This makes the platform not only a new type of solution-processed laser but also a powerful way to study nonlinear polariton interactions. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fully-solution-solid-state-polariton.html Condensed Matter Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:00:06 EDT news705251523 For the first time, scientists have observed a three-dimensional woven structure forming naturally inside a crystal, revealing a previously unknown way in which matter can organize itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-woven-naturally-crystal.html Condensed Matter Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:50:01 EDT news705255901 Three years after a team of Caltech scientists showed that pairs of entangled photons could double the resolution of a light microscope, the same lab has figured out a way to double down on that improvement. They have now achieved a fourfold resolution boost compared to a classical microscope, using a new optical design that sends one of the entangled photons through the microscope's optics three times rather than just once. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-microscopy-quadruples-microscope-resolution.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news705248785 Narrow jets of luminous matter may be emitted toward Earth from the nuclei of active galaxies billions of light-years away. The galaxy then appears as a point source and is called a blazar. A Polish-German team of scientists has, for the first time, analyzed the activity of one such blazar over an extended period and, instead of finding answers, encountered an ever-increasing number of intriguing questions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decades-blazar-mysteries-piling.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news705241262 Fluorescent dyes have long been used in biological research to identify and visualize structures within living cells. Although effective, they have several drawbacks, including altering the cells under study, limiting the number of structures that can be examined at once and reducing measurement accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-ramanomics-major-obstacle-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705240841 A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of "leaky" galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization. The paper outlining this work was posted to the arXiv preprint server on July 24. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jwst-leaky-galaxies-reionized-early.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:40:04 EDT news705228602 At the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Brazil, the BESIII Collaboration report that, after 15 years of sustained research, it identified the dominant constituent of the X(2370) as a pseudoscalar glueball with spin-parity quantum numbers of 0⁻⁺. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-x2370-emerges-glueball-dominated-particle.html General Physics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news705231062 Quantum errors are a normal part of quantum computing because fragile physical qubits (the tiny components storing data) can easily break down because of environmental noise, like heat, stray signals or microscopic vibrations. Typical fixes involve vast amounts of extra hardware qubits, which make computers larger, more expensive and harder to build. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-qubit-entangling-gate-flags-errors.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:40:01 EDT news705228588 Today's quantum technologies rely on energy-intensive lasers, raising concerns that scaling them up could further increase energy demands. In new work, researchers have demonstrated that quantum entanglement between photons can be generated directly from sunlight, offering a potential alternative. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sunlight-powered-setup-generates-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:00:04 EDT news705152641 Researchers created an electrically tunable quantum nanoscale corral that traps charged excitons and enables precise electrical control of tiny light sources, including their brightness, color and quantum states, the team, led by Boston College physicists, reports today in Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-electrostatic-nanocorral-excitons-quantum.html Nanophysics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news705160321 All chemistry starts with a push from electrons. In the early moments of a chemical reaction, it's the movement of electrons that initiates the breaking of old chemical bonds and forging of new ones, transforming one molecule into another. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-attosecond-ray-method-early-electron.html General Physics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:50:01 EDT news705166081 In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward a long-held dream of building a "quantum network." Researchers believe that this emerging technology could someday link quantum devices in ways that supercharge scientific research, enable ultrasecure communications and boost the power of future quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spooky-particles-transit-dc-suburbs.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:30:01 EDT news705164821 Dark matter's existence is all but certain—astronomers believe it makes up about a quarter of the universe's total energy content—yet its true identity has eluded us for decades. Two of the leading candidates for dark matter are the hypothetical particles ultralight axions and dark photons, which in the range studied here would be some 19 to 21 orders of magnitude lighter than the electron. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-earth-magnetic-field-axions-dark.html General Physics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:40:05 EDT news705153841 Chiral phonons are groups of atoms that move in a circular direction when excited by an energy source, such as heat. As the phonons move through a material, they propagate that circular motion, or angular momentum, through the material. The angular momentum serves as the source of spin, and the chirality dictates the direction of the spin, enabling spin control in spintronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-electric-field-reverses-phonon-chirality.html Condensed Matter Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:00:06 EDT news705151382 Researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milan have demonstrated a new mechanism for directing light in a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material without conventional nanofabricated waveguides. The discovery opens new possibilities for integrated photonics, on-chip optical communication and future quantum technologies. The paper is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nano-optics-mechanism-channeling-natural.html Nanophysics Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:40:03 EDT news705065941 Modern photonic chips can pack sophisticated optical functions onto devices smaller than a fingernail. They are increasingly used to generate, manipulate and measure light for applications ranging from communications to sensing. But most of these chips rely on a single material to do the heavy lifting, limiting the range of optical effects they can produce. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-materials-photonic-chip-generate-frequencies.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news705061201 When designing microscopes, optical engineers have long faced a trade-off between speed, field of view and resolution. But improving one of these properties typically comes at the expense of another. Now, a UC Berkeley–led team of researchers has found a way to address this challenge, opening the door to new possibilities in the field of microscopy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-focus-microscope-captures-billion-pixels.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:40:01 EDT news704990341 Researchers at Flinders University have discovered an unexpected way light can control tiny electronic structures inside advanced materials, a development that could help pave the way for more energy-efficient memory devices, sensors and future computing technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoscale-domains-ferroelectric-crystal.html Condensed Matter Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:50:01 EDT news704993701 Researchers at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering have developed a new approach to nanoscale 3D printing that improves both speed and fidelity, overcoming a challenge that has limited the technology's broader use in manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pixel-patterns-harness-diffraction-faster.html Nanophysics Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:20:02 EDT news704985845 The interaction between X-rays and matter can be actively controlled, according to an international research team led by the University of Hamburg and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that has succeeded in producing bright X-ray images with significantly less damage. In an article published in Nature Communications, the researchers report using ultrafast pulses that partially reverse the damage they generate. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ultrafast-ray-partially-reverse-enabling.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704979602 Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered a new type of quantum light emitter in diamonds that could help overcome a number of challenges facing quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diamond-newfound-defect-vibrations-hinder.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:40:08 EDT news704711281 Topological photonics can force propagating light to travel in a single direction—allowing researchers to route optical signals around corners and past defects without any of it scattering backward. So far, however, this one-way flow has only been found at the boundary between two specially engineered "topological insulator" regions, leaving most of the material unavailable for light transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-photonic-platform-lane-highway.html Condensed Matter Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:20:04 EDT news704625165 An international team of researchers from École Polytechnique, Collège de France and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has achieved a world first: the experimental realization of an all-optical photonic time crystal (PTC), a material whose optical properties can be strongly and periodically modulated over ultrafast timescales. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-photonic-crystals-ultrafast-terahertz-range.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:40:04 EDT news704645101 What if glowing molecules could synchronize, much like fireflies flashing in unison? Researchers have discovered that molecules confined within tiny gold nanostructures can behave collectively, coordinating their interactions even under conditions where this was previously thought impossible. The finding challenges long standing assumptions about how optical coherence forms and opens new possibilities for highly sensitive sensors, molecular photonics, and future quantum technologies capable of operating at room temperature. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-molecules-cooperate-room-temperature.html Nanophysics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:10:02 EDT news704649001