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. A shape that captured worldwide attention for solving a decades-old mathematical puzzle has returned to the spotlight. While the shape's properties allowed it to solve previous puzzles, little is known about its other associated properties, creating opportunities for further discovery. These unexplored properties may also help solve new physics mysteries, such as how to twist light into striking chiral patterns. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-einstein-problem-reveals-unexpected-physics.html General Physics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 05:00:04 EDT news704452981 Ferromagnetism has long been studied in a wide range of periodic crystals and amorphous materials. In quasicrystals (QCs), which possess long-range quasiperiodic order and unconventional rotational symmetries, such as 10-fold symmetry, ferromagnetism remained elusive until recently, when it was finally realized in gold (Au)-based icosahedral QCs. These discoveries establish QCs as a third platform for magnetism beyond periodic crystals and amorphous materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bulk-ferromagnetic-quasicrystals-emerge-rapid.html Condensed Matter Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:00:01 EDT news702571031 Matter behaves strangely under extreme conditions, and often, remnants of these behaviors are left behind even when conditions return to normal. The Trinity nuclear test in 1945 left behind such remnants, and now, 80 years after the explosion, researchers have identified another unique example of what happens when various materials are heated to temperatures exceeding 1,500 °C (2,730 °F) and put under pressures tens of thousands of times atmospheric pressure. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-years-trinity-nuclear-scientists-molecule.html General Physics Tue, 12 May 2026 12:50:01 EDT news697805584 Quantum technologies like quantum computers are built from quantum materials. These types of materials exhibit quantum properties when exposed to the right conditions. Curiously, engineers can also trigger quantum behavior by manipulating a material's structure; for example, by stacking layers of graphene on top of each other and twisting them to create a moiré pattern, which suddenly turns them into a superconductor. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-quantum-algorithm-million-site-quasicrystal.html Quantum Physics Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:50:01 EDT news695491622 An international team of scientists, including researchers from Loughborough University, has developed a method to dramatically speed up the discovery and design of advanced materials. The study, published in Physical Review Letters, shows how the new approach can map complex phase diagrams in as little as a day—rather than weeks or months—and pinpoint where important structures, including crystals and quasicrystals, are likely to form. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-rapid-method-uncovers-hidden-materials.html General Physics Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:20:03 EDT news695311861 Two or more graphene layers that are stacked with a small twist angle in relation to each other form a so-called moiré lattice. This characteristic pattern influences the movement of electrons inside materials, which can give rise to strongly correlated states, such as superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-strong-superconductivity-supermoir-lattice.html Condensed Matter Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:00:03 EST news689952122 For quantum computers to outperform their classical counterparts, they need more quantum bits, or qubits. State-of-the-art quantum computers have around 1,000 qubits. Columbia physicists Sebastian Will and Nanfang Yu have their sights set much higher. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-neutral-atom-arrays-rapidly-emerging.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:30:51 EST news687630602 In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers achieved the first experimental observation of a time rondeau crystal—a novel phase of matter where long-range temporal order coexists with short-time disorder. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-rondeau-crystal-scientists-temporal.html Condensed Matter Mon, 10 Nov 2025 07:30:01 EST news681738243 Researchers have been developing computers that deploy light (photons) rather than electricity to power storage and calculations. These light-based computers have the potential to be more energy efficient than traditional computers while also running calculations at greater speeds. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-gyromorphs-combine-liquid-crystal-traits.html Condensed Matter Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:17:03 EST news681668221 Researchers have for the first time created a reconfigurable polariton 2D quasicrystal. The team from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Iceland, the University of Warsaw, and the Institute of Spectroscopy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, demonstrated that this unique state of matter exhibits long-range order and a novel type of phase synchronization, opening new pathways for research into exotic phenomena such as supersolids and superfluidity in aperiodic settings. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-scientists-quasicrystal.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:03:03 EDT news680428981 In stoichiometric compounds (compounds with fixed ratios of elements), the elemental ratios are dictated by chemical stability, which constrains how much the composition, and consequently the number of valence electron-per-atom (e/a) ratio, can be adjusted. Tuning e/a has proved to be a promising strategy to architect magnetic properties in many intermetallic compounds, especially those with complex structures including quasicrystals (QCs) and their structurally related approximant crystals (ACs). https://phys.org/news/2025-08-material-strategy-magnetic-tunability-quasicrystal.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:23:20 EDT news675523396 A rare and bewildering intermediate between crystal and glass can be the most stable arrangement for some combinations of atoms, according to a study from the University of Michigan. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-quantum-mechanical-quasicrystals-reveals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 13 Jun 2025 12:10:01 EDT news669034497 Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers have discovered a new class of materials—called intercrystals—with unique electronic properties that could power future technologies. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-intercrystals-pave-greener-electronics-quantum.html Nanophysics Wed, 21 May 2025 17:17:04 EDT news667066621 Quasicrystals, exotic states of matter characterized by an ordered structure with non-repeating spatial patterns, have been the focus of numerous recent physics studies due to their unique organization and resulting symmetries. Among the quasicrystals that have sparked significant interest among the physics community are so-called quantum quasicrystals, which are comprised of bosons (i.e., subatomic particles that have spin in integer values, such as 0, 1, 2, and so on, and can occupy the same quantum state simultaneously). https://phys.org/news/2025-04-physics-theory-energy-quantum-quasicrystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:50:01 EDT news664708518 Quasicrystals (QCs) are fascinating solid materials that exhibit an intriguing atomic arrangement. Unlike regular crystals, in which atomic arrangements have an ordered repeating pattern, QCs display long-range atomic order that is not periodic. Due to this 'quasiperiodic' nature, QCs have unconventional symmetries that are absent in conventional crystals. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-frontier-spintronics-antiferromagnetic-quasicrystals-unveiled.html Condensed Matter Fri, 11 Apr 2025 05:00:10 EDT news663500101 In their ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of quantum possibilities, physicists in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis have created a new type of "time crystal," a novel phase of matter that defies common perceptions of motion and time. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-qa-crystallizing-physicists-phase-center.html Condensed Matter Mon, 17 Mar 2025 12:51:39 EDT news661434694 In April 1982, Prof. Dan Shechtman of the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology made the discovery that would later earn him the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: the quasiperiodic crystal. According to diffraction measurements made with an electron microscope, the new material appeared "disorganized" at smaller scales, yet with a distinct order and symmetry apparent at a larger scale. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-fourth-dimension-scientists-glimpse-4d.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Feb 2025 16:00:35 EST news658684830 A new vortex electric field with the potential to enhance future electronic, magnetic and optical devices has been observed by researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) and local partners. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-vortex-electric-field-discovery-impact.html Nanophysics Sun, 08 Dec 2024 01:00:01 EST news652453976 Much of modern life depends on the coding of information into means of delivering it. A common method is to encode data in laser light and send it through optic cables. The increasing demand for more information capacity demands that we constantly find better ways of encoding it. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-physicists-tiny-hurricanes-huge-amounts.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 11 Nov 2024 13:20:42 EST news650553633 Physicists from the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge have created the first two-dimensional version of the Bose glass, a novel phase of matter that challenges statistical mechanics. The details of the study have been published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-discovery-phase-2d-defies-statistical.html General Physics Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news645264781 For a long time, scientists associated crystal structures with an ordered arrangement of atoms in a repeating lattice-like pattern, believing it to be the most stable configuration. However, by the 1960s, advancements in crystallography revealed materials that did not fit the traditional model. These structures exhibit a non-periodic or non-repeating pattern and are called aperiodic crystals. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-hexagonal-metallic-approximants-bridge-gap.html Nanophysics Thu, 11 Jul 2024 05:00:01 EDT news639846480 In new research, physicists have wielded the power of chess to design a group of intricate mazes, which could ultimately be used to tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientists-world-amazingly-difficult-maze.html General Physics Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:27:18 EDT news639138432 Quasicrystals are intermetallic materials that have garnered significant attention from researchers aiming to advance condensed matter physics understanding. Unlike normal crystals, in which atoms are arranged in an ordered repeating pattern, quasicrystals have non-repeating ordered patterns of atoms. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-secrets-quasicrystal-magnetism-revealing-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 18 Jan 2024 11:37:03 EST news624800222 Crystalline materials are made up of atoms, ions, or molecules arranged in an ordered, three-dimensional structure. They are widely used for the development of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, photovoltaics, and catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-deep-previously-unknown-quasicrystalline-phase.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:34:07 EST news619439641 A team of researchers from the Mirkin Group at Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology in collaboration with the University of Michigan and the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials- CIC biomaGUNE, unveils a novel methodology to engineer colloidal quasicrystals using DNA-modified building blocks. Their study is published in the journal Nature Materials under the title "Colloidal Quasicrystals Engineered with DNA." https://phys.org/news/2023-11-colloidal-quasicrystals-dna-modified-blocks.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 02 Nov 2023 12:00:01 EDT news618135650 Two-photon polymerization is a potential method for nanofabrication to integrate nanomaterials based on femtosecond laser-based methods. Challenges in the field of 3D nanoprinting include slow layer-by-layer printing and limited material options as a result of laser-matter interactions. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-free-space-nanoprinting-optical-limits-4d.html Nanophysics Sat, 07 Oct 2023 09:20:02 EDT news615809799 In research that could jumpstart interest into an enigmatic class of materials known as quasicrystals, MIT scientists and colleagues have discovered a relatively simple, flexible way to create new atomically thin versions that can be tuned for important phenomena. In work reported in Nature they describe doing just that to make the materials exhibit superconductivity and more. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-physicists-coax-superconductivity-quasicrystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 29 Sep 2023 05:49:27 EDT news615185359 An unusual quasicrystal has been discovered by a team from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the University of Sheffield and Xi'an Jiaotong University. It has a dodecagonal honeycomb structure that has never been seen before. Until now, similar quasicrystals were only known to come in a solid—not liquid—form. The team presents its results in the journal Nature Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-liquid-quasicrystal-dodecagonal-tiling-pattern.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 10 May 2023 10:20:02 EDT news602932801 Quasicrystals (QCs) have peculiar structures with interesting atomic arrangements. Although they are similar to crystals from the exterior, at the atomic scale, they lack periodicity despite being ordered. Such structural arrangements confer quasicrystals with symmetries and other special properties that are missing in crystals. In particular, icosahedral QCs (i QCs), which have a special geometric structure, show interesting magnetic properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-tunable-ferromagnetic-quasicrystal-high-phase.html Condensed Matter Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:00:03 EDT news601725601 Research using a quantum computer as the physical platform for quantum experiments has found a way to design and characterize tailor-made magnetic objects using quantum bits, or qubits. That opens up a new approach to develop new materials and robust quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-qubits-magnetism-boosting-applications-quantum.html Quantum Physics Fri, 17 Mar 2023 14:00:10 EDT news598264560