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. Every black hole hides a question at its center. Einstein's theory predicts that whatever falls in is crushed into a singularity, a point of infinite density where the theory itself breaks down. Most physicists expect quantum gravity to replace that point with something finite. But the center lies hidden behind the horizon. How could we ever learn what is there? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-cores-fingerprints-black-holes.html General Physics Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:40:01 EDT news710671667 NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the universe, Epoch of Reionization, and ices Explorer) space telescope is shedding light on brown dwarfs, celestial objects that blur the line between stars and exoplanets. New findings published in The Astrophysical Journal show that these dark and cloudy worlds have chemically rich atmospheres not unlike the giant planets in our own solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spherex-menagerie-brown-dwarfs-atmospheric.html Astronomy Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:20:05 EDT news710755921 A new academic paper by Paul Hanson and Matthew Joeckel of the Conservation and Survey Division in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's School of Natural Resources contains a brief phrase—"new linework"—that looks innocuous but carries enormous meaning. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-statewide-surface-geologic-nebraska.html Earth Sciences Thu, 08 Oct 2026 23:40:01 EDT news710686540 Researchers have demonstrated a technique that uses a laser to produce a plasma beam antenna capable of transmitting radio waves. The article, "Laser-Induced-Plasma-Filament Antenna Transmitting 30 MHz VHF," is published in the IEEE Journal of Microwaves. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-lightsaber-plasma-antenna-laser-ionized.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:20:10 EDT news710421001 A new technique for controlling optical components with light could help usher in a generation of high-efficiency signal-processing technology that could drive futuristic applications such as holographic video. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dyed-liquid-crystals-enable-optical.html Nanophysics Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:20:16 EDT news709915321 From the air, Wainwright, Alaska, looks like a perfectly stable band of homes and roads between the Chukchi Sea and a vast, flat tundra. But just below the surface, the frozen ground on which this town was built contains large bodies of ice. Along the eroding coastal bluffs, that hidden ice is becoming exposed and melting away. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-arctic-infrastructure-built-frozen-ground.html Earth Sciences Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:20:10 EDT news709897441 Electromagnetic waves in the gigahertz (GHz) range, such as those used in mobile communications, can readily pass through many types of glass. However, transmission decreases significantly at terahertz frequencies above a characteristic threshold. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-glass-transparent-terahertz.html General Physics Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:47:23 EDT news709821749 You might think the length of a day never varies—exactly 24 hours. You'd be wrong, at least if you count days in milliseconds, as physicists do. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-earth-deep-secret-day-isnt.html Earth Sciences Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:11 EDT news709460884 The Van Allen radiation belts are huge, doughnut-shaped regions of highly energetic charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetosphere. These charged particles play a major role in space weather, so studying them is important for predicting and managing risks to satellites, astronauts, power grids and other infrastructure. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-earth-chorus-limited-link-rapid.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 22 Sep 2026 15:00:01 EDT news709307581 Ultrashort laser pulses can be used to generate X-rays. Normally, however, only certain specific frequencies are produced. A team from TU Wien and the University of California San Diego has developed a method that makes it possible to tune the frequency continuously. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ray-guitar-music-frequencies-harmonics.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:40:08 EDT news709201204 MXenes are two-dimensional nanomaterials first synthesized at Drexel University in 2011. They have been recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry as an emerging technology with "true potential to transform our world." But their widespread use has thus far been limited by the complicated process required to produce them. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-vapor-phase-synthesis-mxenes-technological.html Nanomaterials Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:50:02 EDT news708876901 Somewhere between the microscopic realm of elementary particles and the macroscopic world of human beings, something strange happens: The rules of quantum physics, which work so exquisitely for tiny atoms, seem to lose their grip as objects grow larger. Pondering where and how this shift from small-scale quantum fuzziness to everyday sharp certainty happens gives rise to thought-experiment oddities like Schrödinger's famous dead-and-alive cat. The process by which quantum phenomena like superposition—the paradoxical affliction of Schrödinger's cat—fade into the classical reality we experience is known as decoherence. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-schrdinger-cat-underground-gravity-quantum.html General Physics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:00:11 EDT news708864241 Does gravity act equally on all particles in the universe, or are there differences between ordinary and exotic matter? Physics professor Anna Soter and her team at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen are investigating this question. "We have taken an important step toward carrying out an exciting experiment on this topic," says Soter. "We want to measure the gravitational interaction of the muon." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-particle-einstein-theory-gravity.html General Physics Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:40:06 EDT news708683461 Within tiny halos of light clinging to a vanishingly thin wisp of optical fiber, scientist Jongmin Lee guides atoms like marbles through a narrow pipe. Rock the fiber and the atoms shift side by side; they just don't fall off. But don't be deceived by the seemingly delicate nature of his experiment. Lee is exploring how to measure motion precisely in rough-and-tumble environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tightly-atoms-enable-power-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:40:10 EDT news708260101 Light in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum plays a key role in modern sensing. Because molecules interact with this kind of light in specific ways, researchers use technologies like mid-IR spectroscopy to identify biological materials, drugs and pollutants. Mid-IR light can also serve as a carrier of information in free-space optical communications, where data are transmitted through the air without using cables or fibers. Better control of mid-IR light could therefore lead to more sensitive detectors and faster communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultrathin-silicon-tune-mid-ir.html Nanophysics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:40:07 EDT news708256891 Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have discovered a new class of objects behaving unlike any they have seen before. Astronomers suggest these newly spotted objects in other galaxies may help solve not one, but two long-standing questions in astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chandra-uncovers-hypersoft-ray-sources.html Astronomy Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:20:09 EDT news708182461 The work break room can be a place of rest, gossip, fun or recovery. But it can also be a cause for complaint when yesterday's fish dinner becomes a smelly microwaved lunch. For most people, microwaving fish at work is a big no-no. It has even led to armed confrontations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microwaving-fish-bad.html Biochemistry Tue, 08 Sep 2026 18:00:05 EDT news708097534 Radiation from space is constantly entering Earth's atmosphere, but how much of it reaches the altitudes used by commercial aircraft depends not only on height and location, but also on the activity of the sun. A new study based on high-altitude balloon measurements over southern Israel has mapped these changes through the atmosphere and found that radiation levels at aviation altitudes rise as solar activity falls. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cosmic-flight-altitudes-sun.html Earth Sciences Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:40:03 EDT news708100801 We know the universe is constantly expanding. We also know that gravitationally bound objects, such as solar systems and black holes, seem to be immune to that expansion. But a new paper by theoretical physicists Valerio Faraoni and Massimiliano Rinaldi challenges that assumption. They suggest that black holes can't just ignore the expanding universe around them. Instead, they have to expand along with it. Their paper is posted to the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-black-holes-universe.html Astronomy Tue, 08 Sep 2026 11:20:04 EDT news708078782 Superfluid helium could offer a new way to tackle one of the biggest challenges in scaling up quantum computers, say researchers from the University of Surrey. The research team has introduced a conceptual design for a new type of qubit that could be much less vulnerable to errors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-superfluid-qubit-scale-quantum.html General Physics Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:00:05 EDT news708076622 For the first time since its dramatic dimming in 2020, a team of astronomers has observed the inner atmosphere of Betelgeuse using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Led by Bill Dent at the University of Manchester, the team found that the giant star's inner atmosphere has become increasingly uneven and asymmetric, in a way that could be connected to a far smaller companion star. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-betelgeuse-atmosphere-spotty-asymmetric-nearby.html Astronomy Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:20:03 EDT news707734879 The BESIII Collaboration, led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has achieved the world's most precise measurement of the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the Lambda (Λ) hyperon using quantum-entangled Λ–anti-Λ pairs produced in J/ψ decays. The result improves the experimental sensitivity by about three orders of magnitude compared with the previous measurement, providing a new way to probe charge-parity (CP) violation in particles containing strange quarks. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-besiii-world-stringent-limit-lambda.html General Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:00:17 EDT news707655901 The hidden world of quantum mechanics exists at scales many orders of magnitude smaller than living organisms, yet scientists have long theorized that quantum effects play an important role in biology. Birds' ability to sense magnetic fields during migration is one of the best-known mysteries in this field, with leading theories suggesting that this sensing could be achieved by exploiting quantum entanglement. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-algorithm-birds-migrate.html Quantum Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:20:07 EDT news707643721 Ohio University Distinguished Professor Alexander Govorov of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute (NQPI) in the College of Arts and Sciences has co-authored a new study published in Science Advances with collaborators at Wuhan University in China and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Italy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chiral-molecules-pharmaceuticals-biotechnology.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:40:52 EDT news707553617 An archaeological excavation is a little like eating a layered cake: Once you have removed a layer, you cannot put it back. The problem becomes even trickier if two layers look almost exactly the same. Researchers from Aarhus University and Moesgaard Museum in Denmark have now developed a relatively inexpensive multispectral imaging system that gives archaeologists more ways of looking at the soil before they dig into it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-archaeologists.html Archaeology Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:40:07 EDT news707501701 One of the central ideas in modern physics is the phase transition—a sudden transformation of the state of a material. We encounter phase transitions throughout everyday life: water freezes into ice, wax melts in the warmth of a flame, and water vapor condenses into droplets on a cold window. In these familiar examples, the atoms themselves rearrange into a new structure, giving the material entirely different properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-faint-infrared-insulator-metal-transition.html Condensed Matter Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:20:03 EDT news707384285 A collaborative research team has successfully visualized in real space the ultrafast optical modulation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in a van der Waals heterostructure composed of hBN and WS2. The research is published in the journal Nano Letters, and was led by Kazuki Kamada of the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) and Osaka Metropolitan University, along with Dr. Jun Nishida, assistant professor at IMS, and Takashi Kumagai, associate professor at IMS. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-femtosecond-nano-imaging-reveals-ultrafast.html Nanophysics Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:00:07 EDT news707405941 Who has not dreamed of an invisibility cloak like the one used by Harry Potter? It sounds like magic, but it could become reality with the help of so-called metamaterials. In the summer of 2026, some of the world's leading researchers in the field gathered in Umeå for a Nobel Symposium on metamaterials. The symposium was organized by Nicolò Maccaferri, associate professor at Umeå University. He studies these special materials, which over the past few decades have proven useful in fields ranging from telecommunications to medical technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-metamaterials-enable-invisibility-cloaks-thinner.html Materials Science Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:20:07 EDT news707386676 Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new system to test magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking for spacecraft reentering the atmosphere. Their platform generates intense magnetic fields with a powerful electromagnet as a miniature vessel is hit with a shock wave traveling at over seven kilometers per second (4.3 miles per second). The magnets reached far higher fields than previous work with permanent magnets and are a crucial stepping stone toward tests with real vessels in the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-method-magnet-powered-safer-reusable.html Planetary Sciences Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:22:20 EDT news707307711 Table tennis professionals are true masters at redirecting fast-moving projectiles. Putting a targeted spin on a serve can make the little white ball fly straight toward the edge of the table but then, at the last moment, take a sharp curve into the left corner. The physical phenomenon behind this sporting trick is known as the Magnus effect. It acts on balls of all sizes and has helped decide more than a few soccer matches. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-optical-magnus-effect-sharpen-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:20:04 EDT news707047501