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. Cells are like metropolises, home to millions of molecular residents. If one were to stand atop a high-rise, trying to identify most of its inhabitants would seem an impossible task. Even with the sophisticated imaging tools currently available to scientists, it is challenging to zoom in on specific molecules and view them with a high degree of detail. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-proteins-scientists-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:20:06 EDT news703498960 Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, have proved to be highly promising for the development of ultra-efficient electronic devices, quantum processors, highly precise sensors and various other technologies. Reliably controlling these materials' quantum phases would be highly advantageous, as it would enable engineers to tailor and optimize their properties for specific applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-hall-stripes-2d-materials.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:00:03 EDT news700304463 The task of gently transporting a microscopic particle from one point to another along a winding path, and then bringing it back using nothing more than a single, compact chip is a challenge we set out to address in our new study, now published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-optical-metaconveyors-enable-programmable-nanomanipulation.html Nanophysics Wed, 13 May 2026 18:00:02 EDT news697800686 The nature of quantum particles has long puzzled scientists. While single-particle interference suggests that a photon can behave like a spread-out wave, a whole photon is only ever detected in one specific place. Traditional interpretations of quantum mechanics often address this by suggesting the particle is in a superposition of being here and there at the same time. However, this tells us only where the particle is when it is measured, not where the particle physically is when no detector is present. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-experimental-evidence-photons-multiple-paths.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:00:03 EDT news693752759 Quantum technologies, devices and systems that process, store, detect, or transfer information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in a variety of tasks. An ongoing quest within quantum engineering is the realization of a so-called quantum internet: a network conceptually analogous to today's internet, in which distant nodes are linked through shared quantum resources, most notably quantum entanglement. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ultra-thin-metasurface-generate-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 Feb 2026 07:50:05 EST news689252662 Mid- and far-infrared birefringent crystals are key functional materials for polarization control, laser technologies, and infrared photonics. However, existing materials generally suffer from limited infrared transparency, an intrinsic trade-off between large birefringence and wide transmission windows, and challenges in optical characterization due to restricted crystal dimensions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-high-hg-based-crystal.html Condensed Matter Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:42:22 EST news688920121 Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have optimized and 3D-printed helix structures as optical materials for terahertz (THz) frequencies, a potential way to address a technology gap for next-generation telecommunications, non-destructive evaluation, chemical/biological sensing and more. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-3d-helixes-thz-optical-materials.html Condensed Matter Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:10:33 EST news685030196 A German-French team of physicists from TU Dortmund University, University of Würzburg, and Le Mans Université has succeeded in launching shear hypersound pulses with exceptionally large amplitudes in metal halide perovskites using pulsed optical excitation. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-physicists-explore-optical-hypersound-pulses.html Condensed Matter Fri, 21 Nov 2025 11:20:02 EST news682944486 Scientists have unveiled a new approach to detecting gravitational waves in the milli-Hertz frequency range, providing access to astrophysical and cosmological phenomena that are not detectable with current instruments. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-approach-gravitational-milli-hz-frontier.html Astronomy Thu, 02 Oct 2025 19:00:01 EDT news678617116 As fast as modern electronics have become, they could be much faster if their operations were based on light, rather than electricity. Fiber optic cables already transport information at the speed of light; to do computations on that information without translating it back to electric signals will require a host of new optical components. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-memory-chiral-photonic-device-enables.html General Physics Wed, 28 May 2025 15:34:53 EDT news667665287 In the realm of general relativity, black holes are well-known for their ability to trap light and matter by bending spacetime, creating a point of no return. While black holes have fascinated scientists and the public alike, another concept, the white hole, has remained more theoretical. A white hole is thought to be the reverse of a black hole, expelling light and matter rather than absorbing them. Now, a team of researchers has designed a novel optical device with intriguing similarities with both these elusive cosmic phenomena. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-optical-device-mimics-black-white.html General Physics Tue, 15 Apr 2025 14:53:03 EDT news663947582 Chiral-structural-color materials produce color through microscopic structures that interact with light rather than through pigmentation or dyes. Some beetle exoskeletons, avian feathers, butterfly wings, and marine organisms feature these structures naturally, producing iridescent or polarization-dependent colors. Over the last 10–15 years, scientists have made progress in developing artificial chiral-structural-color materials. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-polymer-microdomes-reveal-tunable-chiral.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:40:03 EST news659882402 Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes, and sometimes two instruments, ingeniously recombined, can accomplish feats that neither could have done on its own. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-microscope-reveals-full-3d-molecular.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 22 Feb 2025 03:07:04 EST news659416015 Terahertz (THz) waves, situated between the microwave and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, have drawn considerable attention over the past two decades. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-scientists-device-modulate-polarization-thz.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 23 Jan 2025 11:03:03 EST news656852581 Skyrmions, recognized for their intricate spin configurations, have captivated researchers as topological quasiparticles with vast potential in data storage and information technology. Recently, optical skyrmions—light-based counterparts of these quasiparticles—have emerged as a promising avenue for developing advanced optical systems with unique topological properties. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-flexible-metafiber-device-generate-optical.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:30:01 EST news652977902 The interactions between quantum spins underlie some of the universe's most interesting phenomena, such as superconductors and magnets. However, physicists have difficulty engineering controllable systems in the lab that replicate these interactions. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-floquet-tunes-ultracold-molecule-interactions.html Quantum Physics Thu, 12 Sep 2024 16:49:04 EDT news645378541 The fine and efficient control of the properties of light at ultrafast speed down to the picosecond timescale is a challenging task, crucial for many scientific applications and technologies. For instance, in free-space optical links, manipulating on demand the attributes of light can be exploited to encode and transfer digital information robustly, over long distances and without optical fibers. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-giant-ultrafast-dichroism-birefringence-nonlocal.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 Sep 2024 16:45:20 EDT news644600717 An article in Opto-Electronic Advances, discusses complete-basis-reprogrammable coding metasurface for generating dynamically-controlled holograms under arbitrary polarization states. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-basis-reprogrammable-coding-metasurface-generating.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:33:02 EDT news644239981 The concept of deep diffractive neural networks (D2NN) was introduced by Professor Ozcan's research team in 2018. D2NN combines the principles of light diffraction with the functionalities of neural networks. It consists of a series of continuous diffractive layers. As light passes through these layers, variations in transmission or reflection coefficients at different positions cause changes in the light's phase and amplitude. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-polarization-wavelength-routers-based-diffractive.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 01 Aug 2024 08:07:20 EDT news641718436 A structured light refers to a light field which is "customized" in both space and time, characterized by its unique distribution of amplitude, phase, and polarization state in both space and time. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-polarization-arbitrary-trajectories.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:10:02 EDT news637588425 Optical waves propagating through air or multi-mode fiber can be patterned or decomposed using orthogonal spatial modes, with far-ranging applications in imaging, communication, and directed energy. Yet the systems that perform these wavefront manipulations are cumbersome and large, restricting their utilization to high-end applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-3d-microscale-photonic-lantern-opportunities.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 03 Jun 2024 23:00:02 EDT news636644102 The future of optical communications just got brighter. In a development reported in Advanced Photonics, researchers from Nanjing University have introduced iso-propagation vortices (IPVs), a novel concept that offers a solution to a long-standing challenge faced by scientists and engineers: how to increase information processing capacity while overcoming the limitations of traditional vortex beams. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-iso-propagation-vortices-optical-multiplexing.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 May 2024 10:10:07 EDT news635418601 Over the past decade, metasurfaces deploying two-dimensional artificial nanostructures have emerged as a groundbreaking platform to manipulate light across various degrees of freedom. These metasurfaces exhibit significant potential in foundational scientific research and industrial applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-gigahertz-switchable-wavefront-lnoi-empowered.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 16 Apr 2024 15:20:03 EDT news632499601 Unconventional superconducting states are states of superconductivity rooted in physical processes that do not conform with the conventional theory of superconductivity, namely Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory. These states are characterized by close interactions between magnetism and superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-spontaneous-emergence-1d-superconducting-stripes.html Superconductivity Mon, 08 Apr 2024 09:39:39 EDT news631787972 In contrast to conventional mirrors, light can be reflected on surfaces known as metasurfaces without changing its polarization. This phenomenon has now been proven by physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL). The discovery enables circulating light to be used to reliably detect chiral molecules. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-physicists-concept-chiral-molecules.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:18:02 EST news625922281 National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers have introduced an upconversion plasmonphore platform to enable precise control over the polarization of isotropic upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). This is achieved by coupling upconversion activators with carefully designed anisotropic gap plasmon mode-supported metasurfaces. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-anisotropic-plasmon-multilevel-polarized-upconversion.html Nanophysics Wed, 10 Jan 2024 13:38:21 EST news624116298 As object identification and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques become essential in various reverse engineering, artificial intelligence, medical diagnosis, and industrial production fields, there is an increasing focus on seeking vastly efficient, faster speed, and more integrated methods that can simplify processing. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-all-optical-identification-three-dimensional-reconstruction-based.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:00:04 EST news622386001 Liquid-crystal (LC) phase modulators are widely used in optical systems because of their advantages of low power consumption, lightweight, flexible bandwidth adjustment, and non-mechanical movements. However, most LC phase modulators are polarization-sensitive, meaning that they affect the light phase differently depending on its polarization. This can limit their performance and functionality in some applications. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-approach-polarization-independent-lc-phase-modulation.html General Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:05:02 EST news620586301 Flexible three-dimensional (3D) displays drive innovation in the next-generation display technology, as they allow for the creation of versatile and adaptable displays that can be easily manipulated and customized to fit various viewing scenarios. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-printable-circularly-polarized-luminescence-materials.html Materials Science Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:12:03 EDT news617472722 By analyzing the data from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), astronomers from the Christ University in Bangalore, India, have serendipitously discovered a new ring galaxy, which received designation DES J024008.08-551047.5 and may belong to the rare class of polar ring galaxies. The finding was reported in a paper published August 29 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-galaxy-indian-astronomers.html Astronomy Tue, 05 Sep 2023 09:10:01 EDT news613123109