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. Physicists have long puzzled over a strange contradiction inside a family of minerals called rutile oxides. These materials all share the same crystal structure—but while some of them, like titanium dioxide, are firmly insulating, others, like ruthenium dioxide, conduct electricity like a metal. So far, physicists have had little idea of why this happens. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-metallic-rutile-oxides-cooling.html Condensed Matter Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:00:09 EDT news702627994 An international team led by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons—the quanta of collectively excited spins—directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and access to nanometer-scale wavelengths, this novel technique establishes a powerful and versatile platform for exploring nonlinear magnon interactions, which are promising for future computing schemes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-magnon-momentum-microscopy-window-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:30:01 EDT news700156202 Scientists at Heriot‑Watt University have demonstrated in a world-first, that light can be used to control every aspect of how electromagnetic waves oscillate, opening new technological frontiers. Researchers working in photonics, the science of light, have discovered a new way to control "polarization," a key property of light that plays a crucial role in the performance of technologies such as drug development and quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-full-polarization-ultrafast-reshaping-photonics.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:30:02 EDT news696778801 Estimating things that exist is generally easy, but when it comes to estimating things that do not exist, it's more difficult. This is something physicists from Poland and the UK are well aware of. To improve current simulations of high-energy particle collisions, they have developed a more accurate method for estimating the impact of calculations that are not performed. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-large-hadron-collider.html General Physics Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:30:06 EST news691950482 Quantum technologies are anticipated to transform computing, communication, and sensing by harnessing the unusual behavior of matter at the atomic scale. Translating quantum's promise into practical devices will require physical systems that have desirable quantum properties and can be easily manufactured. Silicon, the material behind today's computer chips, is highly attractive as a platform because it plays to the strengths of the trillion-dollar semiconductor industry that has already been built. Identifying quantum building blocks—qubits—in silicon is, therefore, an important frontier research area. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-robust-telecom-qubit-silicon.html Condensed Matter Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:00:03 EST news691244281 The low-noise, high-gain properties needed for high-performance quantum computing can be realized in a microwave photonic circuit device called a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier (JTWPA), RIKEN researchers have shown experimentally. This advance stands to speed up development of superconducting quantum computer systems at the 100-qubit scale. The work is published in the journal Physical Review Applied. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-amplifier-noise-gain-quantum.html Superconductivity Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:00:26 EST news690548401 Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, will require faster and energy-efficient memory components, which will allow them to perform well on complex tasks. Superconducting memories are promising memory devices that are made from superconductors, materials that conduct electricity with a resistance of zero when cooled below a critical temperature. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-superconducting-nanowire-memory-array-significantly.html Condensed Matter Sun, 25 Jan 2026 11:30:01 EST news688223997 The microscopic processes taking place in superconductors are difficult to observe directly. Researchers at the RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau have therefore implemented a quantum simulation of the Josephson effect: They separated two Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) by means of an extremely thin optical barrier. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-atomic-josephson-contacts-bose-einstein.html Superconductivity Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:39:27 EST news684761941 The ability to precisely study and manipulate electrons in electron microscopes could open new possibilities for the development of both ultrafast imaging techniques and quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-energy-patterns-electron-pairs-ultrafast.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Nov 2025 06:30:01 EST news682683412 Everyday life on the internet is insecure. Hackers can break into bank accounts or steal digital identities. Driven by AI, attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Quantum cryptography promises more effective protection. It makes communication secure against eavesdropping by relying on the laws of quantum physics. However, the path toward a quantum internet is still fraught with technical hurdles. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-quantum-teleportation-photons-distant-sources.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:59:04 EST news682693141 A globally cited statistic about the role of irrigation for food security that has formed foundational evidence for policy-making and scientific research is used on a hearsay basis and is based on weak evidence, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-widely-cited-irrigation-stat-food.html Agriculture Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:30:02 EST news682015741 Smart glasses that display information directly in the field of vision are considered a key technology of the future—but until now, their use has often failed due to cumbersome technology. However, efficient light-emitting pixels are ruled out by classical optics if their size is reduced to the wavelength of the emitted light. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-physicists-smallest-pixel-world.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 24 Oct 2025 08:57:03 EDT news680515021 Spin waves are considered to be promising candidates for a new form of electronics. Instead of electrons, the focus here is on magnons. These quantized units of spin waves describe how spin precession propagates. Similar to electrons, magnons can transmit information in a conductor. However, they do so with much lower resistance and thus a fraction of the energy consumption. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-flux-quanta.html Condensed Matter Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:10:13 EDT news679831217 Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for research on the strange behavior of subatomic particles called quantum tunneling that enabled the ultra-sensitive measurements achieved by MRI machines and laid the groundwork for better cellphones and faster computers. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-nobel-prize-physics-scientists-discoveries.html General Physics Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:01:36 EDT news679035669 Researchers have created a chip-based device that can split phonons—tiny packets of mechanical vibration that can carry information in quantum systems. By filling a key gap, this device could help connect various quantum devices via phonons, paving the way for advanced computing and secure quantum communication. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-chip-based-phonon-splitter-hybrid.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:00:05 EDT news678963061 Many governments and tech companies are investing heavily in quantum technologies. In New Zealand, the recently announced Institute for Advanced Technology is also envisioned to focus on this area of research. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-spooky-action-distance-beginner-quantum.html Quantum Physics Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:35:05 EDT news678616502 The Irish mathematician and physicist William Rowan Hamilton, who was born 220 years ago last month, is famous for carving some mathematical graffiti into Dublin's Broome Bridge in 1843. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-years-quantum-mechanics-scientist-glimpsed.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:03:03 EDT news677934181 Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds—including light, sound and atomic vibrations—can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-powerful-quantum-paves-phonon-based.html Condensed Matter Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:39:04 EDT news674141941 Researchers at Tampere University and their collaborators from Germany and India have experimentally confirmed that angular momentum is conserved when a single photon is converted into a pair—validating a key principle of physics at the quantum level for the first time. This breakthrough opens new possibilities for creating complex quantum states useful in computing, communication, and sensing. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-fundamental-laws-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:10:04 EDT news669989094 The reliable manipulation of the speed at which light travels through objects could have valuable implications for the development of various advanced technologies, including high-speed communication systems and quantum information processing devices. Conventional methods for manipulating the speed of light, such as techniques leveraging so-called electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) effects, work by utilizing quantum interference effects in a medium, which can make it transparent to light beams and slow the speed of light through it. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-nonreciprocal-cavity-magnonics-device.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Jun 2025 06:48:02 EDT news668424797 The wildest trampoline in the world swings sideways and "around corners." Yet, no one can jump on it, because it's not even a millimeter tall. Physicists from the University of Konstanz, the University of Copenhagen, and ETH Zurich designed and constructed it. Why? The aim is to demonstrate improved methods of phonon transport—for example, for use in microchips, where phonons are directed through tight bends. The research is published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-physicists-microscopic-trampoline-microchips.html Nanophysics Thu, 05 Jun 2025 11:24:03 EDT news668341442 Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich have developed a new microscope that significantly improves how bioluminescent signals in living cells can be observed. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-quanta-image-sensors-bioluminescent-sharper.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 May 2025 12:08:55 EDT news667739330 Scientists at Paderborn University have made a further step forward in the field of quantum research: for the first time ever, they have demonstrated a cryogenic circuit (i.e. one that operates in extremely cold conditions) that allows light quanta—also known as photons—to be controlled more quickly than ever before. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-photon-absolute-individual-particles.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 22 May 2025 11:44:49 EDT news667133086 A team of researchers from TU Dortmund University, the University of Paderborn, and the University of Nottingham has developed a new optical method to detect ultra-weak atomic motion. Their experiment performed in Dortmund has demonstrated unprecedented sensitivity of the detection of atomic motion in crystals by exploiting light interference. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-optical-technique-ultra-weak-atomic.html Condensed Matter Fri, 16 May 2025 10:11:03 EDT news666609061 A study by Dartmouth researchers proposes a new theory about the origin of dark matter, the mysterious and invisible substance thought to give the universe its shape and structure. They say the hypothetical force shaping the universe sprang from particles that rapidly condensed, like steam into water. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-dark-fast-particles-heavy-theory.html General Physics Wed, 14 May 2025 10:58:05 EDT news666439082 Complex materials such as organic semiconductors or the microporous metal-organic frameworks known as MOFs are already being used for numerous applications such as OLED displays, solar cells, gas storage and water extraction. Nevertheless, they still harbor a few secrets. One of these has so far been a detailed understanding of how they transport thermal energy. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-machine-uncovers-hidden-mechanisms-semiconductors.html Condensed Matter Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:06:03 EDT news661694761 Physics has a problem—their key models of quantum theory and the theory of relativity do not fit together. Now, Dr. Wolfgang Wieland from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is developing an approach that reconciles the two theories in a problematic area. A recently published paper that was published in Classical and Quantum Gravity gives hope that this could work. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-exploring-limits-power-quantum-theory.html Quantum Physics Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:45:03 EDT news661088701 Using the Multi-frequency High Field Electron Spin Resonance Spectrometer at the Steady-State High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF), researchers observed the first-ever Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) of a two-magnon bound state in a magnetic material. The facility is in the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and includes a research team from Southern University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Renmin University of China, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-boseeinstein-condensation-magnon-bound-state.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:00:03 EDT news661086002 At ultracold temperatures, interatomic collisions are relatively simple, and their outcome can be controlled using a magnetic field. However, research by scientists led by Prof. Michal Tomza from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw and Prof. Roee Ozeri from the Weizmann Institute of Science shows that this is also possible at higher temperatures. The scientists published their observations in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-quantum-collisions-ultralow-temperatures.html General Physics Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:49:03 EDT news660829741 Light was long considered to be a wave, exhibiting the phenomenon of interference in which ripples like those in water waves are generated under specific interactions. Light also bends around corners, resulting in fringing effects, which is termed diffraction. The energy of light is associated with its intensity and is proportional to the square of the amplitude of the electric field, but in the photoelectric effect, the energy of emitted electrons is found to be proportional to the frequency of radiation. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-einstein-quanta-lens-maxwell-equations.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 03 Mar 2025 10:40:02 EST news660219732