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. Most people know by now that artificial intelligence powers much of the online world, sifting through social media posts, planning driving routes or helping to choose a movie to watch. But what goes largely unseen is the human labor—often performed by people working for low wages in the Global South—that makes this careful algorithmic lifestyle curation possible. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hidden-global-labor-powering-ai.html Economics & Business Mon, 26 Oct 2026 11:30:01 EDT news712223192 Quantum computers need qubits that can be controlled both quickly and reliably. Yet making semiconductor spin qubits faster often makes them more sensitive to electrical noise, creating a difficult trade-off. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-extra-quantum-dot-stability-qubits.html Condensed Matter Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:40:06 EDT news712224061 A team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃)₁₀ superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open up new options for incorporating complex ferroelectric states into silicon-based technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-patterns-polar-vortices-free-superlattices.html Condensed Matter Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:00:01 EDT news711645241 A review by Tohoku University researchers identifies key molecular features that could guide the development of more effective materials for removing PFAS from water. The study is published in the journal ACS Materials Au. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-adsorbents-pfas.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:20:14 EDT news711980702 A joint research team fabricated a two-dimensional structure that exhibits properties of both the honeycomb and Kagome lattices using organic molecules. They discovered that edge states specific to topological materials (states that exist only at the edges and are distinct from those in the interior) appear in this structure. The team included researchers from NIMS, Toyota Kosen (National Institute of Technology, Toyota College), Saga University, Nara Women's University, Kiel University (Germany) and other institutions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-supramolecular-route-quantum-materials.html Nanophysics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:00:20 EDT news711903242 Ever since quantum mechanics first described particles, like electrons, as rippling waves, researchers have wondered if those waves could be trapped in place. Writing today in Science a century later, a team of Columbia University researchers reports waves of electrons becoming trapped for the first time in a metal called Pd₅AlI₂. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-electron-metal.html Condensed Matter Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:00:18 EDT news711812644 Semiconductors with wider bandgaps could pave the way for smaller, more efficient electronics that can handle far higher voltages, but the wider this gap becomes, the harder it is to control how well a material conducts electricity. Now, a team led by Darrell Schlom at Cornell University has shown that adding silicon to thin films of aluminum gallium oxide can keep this control intact at bandgaps wider than any semiconductor before it. Their research has been published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sapphire-grown-semiconductor-bandgap.html Condensed Matter Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:00:04 EDT news711713518 Scientists from the Quantum Technologies Group at the Institute of Physics Zagreb, in collaboration with a colleague from the Physics Department at the Faculty of Science (PMF), have experimentally demonstrated for the first time the existence of discrete one-dimensional (1D) solitons in an optically induced photonic lattice in warm rubidium vapor. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-laser-lattice-reveals-discrete-solitons.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:20:07 EDT news711813961 In a study published in Advanced Optical Materials, researchers at Vilnius University (VU) demonstrated perovskite-based laser structures that maintained stable performance over more than 400 million pulses. Their findings address one of the major challenges limiting the practical use of perovskites: their instability. These semiconductor materials could play an important role in next-generation optical technologies, but their tendency to degrade has long posed a challenge for researchers worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-perovskite-laser-stable-million-pulses.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:00:02 EDT news711813781 Despite being known for more mundane uses such as sticking notes to refrigerators or keeping bags shut, magnetization is one of the most fundamental and useful properties of a material. Indeed, it forms the physical basis for storing most of our digital information, encoding the bits used in hard drives, computer memories and credit cards. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrafast-ferromagnetism.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:40:04 EDT news711801302 If you've ever created a snowflake by folding, cutting and unfolding a piece of paper, you've practiced the art of kirigami. Like origami, kirigami has inspired innovations far beyond the elementary school classroom, with applications ranging from deployable structures for spacecraft to semiconductors. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-4d-biofabrication-technology-tissue-wound.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:40:12 EDT news711648422 They can turn up in a nonstick frying pan, a waterproof jacket, a takeout food wrapper or the foam used to fight fires. Known as "forever chemicals," these substances are ubiquitous in modern society, prized for their extreme durability and versatility. However, their charm comes with a curse: They are so durable they resist degradation, posing threats to human health and the environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hunter-killer-chemistry-captures-destroys.html Polymers Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:00:06 EDT news711620341 Silicon spin qubits are a promising platform for building scalable quantum computers as they are compatible with the semiconductor manufacturing technologies used to produce today's computer chips. However, they have an important weakness: silicon spin qubits typically lose accuracy when several qubits are under parallel control. To be useful, quantum computers will need to operate many qubits simultaneously without compromising the accuracy of their operations. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-silicon-qubits-surpass-gate-fidelity.html Quantum Physics Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:20:05 EDT news711293821 A transistor normally requires several fundamentally different materials—a semiconductor to carry current, an insulating dielectric to control it and metallic contacts through which current enters and leaves. Integrating all of these components becomes increasingly difficult as semiconductor devices approach the atomic scale. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-2d-crystal-transistor-built-insulation.html Nanophysics Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:40:06 EDT news711293041 Researchers have developed a chip-scale optical ring-laser gyroscope that can measure rotation as slow as 37 degrees per hour. This record sensitivity, approaching Earth's rotation rate of 15 degrees per hour, could eventually be useful for precision navigation and orientation systems, particularly where GPS is unavailable. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chip-scale-gyroscope-rotation-unprecedented.html General Physics Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:00:10 EDT news711213061 Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the University of Regensburg have developed a method for determining, using light, a quantum property of electrons that has hitherto been difficult to access. The focus is on what is known as Berry curvature—a quantity that describes certain geometric properties of the quantum mechanical states of electrons. The researchers measured it in a layer of the semiconductor tungsten diselenide, just one atomic layer thick, using ultrashort laser pulses. The results have been published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrashort-laser-pulses-probe-electrons.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:40:02 EDT news711123481 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with scientists from institutions in Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Germany, have demonstrated a way to introduce magnetism into an otherwise nonmagnetic two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor and subsequently control its magnetic properties using an electrical voltage. The findings, published in Science Advances, establish a new platform for investigating electrically controllable magnetism in atomically thin materials, with potential implications for future spintronic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nonmagnetic-magnetic-2d-semiconductor-electrically.html Condensed Matter Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:40:11 EDT news711014800 Researchers at the University of St Andrews have identified the first examples of a new class of advanced organic semiconductor materials that could one day be used as bioimaging agents, opening up new possibilities for deep-tissue imaging. The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by the Zysman-Colman group in the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews in collaboration with the Pal group at Durham University. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-emitting-materials-enable-deep-tissue.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:00:07 EDT news711039277 Many of nature's most important processes depend on how particles of matter interact with light and other force-carrying particles. So far, however, it has proven difficult for conventional computers to determine how individual particles behave in these interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hybrid-quantum.html Quantum Physics Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:40:01 EDT news710834148 Scientists have created a new family of materials whose behavior can be tuned by changing their metallic "recipe"—opening new possibilities for uses including gas storage and sensing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-material-properties-tuned-metallic-recipe.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:00:09 EDT news710766722 What happens at the nanoscale when information is written to memory? Researchers at KAIST have shown how tiny regions with a new polarization direction form while previously formed regions continue to expand in a promising ferroelectric material. By linking these nanoscale changes to electrical measurements, the team developed a model that captures both processes, offering a basis for designing faster and more stable memory. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-written-ferroelectric-memory-nanoscale.html Nanophysics Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:40:10 EDT news710679781 Quantum technologies are considered key technologies of the future. However, research in this field requires not only scientific expertise but sometimes also highly specialized laboratory conditions. Bose–Einstein condensates are a remarkable example, in which atoms move in lockstep, making quantum-mechanical effects visible not only at the level of individual atoms but also on a macroscopic scale. The first Bose–Einstein condensates were observed in ultracold atomic gases at temperatures close to absolute zero. The cooling required to achieve this was technically demanding, costly and restricted to specialized laboratories. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-layered-semiconductor-magnetic-emitted-quantum.html Condensed Matter Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:00:11 EDT news710679481 Modern technological breakthroughs like lasers, MRI scanners, semiconductors and quantum computers rest on the study of quantum mechanics. However, the field has predominantly focused on (sub)atomic phenomena far removed from our human senses. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-shifting-centimeter-scale-lab.html General Physics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:00:50 EDT news710514722 Creating a quantum device often begins by intentionally damaging a crystal. Scientists fire an ultrafast laser pulse into a material, knocking atoms out of place and leaving behind tiny imperfections called vacancies. Far from being flaws, these vacancies can behave as qubits—the fundamental building blocks of quantum information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ray-technique-reveals-quantum-materials.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:20:08 EDT news710508661 A study from the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), one of the centers under the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), presents a new method to reveal hidden material disorder reflected in complex photoluminescence spectra, paving the way for new optical diagnostics of material disorder in two-dimensional semiconductors and related light-emitting materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-peaks-optical-analysis-decodes-spectral.html Nanophysics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:40:10 EDT news710505781 If you're reading this, your body probably contains forever chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemicals-yeast-ai.html Environment Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:00:10 EDT news710415842 Researchers from the LIMNO laboratory at EPFL have uncovered how different halides modify the surface chemistry of organic semiconductor nanoparticle photocatalysts. By controlling these phenomena, they have significantly improved the solar hydrogen production efficiency of these materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-platinum-surface-chemistry-boost-solar.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:20:01 EDT news710166707 Once called a "pipe dream," quantum computers are now approaching practical use. Companies and research institutes around the world are in fierce competition to develop this technology, which has the potential to rapidly perform some calculations that are extremely difficult even for conventional supercomputers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-qa-quantum-society.html Quantum Physics Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:20:08 EDT news710159341 EPFL researchers have developed a chip-based laser that keeps a very stable frequency across its tested operating range, without needing active electronic control. Their research is published in the journal Nature Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-laser-stays.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:20:02 EDT news710149861 Working in close collaboration, researchers from Paderborn University, the University of Basel and Ruhr University Bochum have made a breakthrough in quantum communication. In their recently published paper in the journal Physical Review Letters, they demonstrate how special semiconductor nanostructures can be used to generate individual photons and pairs of photons that are almost perfectly identical. These "indistinguishable" particles form the basis for quantum entanglement and quantum interference. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-method-generates-indistinguishable-photons-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:40:10 EDT news710077741