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. 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 NASA researchers are developing the future of flight on Mars, laying the groundwork for helicopters with the ability to fly higher and farther while conducting science on the Red Planet. Using high-fidelity computer simulations and wind tunnel tests, engineers are reimagining the rotorcraft blades that could carry the next generation of Mars flyers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nasa-experimental-mars-helicopter-blade.html Space Exploration Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:50:01 EDT news711720660 It looks like a small, transparent patch with a rainbow on its surface—or for those old enough to remember, the back of a CD. The patch is the first of its kind in the world and, when combined with an ordinary smartphone camera, can measure two things: pulse and blood vessel stiffness. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-octopus-patch-skin-reveals-pulse.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:00:16 EDT news711705901 Today's computer technology, based on silicon chips, is slowly reaching its physical limits. Components cannot be miniaturized indefinitely, and clock speeds cannot be increased indefinitely. At the same time, huge AI data centers are being built in many places, and these consume an immense amount of electricity. This is why scientists around the world are searching for novel materials that can replace or complement silicon technology and consume significantly less electricity. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rays-reveal-copper-oxide.html Condensed Matter Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:40:06 EDT news711621013 Researchers have developed and demonstrated a new hybrid photonic platform that integrates quantum emitters with photonic devices, providing a way to reliably control the interaction between photons and quantum information carriers. The chip-based platform, which combines gallium phosphide (GaP) with a diamond substrate, could help make quantum networks more practical by providing a way to connect quantum devices over long distances. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hybrid-diamond-chip-interactions-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:00:05 EDT news711300067 A research team has found that molten rock can carry more oxygen than its chemical composition would seem to allow. Their study is published in National Science Review. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-excess-oxygen-deep-earth-magma.html Earth Sciences Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:00:14 EDT news711366305 NASA's Artemis II mission sent four astronauts around the moon and brought them safely back to Earth, laying a foundation for crewed flights to the moon's surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rigorous-analysis-nasa-artemis-ii.html Space Exploration Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news711292475 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 When light hits a tiny defect embedded in a solid material like diamond or silicon carbide, it can kick the defect's electrons into an excited state. These spin defects have the potential to be used as stable, readable qubits for quantum technologies, for example, quantum sensing. But modeling the full physics of their energetics over time—a key step in developing spin defects into new technologies—is a challenging task. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quantum-reveal-defects-energy.html Condensed Matter Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:40:09 EDT news711280201 If you've ever had your car start sluggishly, or not at all, on a particularly frigid winter morning, you know standard batteries do not like extreme cold. That's why NASA researchers are working to develop a battery that could function in the brutal cold of the moon's south pole, where nighttime temperatures plunge to minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 200 degrees Celsius). https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nasa-batteries-power-humanity-moon.html Space Exploration Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:40:02 EDT news711213681 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 When astronauts first travel to Mars or anywhere else in deep space, they will have to contend with two problems that our planet protects us from on its surface—radiation and weightlessness. Scientists already know both can have a profound impact on the human body, but the extent of that impact and how long it can last remain a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-mars-heartbreaking.html Space Exploration Wed, 14 Oct 2026 19:00:01 EDT news711190418 Silicon carbide (SiC) is a ceramic known for its excellent heat resistance and chemical stability, which makes it attractive for a wide range of applications like electronics, catalysts and energy-related materials. However, SiC generally requires high-temperature processing, and simultaneously forming and controlling porous structures at the nanometer scale remains challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-liquid-metal-dealloying-nanoporous-silicon.html Nanomaterials Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:20:07 EDT news711120061 NASA is taking an unusual approach to testing heat shields that can keep astronauts safe as they return from missions to the moon and Mars: taking out the trash. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nasa-generation-shield-technologies.html Space Exploration Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:40:07 EDT news711024542 Tiny, shapeless invaders can find their way from ponds to the human brain and cause an infection so severe that it has a 95% fatality rate. The amoeba Naegleria fowleri naturally lives in ponds, feasting on bacteria, but once it enters the human body, it makes a run for the brain tissue, traversing complex, tight spaces to reach its destination. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-harmless-amoeba-tight-space-clues.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:40:11 EDT news710672403 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 joint research team led by professors Seunghyun Baik and Joonmyung Choi from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a new nanocomposite material whose electrical and thermal conductivities increase as it is stretched. The team successfully applied it to stable heat dissipation for foldable phones. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-boosts-thermal-electrical-nanocomposite.html Nanophysics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:40:02 EDT news710503982 The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union are currently debating EU Inc., draft legislation seeking to establish a single set of rules for starting, operating and growing a business across EU member states. The proposed framework is designed to make business registration and operation within the EU faster, easier and more harmonized. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-europe-eu-framework-boosting-competitiveness.html Economics & Business Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:00:22 EDT news710509141 The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE), a photoelectric effect that generates photocurrent without a p–n junction, can persist even when a material's average crystal structure remains centrosymmetric, a study from Institute of Science Tokyo has found. Researchers demonstrated this in CuCrP2S6, a van der Waals material that transitions from a noncentrosymmetric to a centrosymmetric average structure. The finding challenges the conventional view of BPVE and suggests a new strategy for enhancing photoelectric conversion. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-atomic-motion-solar-cells-conventional.html Condensed Matter Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:20:16 EDT news710425741 Heat shields are one of the most important parts of any spacecraft that intends to enter an atmosphere. And the material they are made of is critical. Improving them has been a challenge, though, as researchers typically only get "before" and "after" pictures of a heat shield's job of helping a spacecraft land safely back on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rays-ai-reveal-spacecraft-shields.html Astronomy Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:20:09 EDT news710407561 Astronomers have discovered the first example of a second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, a world that appears to have formed from the remains of the dead star it now orbits. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-phoenix-planet-astronomers-world-reborn.html Astronomy Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:00:15 EDT news710162342 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 Research led by a group from the University of Newcastle has found a new way to make silicone surfaces—and control how slippery they are. The work was published in the journal Chemistry of Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-smart-silicone-coatings-friction-stickiness.html Nanomaterials Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:40:13 EDT news710156282 Researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and the University of Tokyo, have taken an important step toward semiconductor quantum computing using zinc oxide (ZnO). https://phys.org/news/2026-09-zinc-oxide-quantum-dots-enable.html Condensed Matter Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:20:11 EDT news709981741 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 Controlling dopant concentration near the silicon surface is increasingly important for ultrashallow junctions and nanoscale devices. Mixed monolayer doping (MMLD) offers a surface-chemistry-based approach in which dopant-containing molecules are mixed with nondopant molecules to tune the amount of dopant available at the silicon surface before thermal diffusion. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-plasma-treatment-reveal-molecular-coatings.html Nanomaterials Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:20:04 EDT news709831682 A tiny device that can be reprogrammed using a laser could lead to adaptable devices for computing, imaging and telecommunications. Most devices are built to perform a particular job. If you want them to do something different, you generally need to replace a component, rewire the system or manufacture a new one. For example, every time you ask a large language model like ChatGPT or Claude a question, many electrical signals race through computer chips, carrying information and performing calculations. This takes energy, and lots of it. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-laser-temporarily-reprograms-ultrathin-optical.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:00:13 EDT news709812601 New international best practice guidance, co-written at ANSTO, sets out how to measure where nanoparticles like titanium dioxide end up in the body and how long they remain. The guidance has been shared by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a forum and knowledge hub for data, analysis and best practices in public policy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-body-scientist-guidance.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:09 EDT news709795441 When a spacecraft reenters Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic velocities, its protective heat shield faces extreme conditions, including temperatures beyond 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). To survive, the shield relies on specialized materials that absorb heat as they degrade in a controlled process called ablation, sacrificing the shield's outer layers to protect the vehicle and crew within. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-real-spacecraft-shields-extreme-conditions.html Space Exploration Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news709471452