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. After years of trying, scientists have finally created a stable superatom of copper, a long-sought-after chemical breakthrough that could revolutionize how we deal with carbon emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-highly-stable-cu-superatom-carbon.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:20:04 EST news688745688 Quantum technologies, systems that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential to outperform classical technologies in some specific tasks. Over the past decades, some researchers have also been trying to realize quantum networks, systems comprised of multiple connected quantum devices. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-approach-heralded-photon-storage-rydberg.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 07 Jul 2025 09:10:06 EDT news671097968 Superatomic molecules containing noble metal elements like gold and silver are studied for their potential in the synthesis of superatomic materials. However, the understanding of silver-based superatomic molecules has been limited. Addressing this gap, researchers from Japan studied two bimetallic superatomic molecules with silver as a main constituent to determine the key factors that enabled their formation. Their findings are expected to advance the development of novel materials in the future. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-reveals-clues-silver-based-superatomic-molecules.html Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Apr 2023 09:31:51 EDT news599992305 'Superatom' is a name given to a cluster of atoms that seem to exhibit properties similar to elemental atoms. Scientists have shown particular interest in superatomic structures, since they can be linked with atoms to produce molecules, and potentially be used to substitute certain elements in many applications. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-superatom-doors-substitutes-elemental-atoms.html Materials Science Tue, 25 Feb 2020 10:52:54 EST news501850371 On the outside, a cluster of 55 copper and aluminum atoms looks like a crystal, but chemically, it has the properties of an atom. The heterometallic superatom, which chemists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now created, provides the prerequisites for developing new, more cost-effective catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-heterometallic-copper-aluminum-super-atom.html Materials Science Wed, 26 Sep 2018 06:53:28 EDT news457163603 Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have discovered a novel strategy for creating superatoms—combinations of atoms that can mimic the properties of more than one group of elements of the periodic table. These superatoms could be used to create new materials, including more efficient batteries and better semiconductors; a core component of microchips, transistors and most computerized devices. https://phys.org/news/2018-06-template-superatoms-batteries.html Materials Science Thu, 21 Jun 2018 17:49:45 EDT news448822176 Researchers found that the thermal conductivity of superatom crystals is directly related to the rotational disorder within those structures. The findings were published in an article in Nature Materials this week. https://phys.org/news/2016-09-vastly-thermal-superatomic-analogues.html Nanophysics Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:12:03 EDT news392375478 Rare Earth elements, found in the f-block of the periodic table, have particular magnetic and optical properties that make them valuable commodities. This has been particularly true over the last thirty years as more technologies use rare earth metals in their components, including audio speakers, computer hard drives, camera lenses, MRI imaging, television screens, and computer screens. https://phys.org/news/2015-04-boron-based-atomic-clusters-mimic-rare-earth.html General Physics Fri, 17 Apr 2015 11:00:02 EDT news348485385 A superatom is a combination of two or more atoms that form a stable structural fragment and possess unique physical and chemical properties. Systems that contain superatoms open a number of possibilities for not only formation of new materials, but also for revealing unusual chemical reactivity. Throughout a given chemical transformation process, a superatom acts as a single unit and is left unchanged during the reaction. As a result, it would be logical to consider superatoms as elements of the periodic table in a nanoscale world. Potential areas of application for superatoms are quite broad – currently, many research directions are being explored worldwide in catalysis, material sciences, organometallic chemistry, and medical research. https://phys.org/news/2015-02-superatomic-nickel-core-unusual-molecular.html Materials Science Fri, 27 Feb 2015 09:00:01 EST news344249020 (Phys.org) —Two teams working independently of each other have developed very similar methods for creating silver nanoparticles that appear impervious to rust. One of the teams was from the U.S. and published their results in the journal Nature. The other team was from China and published their results in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-teams-similar-method-non-oxidizing-silver.html Nanomaterials Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:16:17 EDT news297598538 (Phys.org) —Sounding like something out of a comic book, superatoms are not only an enticing idea, but experiments have confirmed they exist. Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have collaborated with scientists from Johns Hopkins University to synthesize the first magnetic superatoms. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-magnetic-superatoms.html Materials Science Tue, 02 Apr 2013 06:07:48 EDT news284101642 (Phys.org) —Scientists have found evidence for the existence of magnetic superatoms—small, compact clusters of atoms whose electrons occupy a set of orbitals around the entire cluster rather than around the individual atoms. If scientists can synthesize superatoms with magnetic properties, then one day they may use them to create new spin-dependent electronics. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-evidence-magnetic-superatoms-doors-electronics.html General Physics Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:00:04 EDT news283168346 Quantum phenomena at extremely low temperatures are fervently studied both theoretically and experimentally in contemporary physics. Alkali atoms cooled to near absolute zero formed the first experimentally successful gaseous Bose–Einstein condensate in 1995. Six years later, the achievement was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-vortices-atomic-gases-basic-phenomena.html Quantum Physics Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:07:46 EDT news269672856 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Virginia Commonwealth University scientists has discovered a new class of 'superatoms' – a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table – with unusual magnetic characteristics. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-superatoms-magnetic-shells.html Condensed Matter Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:55:47 EDT news226763723 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dr. Will Castleman and his team have discovered clusters of atoms that mimic some of the properties of other elements. Called "superatoms," these clusters of atoms behave like a single "superatom" of a different species, and they may have implications as significant as the alchemists' search for gold. https://phys.org/news/2010-07-alchemist-superatoms-mimic-elements.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:20:01 EDT news199634925