The physics desk
Physics from the quantum to the cosmos: particle physics, quantum computing, astrophysics, cosmology and the discoveries that change what is possible.
A Monash University team unveiled the first integrated 'valleytronics' circuit, using atom-thin materials to manipulate a quantum property of light and clear a long-standing bottleneck toward faster, lower-energy computing.
A new study questions whether physicists have been confusing things that exist with things that occur, potentially undermining a fundamental assumption about reality.
Carnegie Mellon researchers demonstrate breakthrough metamaterials technology that could transform chip cooling and energy efficiency across multiple industries.
Carnegie Mellon researchers achieved four times greater heat transfer than conventional systems, potentially revolutionizing electronics cooling.
Five years of observations with Chile's ALMA telescope revealed a cone of hot gas carved around Sagittarius A*, the long-sought outflow from our galaxy's central supermassive black hole.
Using a toric code run over dozens of cycles, the company showed its logical error rate fell as it added qubits — a milestone on the long road to fault-tolerant quantum computing.
UMass Amherst physicists found that strongly magnetized particles can defy entropy, reshaping a liquid mixture into the same elegant curve every time it is disturbed.
New philosophical analysis questions whether physicists are confusing things that exist with things that occur, potentially reshaping our understanding of reality.
After 20 years of attempts, EPFL researchers have successfully miniaturized powerful femtosecond lasers onto photonic chips, potentially revolutionizing precision manufacturing and atomic clocks.
New analysis questions whether the past, present, and future all exist together timelessly, suggesting physicists may be confusing existence with occurrence.
University of Chicago researchers have developed a surprisingly straightforward approach to generate complex entangled quantum states using common laboratory equipment.
New philosophical analysis suggests physicists may be confusing things that exist with things that merely occur, potentially reshaping our understanding of reality itself.
Carnegie Mellon researchers demonstrate unprecedented control of nanoscale heat flow, opening doors to revolutionary chip cooling and energy technologies.
By clocking the winds of seven scorching 'hot Jupiters,' researchers inferred planet-wide magnetic fields up to four times stronger than Saturn's.
University of Chicago researchers discover surprisingly straightforward method to generate complex entangled states without sophisticated hardware.
EPFL researchers achieve 20-year goal of integrating ultrafast laser technology that could revolutionize medical devices and atomic clocks.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has directly detected methane gas streaming from 3I/ATLAS, revealing that the rare interstellar comet formed in a chemical environment unlike anything in our solar system.
Researchers at Oxford and the Max Planck Institute propose hunting elusive supermassive black hole binaries by watching for repeating flashes of background starlight bent and magnified as the pair orbits.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope and a cosmic magnifying glass, scientists measured a dormant giant in a galaxy 10 billion light-years away, smashing the previous distance record fifteenfold.
University of Chicago researchers discover surprisingly simple method to generate powerful quantum entanglement without complex hardware.
A Los Alamos team used geometry to prove that hue, saturation and lightness are baked into the mathematics of color itself — not learned from culture or experience.
University of Chicago researchers have discovered a surprisingly straightforward way to generate powerful entangled quantum states using small atomic energy modifications, potentially advancing quantum computing and sensing technologies.
EPFL researchers have developed the first integrated ultrafast laser that matches tabletop femtosecond laser performance, potentially making advanced laser technologies far smaller and more accessible.
Using the European VLT's SPHERE instrument over four years, a French-led team directly tracked the rotation of the planet-forming disk around the young star AB Aurigae — and spotted anomalies that hint at giant planets being born.
Supercomputer simulations on Japan's ATERUI III show interstellar magnetic fields strip rotational energy from forming star pairs, letting two protostars spiral together fast enough to match what astronomers actually see.
University of Minnesota researchers show that changing metal film thickness by just a few nanometers can dramatically alter electronic behavior.
University of Chicago researchers discover that small changes to atomic energy levels can generate complex entangled states without complicated hardware.
A superconducting calorimeter at Aalto University detected just 0.83 zeptojoules — a sensitivity that could sharpen quantum computers and even help hunt for dark matter.
Using terahertz laser pulses on bismuth selenide, German researchers watched angular momentum flip direction as it passed between a crystal's own vibrations — a first that could help control quantum bits.
An international team has created the first chip that can generate, steer and read light-based signals in a single device at room temperature, a milestone for the emerging field of 'valleytronics.'