Science

Underhand tactics by environmental activists led to the closure of a famous physics facility 25 years ago. There is much we can still learn from the incident, says Robert P Crease

Join the audience for a live webinar at 8.30 a.m. GMT/7 p.m. ACDT on 15 February 2024 exploring the techniques, innovations, and future prospects in radiotherapy, with an interest in small field dosimetry Want to take part in this webinar? This webinar will aim to cover a general introduction into radiotherapy quality assurance with an

The US Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center is building on a portfolio of enabling technologies pioneered at Fermilab to realize practical applications of quantum computing and quantum sensing. SQMS director Anna Grassellino tells Joe McEntee why cross-disciplinary collaboration within the National Laboratory framework is fundamental to success  Under one roof SQMS scientists have

Metalens telescope: image of the North America Nebula taken by the metalens on the roof of the Science Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Courtesy: Capasso Lab/Harvard SEAS) To describe Federico Capasso at Harvard University as a prolific researcher is an understatement and I have been following his work in photonics for many years. He is an

The Magellanic Clouds are prominent features of the southern sky that are named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. He sailed west from Europe to the Philippines in the early 16th century and the clouds were described by a returning crew member. Voyages such as Magellan’s set into motion the European colonization of much of

Diagram showing the directions of magnetic spins in a hopfion ring. These hopfions can form coupled states with strings of skyrmions in plates cut from a single crystal of iron germanide. (Courtesy: Philipp Rybakov) Researchers have observed three-dimensional magnetic spin structures called hopfions in a naturally-occurring material for the first time. The result could lead

Quark core : artist’s impression of the interior of a massive neutron star showing a quark-matter core in red. (Courtesy: Jyrki Hokkanen/CSC) It is very likely that ultra-dense deconfined quark matter exists in the cores of the most massive neutron stars, according to a study by an international team of physicists. The team led by

Doublon formation: In the moiré material produced at ETH Zurich, the electron spins are disordered if there is exactly one electron per lattice site (left). As soon as there are more electrons than lattice sites (right) and pairs of electrons can form doublons (red), the spins align ferromagnetically as this minimizes the electrons’ kinetic energy.

This episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast features an interview with Henri Lorach, who is part of the team that won the 2023 Physics World Breakthrough of the Year award. The Swiss–French group bagged the prize for creating a brain–computer interface that allows a paralysed person to walk. Lorach, who is based at EPFL,

Tea-riffic: a jet of water that breaks into droplets before hitting the surface results in a loud sound being produced (courtesy: Ho-Young Kim et al./APS 2023) Whirligig beetles can reach speeds of up to one metre per second – or 100 body lengths per second – as they skirt across the water. Scientists thought the

Closing the loop: An autonomous system (shown here in its conceptual form) can identify how to synthesize “best-in-class” materials for specific applications in hours or days. (Courtesy: Milad Abolhasani, NC State University) A new autonomous laboratory system has enabled researchers to identify the highest-performing materials for certain applications in a matter of hours or days,

Quantum logic: Dolev Bluvstein (left) and Mikhail Lukin with their quantum processor. (Courtesy: Jon Chase/Harvard University) A quantum processor with 48 logical qubits that can execute algorithms while correcting errors in real time has been unveiled in the US. It was created by Mikhail Lukin and colleagues at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Day and night: as sunlight wanes, the fabric can switch from cooling to heating mode. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/PK-Studio) Researchers in China have unveiled a new concept for solar-powered clothing that can regulate its wearer’s body temperature. Created by Ziyuan Wang and colleagues at Nankai University, the design combines electrocaloric devices with state-of-the-art flexible solar cells. The

Hot and cold: schematic showing the nanoribbon waveguide between the hot and cold reservoirs. (Courtesy: Yu Pei et al/Nature Communications) Materials with high thermal conductivity are sought after for use in electronic devices because they swiftly remove excess heat, allowing for optimal performance. However, as devices become smaller and run faster, removing heat is becoming

Photomolecular effect: At the water-air interface, light can, under certain conditions, induce evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new study by researchers at MIT. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Valenty) Under certain conditions, light can cause water to evaporate directly, without heating it first. The process works by cleaving water clusters from the water-air interface, and

Setting priorities Margaret Gardel in her lab at the University of Chicago. (Courtesy: Margaret Gardel) What skills do you use every day in your job? That’s an interesting question, because they are skills I would never have expected would be so important when I was an undergraduate studying physics. I use a lot of time