Physics World

Is materials science the new alchemy for the 21st century? – Physics World Honor Powrie pays tribute to the work of materials scientists

Fancy a scientific challenge? Materials science is where the action is, says Honor Powrie, especially if you can find new materials that are technologically sustainable "from cradle to grave". ⚛️🧪

physicsworld.com/a/is-materia...

Perovskite detector could improve nuclear medicine imaging – Physics World A lead halide material can detect and image single gamma-ray photons with both high-spatial and high-energy resolution

A perovskite-based detector could create next-generation nuclear medicine scanners that image faster and provide clearer results. The perovskite is also easier to grow and cheaper than existing detector materials. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/perovskite...

Radioactive BEC could form a ‘superradiant neutrino laser’ – Physics World Physicists plan to test idea in the lab

Radioactive atoms in a Bose–Einstein condensate could form a “superradiant neutrino laser” in which the atomic nuclei undergo accelerated beta decay. ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/mKQm50X68r8

Bayes' rule goes quantum – Physics World New work could help improve quantum machine learning and quantum error correction

How would Bayes’ rule – a technique to calculate probabilities – work in the quantum world? A trio of physicists have a plan. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/afbR50X60Sy

The top five physics Nobel prizes of the 21st century revealed – Physics World Matin Durrani counts down the five most significant physics Nobels since 2000

What have been the top five physics Nobel prizes of the century? @matindurrani.bsky.social reveals which are the best of the best -- but do you agree or disagree with his choices? ⚛️🧪

physicsworld.com/a/the-top-fi...

ASTRO 2025: expanding the rules of radiation therapy – Physics World A look at some of the more unconventional applications of radiation therapy reported at the ASTRO 2025 meeting

Studies highlighted at the ASTRO 2025 meeting included examples of innovative radiotherapy techniques and indications, such as the use of radiation to treat non-malignant diseases. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/astro-2025...

The curious history of Nobel prizes: from lighthouses to gravitational waves – Physics World In this podcast we also make predictions for this year’s physics award

It's early October, so time for a good chat about quirky Nobel prizes from days gone by. And we make a few predictions for this year's award. ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/kuMt50X5Cho

Nobel prizes you’ve never heard of: how a Swedish inventor was honoured for a technology that nearly killed him – Physics World Gustaf Dalén is nowhere near as famous as his contemporaries, but does that make him undeserving of the prize? Margaret Harris investigates

Continuing our look at Nobel prizes it's hard to believe were awarded, @drmlharris.bsky.social looks at the work of the Swedish inventor who developed a new technology for lighthouses and later invented the Aga cooker.

physicsworld.com/a/nobel-priz...

Image advertising the Quantum Science and Technology event 'The first 100 years; our quantum future' at the Royal Institution, London from 4 to 5 November 2025.

This November, the Royal Institution in London will host two incredible days of talks and discussions with some of the world’s leading minds about quantum's past, present and future - featuring Nobel laureate Prof Anton Zeilinger, Prof Jim Al-Khalili, and more.
Book now 👉 iop.eventsair.com/qst2025/

Kirigami-inspired parachute falls on target – Physics World New system does not need to drift to avoid turbulence

Inspired by kirigami, researchers in Canada and France have designed a parachute that can safely and accurately deliver its payloads when dropped directly above its target. ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/SWs850X52tq

Nobel prizes you’ve never heard of: how an obscure version of colour photography beat quantum theory to the most prestigious prize in physics – Physics World Gabriel Lippmann received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1908 for an interference-based method of colour photography that was never commercially successful. Margaret Harris finds out why

We're starting our countdown to next week's #nobelprize by looking at Nobel prizes you've definitely never heard of - starting with a curious from of colour photography that won in 1908. @drmlharris.bsky.social reveals all. ⚛️🧪

physicsworld.com/a/nobel-priz...

Leo Cancer Care launches first upright photon therapy system – Physics World The Grace radiotherapy system delivers conventional X-ray radiation therapy to patients in the upright position

Launched at this week’s ASTRO 2025 meeting, Leo Cancer Care's new Grace system delivers conventional X-ray radiation therapy to patients in the upright position. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/leo-cancer...

Antiferromagnets could be better than ferromagnets for some ultrafast, high-density memories – Physics World Researchers in Japan have succeeded in switching a manganese-tin nanodot using electric current pulses as short as 0.1 ns

An antiferromagnetic manganese–tin nanodot has been switched using electric current pulses as short as 0.1 ns. It could be useful for making high-density, low power magnetic memories. ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/swLx50X4k9h

How the slowest experiment in the world became a fast success – Physics World Stefan Hutzler and Louise Bradley explain how they turned the famous pitch-drop experiment into an outreach activity

Could you turn the world's slowest experiment, where a drop of pitch takes 10 years to fall, into a schools outreach project? Find out how physicists at Trinity College Dublin got on when they tried to do just that. ⚛️🧪

physicsworld.com/a/how-the-sl...

Be a part of our quantum celebration – Physics World Attend our special community celebration that traces the remarkable journey of quantum physics and its transformative potential for the future

With the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in its final straight, book your place now at the showpiece IOP event at the historic Royal Institution in central London on 4-5 November. Don't miss out! ⚛️🧪

physicsworld.com/a/be-a-part-...

Schwinger effect appears in a 2D superfluid – Physics World Physicists model vacuum tunnelling in a simple system

A curious quantum phenomenon called the Schwinger effect could soon be simulated in the lab, say physicists in Canada. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/NyVT50X2ayw

Meniscus size and shape affect how liquid waves move through barriers – Physics World Effect could come in useful for a host of practical applications that call for fluid control

Even very small changes in the size and shape of a meniscus can dramatically affect how much wave energy passes through this interface between water and a solid surface. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/zY9u50X28yg

Cosmic muons monitor river sediments surrounding Shanghai tunnel – Physics World Real-time system also detects ebb and flow of tides

Researchers in China say that they are the first to use cosmic-ray muography to monitor the region surrounding a tunnel. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/l6hf50X1C27

Imagining alien worlds: we explore the science and fiction of exoplanets – Physics World Keith Cooper chats about has new book in this podcast

Keith Cooper is our guest in this podcast and our conversation ranges from the amazing science of “hot Jupiters” to how the plot of a popular Star Trek episode could inform our understanding of life on distant exoplanets. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/tNao50X24ig

Gyroscopic backpack improves balance for people with movement disorder – Physics World A backpack equipped with gyroscopes shows promise as a balance aid for people with the movement disorder ataxia and could one day remove the need for cumbersome mobility aids

A robotic backpack, known as GyroPack, uses gyroscopic technology to improve balance for people with the movement disorder ataxia. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/gyroscopic...

Negative time observed in photon-atom interaction – Physics World Researchers find that a photon can spend a negative amount of time in an excited atomic state while passing through a cloud of atoms

Researchers determine that a photon can spend a negative amount of time in an excited atomic state while passing through a cloud of atoms - a finding with potential applications in studies of light-matter interactions and quantum sensing. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/negative-t...

Harnessing quantum duality for object imaging – Physics World Wave and particle properties can encode information about the shape of an object

Wave-particle duality has been harnessed in an imaging process. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/CX9t50X0J5Q

Compact diamond magnetometer detects metastatic tumours – Physics World Diamond-based magnetic sensor is small enough for use in endoscopy and keyhole surgery

A diamond-based magnetic sensor designed to detect cancer metastases is small enough for use in endoscopy and keyhole surgery. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/compact-di...

‘Father of the Internet’ Vint Cerf expresses concern about the longevity of digital information – Physics World How do we create a digital version of the vellum and clay tablets that successfully preserved information in earlier ages of human history?

“My big worry is that all this digital stuff won’t be there when we would like it to be there, or when our descendants would like to have it,” says Internet pioneer Vint Cerf. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/s5qp50X00go

Unconventional approach to dark energy problem gives observed neutrino masses – Physics World Cosmologically coupled black hole hypothesis also confirms that dark energy is evolving

An unconventional approach to solving the dark energy problem called the cosmologically coupled black hole (CCBH) hypothesis appears to be compatible with the observed masses of neutrinos. 🧪⚛️https://physicsworld.com/a/unconventional-approach-to-dark-energy-problem-gives-observed-neutrino-masses/

Physicists extend the wave nature of large objects – Physics World Increasing the wave-like behaviour of nanoparticles brings fundamental quantum tests one step closer

An important step has been taken towards bridging the divide between quantum and classical physics. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/r23s50WZh5l

Quantum gas keeps its cool – Physics World New measurements on Bose-Einstein condensate could help us better understand how objects transition from being quantum and ordered to classical and chaotic

Adding energy to a system usually heats it up, but physicists in Austria have now discovered a scenario in which this is not the case. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/quantum-ga...

Protein qubit can be used as a quantum biosensor – Physics World A qubit encoded in a fluorescent protein could act as a sensor to measure quantum properties inside living systems

An optically addressable qubit encoded in a fluorescent protein could be used as a sensor to measure quantum properties inside living systems. 🧪⚛️ physicsworld.com/a/protein-qu...

Peer review in the age of artificial intelligence – Physics World Global survey of reviewers reveals a growing polarization about the use of AI

A recent survey done by IOP Publishing reveals that physicists who do peer review are polarized regarding whether AI should be used in the process. We discuss the results in this podcast with IOPP's Laura Feetham-Walker. ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/vwkV50WYGui

If you met an alien, what would you say to it? – Physics World Hamish Johnston reviews Do Aliens Speak Physics? by Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner

“Imagine the day the aliens arrive.” So begins Do Aliens Speak Physics? by the US particle physicist Daniel Whiteson and the cartoonist and author Andy Warner. They ask if we could communicate with aliens, and ask whether we would be able to understand alien science? ⚛️🧪 ow.ly/XeUF50WYEKS