Phys.org news

Phys.org / Speedy electrons for brilliant laser light: Research paves the way for compact, inexpensive free-electron lasers

Extremely short, intense light flashes are in high demand to investigate atoms, molecules and new materials. Free-electron lasers (FELs) produce these flashes. But around the world, beam time available at large-scale user ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Tough vehicle and construction plastics dissolve into reusable material with low-waste method

A new recycling technique could help tackle a major challenge: breaking down some of the toughest plastics without generating large amounts of waste.

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Ultracold cesium atoms reveal Bethe strings predicted nearly a century ago

In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe predicted that, in certain one-dimensional quantum systems, particles can bind together to form multi-particle states known as Bethe strings. Unlike ordinary molecules, which are held together ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Magma repeatedly breaks and heals during eruptions, microscopic evidence suggests

Explosive volcanic eruptions can be as destructive as they are difficult to predict, launching pyroclasts—the fragments of magma and rock blasted from a volcano—into the air and surrounding areas. These particles can have ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / New light-emitting nanoparticles can detect subtle chemical differences

A team of researchers from University of Toronto Engineering has created a new type of dye-sensitized nanoparticle that can detect target chemicals at very low concentrations while also distinguishing between molecules with ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Getting photons into shape for reliable quantum communication

The vast majority of modern quantum technologies—from quantum cryptography to the quantum internet to the quantum computer—rely on one essential element: the transmission of photons. Two qubits (two atoms, for example) exchange ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Room-temperature skyrmion-based synapses could pave the way for energy-efficient AI

Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is generated, processed and stored, but its rapid expansion is also driving unprecedented demand for computing power and electricity. Developing hardware that can process ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / No cities on the moon—there isn't enough water, scientists say

The discovery of water in dark craters at the moon's poles has sparked a "moon rush" to establish bases there, followed by villages, cities and heavy industry. How sustainable is this rush?

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Lebanon: 400,000 years of climate and landscape history rediscovered

An international research team led by Dr. Gabriele Russo of the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has re-examined historical fossil collections from Lebanon using modern ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists zoom into the birth of cosmic rainstorms with new CERN study

Every second, particles zip through your body at nearly the speed of light. They rain down from a storm high in the sky, where cosmic rays, a powerful type of interstellar matter, constantly strike atoms in Earth's atmosphere. ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / AI models enable cross-species mapping of cell biology

Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed two new artificial intelligence models of the biological cell. The first, called universal cell embedding, paved the way for a second-generation model called TranscriptFormer, ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / How the 2024 solar superstorm drained Earth's radiation belt

In May 2024, Earth experienced its most intense geomagnetic storm since the Halloween storms of 2003. This "superstorm" filled night skies in many parts of the world with colorful aurorae, and it disrupted some infrastructure, ...

Sep 14, 2026