Phys.org news

Phys.org / Expanding the search for quantum-ready 2D materials

Quantum technologies from ultrasensitive sensors to next-generation information processors depend on the ability of quantum bits, or qubits, to maintain their delicate quantum states for a sufficiently long time to be useful.

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Sum-frequency microscope can image an invisible 2D material

Researchers from the Physical Chemistry and Theory departments at the Fritz Haber Institute have found a new way to image layers of boron nitride that are only a single atom thick. This material is usually nearly invisible ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Icy hot plasmas: Fluffy, electrically charged ice grains reveal new plasma dynamics

When a gas is highly energized, its electrons get torn from the parent atoms, resulting in a plasma—the oft-forgotten fourth state of matter (along with solid, liquid, and gas). When we think of plasmas, we normally think ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Adrift like Shackleton: Robot float survives Antarctic ice

A robotic float has measured the temperature and salinity from parts of the ocean never sampled before—underneath massive floating ice shelves in East Antarctica.

Dec 8, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Reconfigurable platform slows lights for on-chip photonic engineering

Integrated circuits are the brains behind modern electronic devices like computers or smart phones. Traditionally, these circuits—also known as chips—rely on electricity to process data. In recent years, scientists have ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Webb reveals double helium tails escaping from a 'hot Jupiter'

For the first time, scientists have continuously monitored a planet's escaping atmosphere over a complete orbit, revealing that the gas giant WASP-121 b is surrounded by not one but two massive helium tails stretching more ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Parasitic fungus may have emerged 18 million years before the ants with which it lives today

A genus of fungi previously considered a parasite of fungi associated with ants may actually have much more complex ecological functions. According to a study published in the journal Communications Biology, one piece of ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Plant-virus proteins guide gold nanoparticles into eco-friendly sheets for solar tech

Using proteins from a common tobacco plant virus, McGill chemistry researchers have developed a simple, eco-friendly way to arrange gold nanoparticles into ultrathin sheets, strengthening the particles' optical properties. ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / NASA-JAXA XRISM finds elemental bounty in supernova remnant

For the first time, scientists have made a clear X-ray detection of chlorine and potassium in the wreckage of a star using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft.

Dec 8, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / New model describes how reaction-diffusion networks develop 'foams'

For numerous fundamental processes of life, the formation of certain protein patterns is essential. Protein pattern formation controlled by molecular switches is—like many processes in nature—far removed from a state ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Towards sustainable organic synthesis—mechanochemistry replaces lithium with sodium in organic reactions

Highly reactive organometallic reagents, like organolithiums (molecules with a carbon–lithium bond) are essential reagents in organic synthesis because of their applications from polymer synthesis to pharmaceuticals, and ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Hydrogel switches from liquid to gel at body temperature, enabling easy removal

What if a doctor could inject an electricity-conducting liquid into the body, let it temporarily solidify to record nerve signals or jump-start healing, and then return it to liquid form for easy removal?

Dec 8, 2025 in Chemistry