https://phys.org/physics-news/ en-us The latest news in physics, materials science, quantum physics, optics and photonics, superconductivity science and technology. Updated Daily. If you mix cornstarch and water in the right proportions, you get something that seems not-quite-liquid but also not-quite-solid. Oobleck flows and settles like a liquid when untouched but stiffens when you try to pick it up or stir it with a spoon. The properties of oobleck and other non-Newtonian fluids—including Silly Putty, quicksand, paint, and yogurt—change under stress or pressure, and scientists have long struggled to prove exactly why. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-oobleck-like-fluids-contributes-smart-material.html General Physics Soft Matter Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:06:37 EST news620654793 Friction is hard to predict and control, especially since surfaces that come in contact are rarely perfectly flat. New experiments demonstrate that the amount of friction between two silicon surfaces, even at large scales, is determined by the forming and rupturing of microscopic chemical bonds between them. This makes it possible to control the amount of friction using surface chemistry techniques. This research has been published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-friction-small-large-scales.html General Physics Condensed Matter Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:14:32 EST news620640870 Researchers at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have invented a compact silicon semiconductor chip that integrates electronics with photonic, or light, components. The new technology significantly expands radio-frequency (RF) bandwidth and the ability to accurately control information flowing through the unit. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-photonic-chip-lego-door-semiconductor.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:14:49 EST news620637287 Interactions between intense laser pulses and plasma mirrors have been the focus of several recent physics studies due to the interesting effects they produce. Experiments have revealed that these interactions can generate a non-linear physical process known as high-order harmonics, characterized by the emission of extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) and brief flashes of laser light (i.e., attosecond pulses). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-anomalous-relativistic-emission-intense-interaction.html Optics & Photonics Plasma Physics Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:00:01 EST news620560616 The world's biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan on Friday, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity's future energy needs. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-japanese-experimental-nuclear-fusion-reactor.html General Physics Plasma Physics Fri, 01 Dec 2023 02:41:20 EST news620620871 Long before researchers discovered the electron and its role in generating electrical current, they knew about electricity and were exploring its potential. One thing they learned early on was that metals were great conductors of both electricity and heat. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-law-quirky-quantum-materials.html General Physics Quantum Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:00:02 EST news620568352 A new study suggests that universities have an essential role to fulfill in the continued growth and success of any modern high-tech industry, and especially the nascent fusion industry; however, the importance of that role is not reflected in the number of fusion-oriented faculty and educational channels currently available. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-universities-critical-emerging-fusion-industry.html Plasma Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:22:04 EST news620569321 Microgels form a thin protective shell around a droplet until the temperature rises above 32°C. Then the microgels shrink and the droplet dissolves in the surrounding liquid. A study by researchers from the University of Gothenburg now reveals the underlying mechanism behind this process. The discovery could revolutionize methods of targeting medicines to specific locations within the body. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-droplets-route-medicines.html Soft Matter Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:01:03 EST news620564461 An international team of researchers including Prof. Badri Krishnan at Radboud University has verified an important property of black holes known as the no-hair theorem using gravitational wave observations. Their research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-gravitational-binary-black-hole-merger.html General Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:27:35 EST news620562452 A future quantum network may become less of a stretch thanks to researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory and Cambridge University. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-diamond-quantum-bits.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:11:08 EST news620561465 A trio of experimental physicists and applied mathematicians at New York University has found evidence that Egypt's Great Sphinx of Giza may have originated as a natural formation. For their study, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, Samuel Boury, Scott Weady and Leif Ristroph, looked into natural erosion processes and tested the idea that the Sphinx got its start naturally via strong winds. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nature-great-sphinx-giza.html General Physics Soft Matter Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:00:01 EST news620560710 The practice of keeping time hinges on stable oscillations. In a grandfather clock, the length of a second is marked by a single swing of the pendulum. In a digital watch, the vibrations of a quartz crystal mark much smaller fractions of time. And in atomic clocks, the world's state-of-the-art timekeepers, the oscillations of a laser beam stimulate atoms to vibrate at 9.2 billion times per second. These smallest, most stable divisions of time set the timing for today's satellite communications, GPS systems, and financial markets. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-stable-clocks-quantum-phenomena-presence.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:53:04 EST news620560381 Optical wireless may no longer have any obstacles. A study by Politecnico di Milano, conducted together with Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, the University of Glasgow and Stanford University, and published in Nature Photonics, has made it possible to create photonic chips that mathematically calculate the optimal shape of light to best pass through any environment, even one that is unknown or changing over time. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-photonic-chips-optimal-next-gen-wireless.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:21:24 EST news620486481 From precise inkjet printing to clear vision through spectacle lenses—the influence of droplets and their movement shapes numerous areas of our daily lives. While droplets should remain precisely in place on inkjet prints, it is desirable that they move quickly across the surface of spectacle lenses. Research into wetting processes, therefore, plays a crucial role in further improving technological applications. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-electricity-effects-droplets.html General Physics Soft Matter Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:40:02 EST news620480401 Quantum technologies are currently maturing at a breath-taking pace. These technologies exploit principles of quantum mechanics in suitably engineered systems, with bright prospects such as boosting computational efficiencies or communication security well beyond what is possible with devices based on today's 'classical' technologies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-quantum-storage-entangled-photons-telecom.html Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:22:04 EST news620479322 Researchers at the University of Konstanz have discovered a new type of ultrafast magnetic switching by investigating fluctuations that normally tend to interfere with experiments as noise. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-ultrafast-magnetic-noise.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:42 EST news620478039 Entanglement is a quantum phenomenon where the properties of two or more particles become interconnected in such a way that one cannot assign a definite state to each individual particle anymore. Rather, we have to consider all particles at once that share a certain state. The entanglement of the particles ultimately determines the properties of a material. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-quantum-tool-door-uncharted-phenomena.html Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476122 Scientists have developed a new way to study the shapes of atomic nuclei and their internal building blocks. The method relies on modeling the production of certain particles from high-energy collisions of electrons with nuclear targets. Such collisions will take place at the future Electron Ion Collider (EIC). The findings are published in the journal Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-theoretical-future-electron-ion-collider.html General Physics Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:27:29 EST news620476047 In the search for new particles and forces in nature, physicists are on the hunt for behaviors within atoms and molecules that are forbidden by the tried-and-true Standard Model of particle physics. Any deviations from this model could indicate what physicists affectionately refer to as "new physics." https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-method-deviations-standard-physics.html General Physics Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:26:53 EST news620476011 Researchers from the University of Ottawa (uOttawa), in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science and Lancaster University, have observed a hidden quantum transition that can only be seen depending on how observers perform measurements. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hidden-quantum-transition-bridges-gap.html Quantum Physics Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:56:03 EST news620474161 In research, sometimes the bumpy path proves to be the best one. By creating tiny, periodic bumps in a miniature racetrack for light, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a research partnership between the University of Maryland and NIST, have converted near-infrared (NIR) laser light into specific desired wavelengths of visible light with high accuracy and efficiency. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-miniaturized-technique-generate-precise.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:29:02 EST news620411339 Scientists have revealed how lattice vibrations and spins talk to each other in a hybrid excitation known as an electromagnon. To achieve this, they used a unique combination of experiments at the X-ray free electron laser SwissFEL. Understanding this fundamental process at the atomic level opens the door to ultrafast control of magnetism with light. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-secret-life-electromagnon-ultrafast-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:49:03 EST news620390941 Scientists from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with their collaborators, have recently discovered a molecular-type structure in the ground state of atomic nuclei. The study was published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-physicists-molecule-like-nuclear-ground-state.html General Physics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:23:02 EST news620389381 Experiments at CERN and the Accelerator Laboratory in Jyväskylä, Finland, have revealed that the radius of an exotic nucleus of aluminum, 26mAl, is much larger than previously thought. The result, described in a paper just published in Physical Review Letters, sheds light on the effects of the weak force on quarks—the elementary particles that make up protons, neutrons and other composite particles. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-exotic-atomic-nucleus-world-quarks.html General Physics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:10:05 EST news620388601 High-energy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider are capable of producing a quark-gluon plasma. But are heavy atomic nuclei really necessary for its formation? And above all: how are secondary particles later born from this plasma? Further clues in the search for answers to these questions are provided by the latest analysis of collisions between protons and protons or ions, observed in the LHCb experiment. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-lhcb-nuances-particle-birth.html General Physics Quantum Physics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:37:20 EST news620386637 Particle accelerators hold great potential for semiconductor applications, medical imaging and therapy, and research in materials, energy and medicine. But conventional accelerators require plenty of elbow room—kilometers—making them expensive and limiting their presence to a handful of national labs and universities. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-compact-technology-major-energy-milestone.html Optics & Photonics Plasma Physics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:36:43 EST news620386600 Scientists at the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed and validated a novel approach for single-shot characterization of ultrashort free-electron laser pulses based on self-referenced spectral interferometry. Their innovative approach, published in Physical Review Letters, offers a promising solution to the challenges of ultrafast scientific experiments. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-approach-single-shot-characterization-ultrashort.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:57:03 EST news620384221 In a study published Nov. 24 in Matter, researchers led by Prof. Luo Jianlin from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have provided solid evidence that LK99 is non-superconducting, thus disproving earlier superconductivity claims. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-myth-room-temperature-superconductivity-lk-.html Superconductivity Tue, 28 Nov 2023 08:44:03 EST news620383441 Physicists from the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) have been conducting research on the matter constituting the atomic nucleus utilizing the world's three most powerful particle accelerators. Their focus has been on mapping the "primordial soup" that filled the universe in the first millionth of a second following its inception. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-world-powerful-particle-reveal-space-time.html General Physics Mon, 27 Nov 2023 15:32:29 EST news620321543 Deep learning has revolutionized the way we perceive and utilize data. However, as datasets grow and computational demands increase, we need more efficient ways to handle, store, and process data. In this regard, optical computing is seen as the next frontier of computing technology. Rather than using electronic signals, optical computing relies on the properties of light waves, such as wavelength and polarization, to store and process data. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-orbital-angular-momentum-encoded-diffractive-networks-classification-tasks.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:58:03 EST news620319481