Physics World Weekender
Celebrating World Oceans Day on Sunday 8 June 2025
The mystery of missing marine plastic
Oceanographers are not sure where all the plastics are ending up in the world’s oceans
Blue energy: innovative ways of harnessing energy from the oceans
At sea the opportunities are vast but so are the engineering challenges
Research updates
Andromeda galaxy may not collide with the Milky Way after all
Odds of a collision in the next 10 billion years may be only 50/50, according to new simulations
Laboratory-scale three-dimensional X-ray diffraction makes its debut
New device could make the technology accessible outside national and international synchrotron facilities
Majorana bound states spotted in system of three quantum dots
System benefits from ease of characterization
Ancient woodworking technique inspires improved memristor
Mortise-and-tenon structure makes for fast, highly uniform switching
New contact lenses allow wearers to see in the near-infrared
Devices use upconverting nanoparticles to make normally invisible radiation perceptible to humans even with their eyes closed
How magnetar flares give birth to gold and platinum
Starquakes and magnetic recombination drive the r-process of nucleosynthesis
Physics World Quantum Briefing
Take a look at our free-to-read digital issue of Physics World Quantum Briefing, which commemorates the centenary of quantum mechanics and celebrates the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with a selection of articles on the history, mystery and industry of quantum mechanics.
Physics World podcasts
The latest opinion and reviews
No laughing matter: a comic book about the climate crisis
Mike Follows reviews World Without End: an Illustrated Guide to the Climate Crisis by Jean-Marc Jancovici and Christophe Blain
Why I stopped submitting my work to for-profit publishers
Jonte Hance reveals why they stopped reviewing and submitting articles to for-profit publishers
Physics World podcast
Explore our two regular podcast series! Physics World Weekly looks at the latest events and headlines in physics, as well as featuring short interviews with scientists and our team of journalists. Physics World Stories takes a more in-depth look at a topic.
Read more of our latest articles
Read article: Japan’s ispace suffers second lunar landing failure
Japan’s ispace suffers second lunar landing failure
ispace was attempting to become the first non-US firm to land on the Moon
Read article: Superconducting innovation: SQMS shapes up for scalable success in quantum computing
Superconducting innovation: SQMS shapes up for scalable success in quantum computing
Fermilab’s SQMS Center is on a mission to realize inherently scalable “qudit-based” quantum computing and quantum communication systems
Read article: Bury it, don’t burn it: turning biomass waste into a carbon solution
Bury it, don’t burn it: turning biomass waste into a carbon solution
Biomass burial could be the answer to large-scale, affordable carbon storage. Michael Allen investigates
Read article: Thinking of switching research fields? Beware the citation ‘pivot penalty’ revealed by new study
Thinking of switching research fields? Beware the citation ‘pivot penalty’ revealed by new study
The pivot penalty increases the further away a researcher shifts from their previous topic of research
Read article: Ask me anything: Tom Woodroof – ‘Curiosity, self-education and carefully-chosen guidance can get you surprisingly far’
Ask me anything: Tom Woodroof – ‘Curiosity, self-education and carefully-chosen guidance can get you surprisingly far’
Tom Woodroof on how he switched from nuclear physics to alternative finance
Read article: Leinweber Foundation ploughs $90m into US theoretical physics
Leinweber Foundation ploughs $90m into US theoretical physics
The cash will be used to establish a Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics at five US institutions
Read article: China launches Tianwen-2 asteroid sample-return mission
China launches Tianwen-2 asteroid sample-return mission
The craft will aim to collect about 100g of material from a “quasi-satellite” of Earth
Read article: Secondary dose checks ensure safe and accurate delivery of adaptive radiotherapy
Secondary dose checks ensure safe and accurate delivery of adaptive radiotherapy
ThinkQA Secondary Dose Check software provides quality assurance for every fraction of adaptive radiotherapy without impacting the clinical workflow
Read article: ‘Zombie’ volcano reveals its secrets
‘Zombie’ volcano reveals its secrets
First high-resolution images of Bolivia's Uturuncu volcano show it is likely to remain active without actually erupting
Read article: Shengxi Huang: how defects can boost 2D materials as single-photon emitters
Shengxi Huang: how defects can boost 2D materials as single-photon emitters
Shengxi Huang explains why Picoquant’s instruments are helping her to develop 2D materials that are highly efficient sources of single photons
Read article: Richard Bond and George Efstathiou share the 2025 Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Richard Bond and George Efstathiou share the 2025 Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Pair are honoured for their work on the cosmic microwave background
Read article: The evolution of the metre: How a product of the French Revolution became a mainstay of worldwide scientific collaboration
The evolution of the metre: How a product of the French Revolution became a mainstay of worldwide scientific collaboration
Physics World corresponding editor Isabelle Dumé reports from a Paris symposium celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Metre Convention
Read article: The quantum eraser doesn’t rewrite the past – it rewrites observers
The quantum eraser doesn’t rewrite the past – it rewrites observers
Maria Violaris looks to the past and future of quantum observers and measurements
Read article: Has bismuth been masquerading as a topological material?
Has bismuth been masquerading as a topological material?
New research explains previous contradictory observations in terms of “topological blocking”, which may occur in other materials, too
Read article: Proton arc therapy eliminates hard-to-treat cancer with minimal side effects
Proton arc therapy eliminates hard-to-treat cancer with minimal side effects
Patient with rare cancer is the first in the US to be treated with highly accurate step-and-shoot proton arc therapy
Read article: Superconducting microwires detect high-energy particles
Superconducting microwires detect high-energy particles
New detector offers temporal and spatial precision
Read article: What is meant by neuromorphic computing – a webinar debate
What is meant by neuromorphic computing – a webinar debate
Join the audience for a live webinar on 18 June 2025 sponsored by IOP Publishing's journal, Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering
Read article: A Martian aurora, how the universe fades away, Heisenberg on holiday, physics of fake coins
A Martian aurora, how the universe fades away, Heisenberg on holiday, physics of fake coins
Physics World editors talk about what’s new in physics
Physics World Jobs offers a range of opportunities for jobseekers with a background in physics or engineering. At all stages of your career, we can help find the job for you
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
For more than 60 years, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. Its defining responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent
Tune into online presentations that allow expert speakers to explain novel tools and applications
Start-stop operation and the degradation impact in electrolysis
26 February 2025
Join this webinar by The Electrochemical Society to explore the impact of intermittent operation on electrolyzer degradation
Stay up to date with the latest international conferences, symposia and exhibitions for interdisciplinary scientists working across academic research and industry
Flat Bands, Strong Correlations, and Heavy Fermions
31 March — 4 April 2025 | Dresden, Germany
This one-week workshop will bring together the communities interested in flat bands of moiré structures and frustrated-lattice materials on the one hand, and strongly correlated electron systems anchored by f-electron materials on the other, with Kondo physics serving as an intellectual link.
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