Laser-cooling pioneer and Nobel laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji dies at 93
French physicist shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics
Read article: Laser-cooling pioneer and Nobel laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji dies at 93
News
Read article: Laser-cooling pioneer and Nobel laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji dies at 93
Experienced scientists produce more persistently disruptive research, finds study
A new report challenges the idea that scientists become less innovative as they age
Read article: Experienced scientists produce more persistently disruptive research, finds study
Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos
The Martian Moons eXploration mission will aim to return 10 g of material back to Earth
Read article: Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos
Siloton secures £8.4m to speed development of portable retinal imaging system
Handheld optical coherence tomography device will make diagnosis and monitoring of eye diseases more affordable and accessible
Read article: Siloton secures £8.4m to speed development of portable retinal imaging system
Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma
The Large-Sized Telescope will provide new insights into the early universe
Read article: Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma
Quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac awarded 2026 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize
Cirac is honoured for contributions to modern quantum information science
Read article: Quantum physicist Ignacio Cirac awarded 2026 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize
Research updates
Primordial black holes could reveal a hidden fifth dimension
Primordial black holes formed in the early universe might experience an extra dimension of space; a recent study suggests new ways to search for these mysterious objects
Read article: Primordial black holes could reveal a hidden fifth dimension
World’s smallest engines need an entropy accountant
Rebalancing the books of entropy could help bridge the gap between thermodynamics and quantum mechanics
Read article: World’s smallest engines need an entropy accountant
Bound states in the continuum observed in a solid material
Phenomenon could be used to create new quantum devices
Read article: Bound states in the continuum observed in a solid material
Electron spin force moves a macroscopic object
Diamond sample propelled up to 1.5 microns by its own nitrogen-vacancy centres
Read article: Electron spin force moves a macroscopic object
Controlled collisions reveal predictable pattern in triboelectric charging
New ultrasound trap boosts our understanding of charge transfer
Read article: Controlled collisions reveal predictable pattern in triboelectric charging
Rigid hybrid perovskites achieve ultralow thermal conductivity
Exceptional mechanical and thermal properties come from specially engineered organic cations in a layered halide structure
Read article: Rigid hybrid perovskites achieve ultralow thermal conductivity
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Features
Hofstadter’s butterfly turns 50: a fractal hiding in quantum matter
Indu Satija celebrates the golden anniversary of Hofstadter’s butterfly
Read article: Hofstadter’s butterfly turns 50: a fractal hiding in quantum matter
C V Raman: the physicist with a ‘Himalayan ego’ who went to Stockholm convinced he’d win a Nobel prize
Preetish Kakoty describes why India's only Nobel-prize-winning physicist went to Sweden on a whim
Read article: C V Raman: the physicist with a ‘Himalayan ego’ who went to Stockholm convinced he’d win a Nobel prize
How the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn the sky into a dataset
Richard de Grijs looks at how the Roman Space Telescope will change astronomy forever
Read article: How the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn the sky into a dataset
How scientific publishers are fighting back against fraudulent papermills
The growth of AI and papermills has caused publishers countless headaches
Read article: How scientific publishers are fighting back against fraudulent papermills
Theatre is bringing physics to new audiences but what is the definitive science play?
Chris Sinclair explores the plays that are bringing physics to new audiences
Read article: Theatre is bringing physics to new audiences but what is the definitive science play?
From student to scientist – how to build a career with physics
Tushna Commissariat and Matin Durrani guide physics students through the maze of career options
Read article: From student to scientist – how to build a career with physics
From the blog
Why it’s hard to know if students understand a piece of physics
Joshua Biro wonders how we know if a student has really understood a piece of physics
Read article: Why it’s hard to know if students understand a piece of physics
Open-access journal AI Horizons looks to expand the outlook of artificial intelligence
Shiyi Chen, the journal’s editor-in-chief, shares his views
Read article: Open-access journal AI Horizons looks to expand the outlook of artificial intelligence
When Doi met Peliti: physicists celebrate 50 years of the Doi-Peliti theory
A week-long meeting in Cambridge celebrated Masao Doi’s and Luca Peliti’s pioneering framework to study random processes
Read article: When Doi met Peliti: physicists celebrate 50 years of the Doi-Peliti theory
Why supporting international colleagues is everyone’s responsibility
International researchers can face many challenges when trying to settle in another country
Read article: Why supporting international colleagues is everyone’s responsibility
Scottish artist marks 100 years of Schrödinger equation with new installation
Work will go on display at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow
Read article: Scottish artist marks 100 years of Schrödinger equation with new installation
Particle physicist Hideki Yukawa: Japan’s first Nobel laureate
Yukawa laid the foundation for an active post-war generation of particle physicists in Japan
Read article: Particle physicist Hideki Yukawa: Japan’s first Nobel laureate
Analysis
From space to folk music: quantum hackathon explores diverse use cases
The three-day event created a fun, vibrant and collaborative environment for teams of hackers to explore real-world problems that support business growth while benefitting the wide...
Read article: From space to folk music: quantum hackathon explores diverse use cases
Custom spectrometers rise to the analytical challenge
By combining in-house manufacturing with engineering expertise, Torrent Photonics works with systems developers to create spectrometry solutions that meet the needs of demanding ap...
Read article: Custom spectrometers rise to the analytical challenge
Scintillating technology: how advanced lanthanum bromide crystals are transforming radiation detection
Innovative scintillation detectors are pushing the boundaries of radiation detection, unlocking unprecedented speed, accuracy and clarity in a range of fields
Read article: Scintillating technology: how advanced lanthanum bromide crystals are transforming radiation detection
Opinion and reviews
GenAI: can we get its good side to outweigh the bad and the ugly?
Honor Powrie reflects on what impact AI might have in the future
Read article: GenAI: can we get its good side to outweigh the bad and the ugly?
Cosmic chronicles: the impact of celestial instabilities on human history
Emma Chapman reviews Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: How the Solar System Shaped Human History – And May Help Save Our Planet by Dagomar Degroot
Read article: Cosmic chronicles: the impact of celestial instabilities on human history
Industry should invest in developing and practising storytelling
Scientists must be rewarded for clearly explaining difficult concepts, says Mark Procter
Read article: Industry should invest in developing and practising storytelling
The unsavoury rise of ‘populist physics’: here’s how best to respond
Robert P Crease sees three ways to respond to attacks on physics
Read article: The unsavoury rise of ‘populist physics’: here’s how best to respond
Demon in the AI machine: bias, bad data and the burden of proof
Andrew Glester reviews the film Mercy, directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Read article: Demon in the AI machine: bias, bad data and the burden of proof
The secret world of tribology
Honor Powrie pays tribute to the work of tribologists
Read article: The secret world of tribology
Interviews
Graham Farmelo: ‘What’s really striking is Stephen Hawking’s colossal determination and stubbornness’
Andrew Glester talks to Graham Farmelo, author of a new authorized biography of Stephen Hawking
Read article: Graham Farmelo: ‘What’s really striking is Stephen Hawking’s colossal determination and stubbornness’
Ask me anything: Tania Kendrick – ‘There’s something really satisfying when everything starts to click’
Tania Kendrick is a civil servant in the UK’s Cabinet Office
Read article: Ask me anything: Tania Kendrick – ‘There’s something really satisfying when everything starts to click’
Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
Kiefer Vermeulen is research team lead at Delft Circuits in the Netherlands
Read article: Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
Ask me anything: Kristian Dominek Barajas – ‘I’m able to take a really complicated problem and give it my best guess’
Kristian Dominek Barajas is head of quantum theory at Oxford Ionics, an IonQ company
Read article: Ask me anything: Kristian Dominek Barajas – ‘I’m able to take a really complicated problem and give it my best guess’
From galaxies to groceries: how Sarah Bridle made the switch from cosmology to food
Gleb Yakubov talks to Sarah Bridle a physicist who has studied food at the University of York
Read article: From galaxies to groceries: how Sarah Bridle made the switch from cosmology to food
Ask me anything: Mary Bishai – ‘For a self-professed nerd like me, doing big science is heaven’
Mary Bishai is an experimental neutrino physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US
Read article: Ask me anything: Mary Bishai – ‘For a self-professed nerd like me, doing big science is heaven’
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