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Can you solve the first of 10 puzzles linked to Stephen Hawking’s new book?

Isolated female students more likely to drop out of PhD programmes

Study finds that lone women in a PhD cohort were up to 16% less likely to graduate than their male counterparts

Light controls a ‘living biomaterial’

A bacteria-based living biomaterial can be controlled with light to interact with mammalian cells

Wave concentrator could help capture renewable energy from the sea

New device focuses wave energy and minimizes reflections

Research news

Optical micrograph of a large h-BN crystal exfoliated on a copper foil, fully covered with graphene after the growth. Credit: Journal of Physics: Materials

Graphene plasmon devices take on quality and scale

Topological photons could make qubits for quantum computers

PTEN protein expression in bone tumour tissue

mRNA nanoparticles restore tumour-suppressor gene

Offshore wind farms could protect coastlines

Hurricane Harvey simulations show large arrays of wind turbines could reduce inland rainfall

Thermal ablation effectively treats early-stage lung cancer

Laser, cryo- and RF ablation provide safe, effective treatment of early-stage lung cancer, with comparable survival rates to stereotactic radiotherapy

Specific nanocatalyst placements improve visible-light water splitting

Utilizing the anisotropy of nanorods to separately anchor hydrogen reduction and water oxidation co-catalysts could provide the key to efficient water splitting

How does exclusively grass-fed beef affect the environment?

Only a reduction in beef consumption can guarantee lower environmental impact

Field theory of amorphous solids describes toothpaste, concrete and more

Better understanding of solid-liquid hybrids could lead to better materials

Functional gradient effects make spider webs special

Findings may help in the development of new types of impact-resistant structures

Revolutions in computing

Scientists are exploiting the continuing advances in computing power to explore and understand ever more complex systems. From advanced computer models that can probe the properties of many different physical systems, to machine learning to quantum computing, check out our special collection.

Physics World podcasts

Communicating science at music festivals

Photo of a colourful pavilion ceiling in Beijing

China targets overseas talent, Peer Review Week 2018 and ‘Rydberg radio’

Martin Ryle’s vision of renewable energy, what twistronics could do for us, big-G remains elusive

Explore in depth

Smartphone apps shake up earthquake early-warning systems

Screenshot of deep-learning planning software

Machine learning: a game-changer for radiation therapy

Swedish medical-software specialist RaySearch wants to rewrite the rules of radiation oncology. Joe McEntee finds out why

Putting quantum noise to work

Noise in physics experiments is usually an unwanted annoyance, but Philip Ball investigates new research that's attempting to put quantum noise to work

No need for BECCS?

Climate modelling seems to say we must continue with fossil fuels and carbon dioxide removal, but other approaches are wary of such technical fixes, says Dave Elliott

Two paths, diverged

Tushna Commissariat reviews Through Two Doors at Once: the Elegant Experiment that Captures the Enigma of Quantum Reality by Anil Ananthaswamy

Clouding over: the clouds that defy climate models

From Arctic "rave ice" to the reflective stratus of the Southern Ocean, clouds near the poles are causing climate modellers headaches, as Kate Ravilious reports

Talent spotting: secrets for a successful job interview in industry

James McKenzie reveals how to make yourself stand out when applying for a job

The trouble with beauty

David Appell reviews Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray by Sabine Hossenfelder

Video showcase

Dealing with hurricane hazards now and in the future

What is a quantum simulation?

A harbour porpoise photographed underwater

The curious case of the porpoises and the wind farm

Latest articles

MILabs’ VECTor⁶ awarded ‘Commercial Innovation of the Year’ at WMIC

The VECTor⁶ preclinical imaging system with broadband photon tomography receives innovation award at the World Molecular Imaging Congress

Smartphone apps shake up earthquake early-warning systems

Lucina Melesio examines how companies in Mexico are developing earthquake early-warning smartphone apps to help save lives

Animation of 19 September 2017 earthquake in Central Mexico

19 September 2017 Central Mexico earthquake examined

Mexico City's unique seismic situation leaves it vulnerable to earthquake hazards

Machine learning: a game-changer for radiation therapy

Swedish medical-software specialist RaySearch wants to rewrite the rules of radiation oncology. Joe McEntee finds out why

No need for BECCS?

Climate modelling seems to say we must continue with fossil fuels and carbon dioxide removal, but other approaches are wary of such technical fixes, says Dave Elliott

Putting quantum noise to work

Noise in physics experiments is usually an unwanted annoyance, but Philip Ball investigates new research that's attempting to put quantum noise to work

Two paths, diverged

Tushna Commissariat reviews Through Two Doors at Once: the Elegant Experiment that Captures the Enigma of Quantum Reality by Anil Ananthaswamy

ICREA Professor STephan Roche, Editor-in-Chief of the recently launched Kournal of Physics: Materials

A new player hits the scene in materials science

ICREA Professor Stephan Roche highlights what to look out for in the Journal of Physics: Materials

Cancer Research UK launches biotherapeutics powerhouse

Cancer Research UK is creating a global centre-of-excellence for cancer biotherapeutics research and treatment in the City of London

‘Vaporized’ electrons in graphene boost signals into the terahertz range

Nonlinear effect could drive extremely fast nanoelectronics

Scintillating fibre measures radiotracer concentration in blood

A fibre-based device that measures radiotracer concentration in blood moves a step closer to kinetic analysis of PET data

An anisotropic graft produced using the pneumatospinning process

Speeding up collagen manufacture

New “pneumatospinning” technique produces collagen microfibres faster than ever before

Illustration of carbon dioxide emissions

African climate research infrastructure gears up

SEACRIFOG project finds need for extra greenhouse gas monitoring stations

Cobalt offers rare-earth alternative

Scientists seek to reproduce structure of rare-earth magnets using nanorods

Administration of rGCase into the brain. Courtesy Nano Futures

Brain disease drug delivery research gets quantitative

The first investigation to quantitatively evaluate successful delivery and activity of enzymes encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles shows promise for treating Gaucher disease

Listening to whales, eyeballing cosmic radiation, Usain Bolt experiences weightlessness

Excerpts from the Red Folder

Optical conveyor belt moves ultracold atoms into hollow optical fibre

Technique could boost quantum sensing and computing

**The 2018 Physics World Special Report on China is out now**

From careers to colliders, get up to speed with Chinese physics in the new free-to-read Physics World special report

The business of space

Explore the latest trends and commercial opportunities associated with designing, building, launching and exploiting space-based technologies

Most read

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New webinar this week

MR Image Guidance and On-Table Adaptive Radiotherapy in Routine Clinical Practice
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The 10th International Workshop on Nanoscale Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology – NSS10

10—13 September 2018, Oxford, UK
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