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New sensor uses topological material to detect helium leaks

Diagram showing white cylinders arranged in a triangular pattern and connected by white tubes. A series of three smaller diagrams shows the device from different angles and the location of gas inlets.

Shining laser light on a material produces subtle changes in its magnetic properties

New use for photolithography could have applications for data storage

Anyon physics could explain coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism

Calculations explain curious properties of some 2D materials

New hybrid state of matter is a mix of solid and liquid

Finding could be important for catalysis and other thermally-activated industrial processes

Research headlines

Slow spectroscopy sheds light on photodegradation

Photo of the slow spectroscopy experiment

Ice XXI appears in a diamond anvil cell

Photo of the IC2 interaction chamber of the HED experimental station at the European XFEL. It's a large metal vacuum chamber with various ports and hoses coming out of it. A strip of yellow caution tape is visible on the floor in the background

Microscale ‘wave-on-a-chip’ device sheds light on nonlinear hydrodynamics

Electron microscope image of the superfluid wave tank used in the experiments coupled to an optical fibre which brings laser light in and out of the device

New cylindrical metamaterials could act as shock absorbers for sensitive equipment

Topological kagome tubes isolate vibrations to one end, keeping the other end safe

Scientists realize superconductivity in traditional semiconducting material

Superconducting germanium could find application in a new generation of quantum devices

New experiments on static electricity cast doubt on previous studies in the field

Bulk conductivity may have been hiding the dynamics of surface charge transfer, say researchers

Ternary hydride shows signs of room-temperature superconductivity at high pressures

New alloy is made by doping scandium into the well-known La-H binary system

Quantum fluids mix like oil and water

Rayleigh–Taylor instability responsible for mushroom clouds appears in a two-component BEC

New protocol makes an elusive superconducting signature measurable

Physicists have designed a protocol to study high-temperature superconductivity on an experimentally realizable platform

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Doorway states spotted in graphene-based materials

Low-energy electron emission spectra depend on sample thickness

Illustration of a doorway state using a frog in a box

Physicists explain why some fast-moving droplets stick to hydrophobic surfaces

New experiments and calculations could improve aerosol and microfluidic technologies while shedding more light on airborne disease transmission

Four time-lapse series of images showing droplets bouncing. There are 13 images in each series and each series of images has a different colour background to distinguish them

Antiferromagnets could be better than ferromagnets for some ultrafast, high-density memories

Researchers in Japan have succeeded in switching a manganese-tin nanodot using electric current pulses as short as 0.1 ns

Two arrows pointing in opposite directions

Schwinger effect appears in a 2D superfluid

Physicists model vacuum tunnelling in a simple system

Meniscus size and shape affect how liquid waves move through barriers

Effect could come in useful for a host of practical applications that call for fluid control

Space–time crystal emerges in a liquid crystal

Accessible systems is classical and operates at room temperature

A time crystal as seen under a microscope

Quantum sensors reveal ‘smoking gun’ of superconductivity in pressurized bilayer nickelates

Observation of the Meissner effect could spur the development of highly sensitive quantum detectors that operate under high-pressure conditions

Highest-resolution images ever taken of a single atom reveal new kind of vibrations

Images are the first experimental evidence of long-predicted low-energy atomic vibrations called moiré phasons in twisted 2D materials

Set of three images, one showing specks of light in an orderly array against a dark background (the atoms in the material) and two showing different-shaped clouds of fuzzy dots (the atoms alone)

How hot can you make a solid before it melts?

Superheated gold stays solid at temperatures far beyond the predicted "entropy catastrophe"

A laser superheats a sample of gold. The gold is shown as a gold-coloured lattice while the laser is a bright beam of light. A rainbow coming off the lattice represents light being emitted at different wavelengths

Melting ice propels itself across a patterned surface

Ratcheting effect could lead to better de-icing

Photo of a researcher who is adjusting an ice disc

Predicted quasiparticles called ‘neglectons’ hold promise for robust, universal quantum computing

Discovery could lift theoretical constraints on calculations achievable with certain types of topological quantum computers

Photo of Aaron Lauda pointing at a blackboard full of writing and mathematical symbols

Graphite ‘hijacks’ the journey from molten carbon to diamond

Machine-learning-based molecular simulations reveal unexpected crystallization pathway

Series of diagrams showing different stages of graphite and diamond as they crystallize. A left to right arrow labelled "nucleation pathways" indicates the direction of progress of crystallization through the series. Graphite, shown in red, gradually forms stacks of disorderly rings. Diamond, shown in blue, gradually forms larger and larger regular crystals

Space ice reveals its secrets

Simulations and experiments indicate that the low-density amorphous ice found on comets and icy moons is not, in fact, entirely amorphous

Image showing chunks of white crystal interspersed with a blue amorphous background

Feynman diagrams provide insight into quasiparticles in solids

Monte Carlo method combines billions of diagrams related to polarons

Hints of a 3D quantum spin liquid revealed by neutron scattering

Evidence for “emergent photons” seen in frustrated antiferromagnet

Physicist Diana Kirschbaum works in a lab

The Butler-Volmer equation revisited: effect of metal work function

Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m EDT on 27 August 2025

If you use or teach the Butler-Volmer equation, join us to learn the latest advances

New microscopy technique can identify topological superconductors

Scanning-tunnelling microscope with a superconducting tip could help uncover materials for next-generation quantum computers

A photo of Joseph Carroll standing in a laboratory next to a large machine with many cables, pipes and valves running into it. He's wearing a white shirt and black jeans, and the walls of the lab are covered in white acoustic insulation material

New mechanism explains behaviour of materials exhibiting giant magnetoresistance

"Remarkable" new model of quantum double-exchange ferromagnets could produce fresh insights into these technologically-important materials

Two graphs of the relationship between frequency (y axis) and wavevector (x axis). The graph on the left is labelled "single-particle excitations" and shows a dip in the middle, centred on a wavevector of pi. The graph on the right is labelled "spin excitations" and shows a peak at the same value.

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