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‘Nano-aquariums’ deliver atomic-resolution imaging

Illustration of the atomic structure of graphene

Biomedical optics play crucial roles across medicine

Medical physicist, inventor and entrepreneur Brian Pogue is our podcast guest

Miniature magnets break field strength record

New coiled device could rival expensive magnet facilities, say scientists

Surface contamination holds the key to a static electricity mystery

Carbon-rich “schmutz” determines how charge moves between objects made from identical insulating oxides

Research headlines

Time crystal emerges in acoustic tweezers

System could shed light on emergent periodic phenomena in biological systems

Photograph of a particle being help in acoustic tweezers

Transfer learning could help muon tomography identify illicit nuclear materials

Hidden coated materials could be detected using new technique

Pockets and pillars capture ricocheting molecules in vacuum pump

Passive system could give quantum sensors a boost

Photos of the two 3D surfaces that have been created for passive vacuum pumping

Cavity-based X-ray laser delivers high-quality pulses

Electron undulator amplifies X-ray beam

Schematic showing X-ray and electron pulses in XFEL

Ion-clock transition could benefit quantum computing and nuclear physics

Deformed nucleus makes multi-ion design easier

Schematic showing how the shape of ytterbium-173 nucleus affects the clock transition

New sensor uses topological material to detect helium leaks

Device works by monitoring frequency of sound waves propagating through a kagome material

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.

Instrumentation & Vacuum Briefing

Science is done in just about every corner of the globe but many researchers lack access to the cutting-edge instrumentation available at large facilities such as synchrotron light sources and neutron-science centres. Widening this accessibility is an important theme running through this free-to-read briefing.

Cover image of the 2025 instrumentation and vacuuum briefing

Explore more in instrumentation and measurement

Ultrasound system solves the ‘unsticking problem’ in biomedical research

Impulsonics’ “surround sound” technology frees-up living cells

Photo of people who work for Impulsonics

Quantum
Analysis
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Joined-up thinking in quantum metrology: why collaboration is the secret of success

NPL has joined forces with other leading National Metrology Institutes to shape the international standards effort in quantum technologies

Lord Vallance, UK Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear

NPL unveils miniature atomic fountain clock

Precision timekeeper is just 5% the size of a conventional clock

Illustration of a conventional atomic fountain clock (left) next to NPL’s miniature atomic fountain clock

Bidirectional scattering microscope detects micro- and nanoscale structures simultaneously

New device could be used to observe structures as small as individual proteins, as well as the environment in which they move

Conceptual illustration of the bidirectional quantitative scattering microscope

Physicists overcome ‘acoustic collapse’ to levitate multiple objects with sound

Finding could have applications in acoustic-levitation-assisted 3D printing, mid-air chemical synthesis and micro-robotics

Two researchers with goggles in their lab

Memristors could measure a single quantum of resistance

Devices could eliminate the strong magnetic fields currently required to define the standard unit of resistance

Conceptual image showing some solid-looking buildings perched on top of a computer chip with wires snaking off in all directions

Looking for inconsistencies in the fine structure constant

High-precision laser spectroscopy measurements on the thorium-229 nucleus could reveal new physics, say TU Wien physicists

Electrical charge on objects in optical tweezers can be controlled precisely

New technique could shed light on electrification of aerosols

Photograph of the optical-tweezers and a member of the research team

Is your WiFi spying on you?

"Beamforming feedback information" in latest version of the technology can identify individuals passing through radio networks with almost 100% accuracy, say researchers

Photo of a wireless access point mounted on a building, seen from below so that it looks like an eye looking down at the viewer

Sympathetic cooling gives antihydrogen experiment a boost

Having more antimatter could help solve profound mysteries of physics

SEMICON Europa 2025 presents cutting-edge technology for semiconductor R&D and production

Europe’s largest event for electronics manufacturing comes to Munich on 18−21 November, 2025

Portable source could produce high-energy muon beams

Research could lead to ultracompact muon sources for applications such as tomography

Berkeley Laboratory Laser Accelerator (BeLLA) Center and researchers

Randomly textured lithium niobate gives snapshot spectrometer a boost

Compact system outperforms astronomical spectrometers

Fingerprint method can detect objects hidden in complex scattering media

Novel imaging technique can find objects buried within in opaque environments, including biological tissues

Scientists obtain detailed maps of earthquake-triggering high-pressure subsurface fluids

Advanced seismic imaging techniques could improve earthquake early warning models and aid the development of next-generation geothermal power

A diagram of the Earth's crust in cross-section, showing supercritical fluids and gases (denoted by red and blue arrows) breaking through a blue line representing the seal layer along a thick black line representing a fault. The result is seismic vibrations, shown here as a cluster of stars at the point where the breakthrough occurs. A scale on the side shows that this process occurs at the boundary between brittle and ductile layers of rock, at a depth of around 2.5 km below the Earth's surface.

Phase shift in optical cavities could detect low-frequency gravitational waves

Global network could pinpoint astronomical sources

Schematic of the gravitational-wave detector

Motion blur brings a counterintuitive advantage for high-resolution imaging

New algorithm turns structured motion into sharper images

Two pairs of greyscale images showing a pattern of lines and an image of a ketchup packet. The left images are blurred, the right images are clearer

Optical gyroscope detects Earth’s rotation with the highest precision yet

With further improvements, the instrument could enable direct tests of relativistic effects

A photograph of the ring laser at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell in Bavaria. It's mounted on a circular platform, which is itself mounted on a chunky-looking metal dais. There's a person in black clothing working on the laser at the back of the room, but most other things in the room are grey or white.

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Related events

Atomic and molecular | Conference 52nd IOP Annual Plasma Physics Conference 7—10 April 2026 | Aberdeen, UK
Biophysics and bioengineering | Workshop The Non-equilibrium Genome – Where Physics Meets Biology (NEG26) 7—9 April 2026 | Dresden, Germany
Atomic and molecular | Conference Trapped Charged Particles Conference 2026 14—18 September 2026 | Vale of Glamorgan, UK

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