Waveguide-style approach promises to pair the versatility of phononic quantum technologies with the tight control of photonic ones
Device is flexible and transparent to visible light
Read article: Kirigami-inspired parachute falls on target
New system does not need to drift to avoid turbulence
Read article: Quantum gas keeps its cool
New measurements on Bose–Einstein condensate could help us better understand how objects transition from being quantum and ordered to classical and chaotic
Read article: Quantum fluid instability produces eccentric skyrmions
New finding advances our understanding of complex topological quantum systems and could help in the development of next-generation memory and storage devices
Read article: ‘Breathing’ crystal reversibly releases oxygen
New topotactic oxide material could be used in some clean energy technologies including fuel cells
Read article: Broadband wireless gets even broader thanks to integrated transmitter
Device can process signals at frequencies ranging from below 1 GHz to more than 100 GHz
Read article: Super sticky underwater hydrogels designed using data mining and AI
Researchers combine machine learning with data mining methods to create a record-breaking underwater adhesive hydrogel
The 2025 edition of Physics World Careers is packed full of advice for early-career scientists. Including a range of valuable advice, informative case studies and recruiter profiles, it demonstrates the variety of jobs that use a physics degree.
Read article: Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi win the 2025 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Trio honoured for their work on metal-organic frameworks
Read article: Is materials science the new alchemy for the 21st century?
Honor Powrie pays tribute to the work of materials scientists
Read article: How the slowest experiment in the world became a fast success
Stefan Hutzler and Louise Bradley explain how they turned the famous pitch-drop experiment into an outreach activity
Read article: 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
Read article: Electrochemical loading boosts deuterium fusion in a palladium target
Benchtop accelerator links electrochemistry to fusion science
Read article: Nano-engineered flyers could soon explore Earth’s mesosphere
Devices are levitated by sunlight alone
Read article: Deep-blue LEDs get a super-bright, non-toxic boost
A new hybrid copper iodide semiconductor converts nearly all the photoenergy it receives into blue light
Read article: Graphite ‘hijacks’ the journey from molten carbon to diamond
Machine-learning-based molecular simulations reveal unexpected crystallization pathway
Read article: Physicists get dark excitons under control
New capability could make it easier to generate single pairs of entangled photons on demand using semiconductor quantum dots
Read article: Amorphous carbon membrane creates precision proton beams for cancer therapy
Ultraclean monolayer amorphous carbon can be used to generate high-current, low-scattering proton treatment beams
Read article: New metalaser is a laser researcher’s dream
Nanostructured lasing system creates arbitrarily-shaped wavefronts, making it possible to control laser emission at will
Read article: Pushing the energy-lifetime frontier of Li-ion batteries: optimizing Ni-rich, Co-free cathode materials to maximize energy density and cycle life
Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. EDT on 17 September 2025
To learn about state-of-the-art cathode materials and how our latest understanding of materia...
Read article: Stacked perovskite photodetector outperforms conventional silicon image sensors
New device could lead to sensitive, artefact-free imaging with improved colour fidelity
Read article: Scientists image excitons in carbon nanotubes for the first time
New ultrafast optical microscope could aid the development of advanced optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies based on these nanomaterials
Read article: Acoustic rainbows emerge from novel sound-scattering structure
New architecture could be used to create tailored devices that emit or receive only certain frequencies of sound
Read article: Switchable metasurfaces deliver stronger light control
Optimizing the geometric parameters of polymer nanoantenna arrays significantly improves the performance of optical metasurfaces
Read article: Mysterious seismic wave speed-up deep within Earth’s mantle explained at last
A phase change in post-perovskite materials at the so-called D” discontinuity is also evidence for long-predicted slow, convective flows in the mantle itself
Read article: Symmetric crystals can absorb light asymmetrically
Counterintuitive discovery could help develop new technologies that control light