/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Usually, light waves can pass through each other without any resistance. According to the laws of electrodynamics, two light beams can exist in the same place without influencing each other; they simply overlap. Light saber battles, as seen in science fiction films, would therefore be rather boring in reality. /news/2025-07-physicists-tensor-mesons-play-important.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:40:08 EDT news672924606 The extraction of work (i.e., usable energy) from quantum processes is a key focus of quantum thermodynamics research, which explores the application of thermodynamics laws to quantum systems. Meanwhile, other quantum physics research has been investigating the non-Markovian dynamics of open quantum systems, which entail the influence of past states on the systems' future evolution. /news/2025-06-general-framework-bridges-quantum-thermodynamics.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:19:22 EDT news668247549 During the latter part of the 20th century, string theory was put forward as a unifying theory of physics foundations. String theory has not, however, fulfilled expectations. That is why we are of the view that the scientific community needs to reconsider what comprises elementary forces and particles. /news/2025-04-einstein-field-theory.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:24:52 EDT news663499484 From the early days of quantum mechanics, scientists have thought that all particles can be categorized into one of two groups—bosons or fermions—based on their behavior. /news/2025-01-mathematical-methods-possibility-particles-thought.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:26:04 EST news655572361 MIT physicists and colleagues have for the first time measured the geometry, or shape, of electrons in solids at the quantum level. Scientists have long known how to measure the energies and velocities of electrons in crystalline materials, but until now, those systems' quantum geometry could only be inferred theoretically, or sometimes not at all. /news/2024-12-physicists-quantum-geometry.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Sun, 22 Dec 2024 09:30:01 EST news653660469 In-plane magnetic fields are responsible for inducing anomalous Hall effect in EuCd2Sb2 films, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo. By studying how these fields change electronic structures, the team discovered a large in-plane anomalous Hall effect. /news/2024-12-plane-magnetic-fields-reveal-hall.html Condensed Matter Thu, 19 Dec 2024 08:38:03 EST news653819881 The search for quantum gravity has gone on for 100 years, but it is not the only unification challenge in physics. Many of us believe that one day there will be a unification theory—a theory that will reconcile many divergent physical theories. /news/2024-12-alena-tensor-unification-physics.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 10 Dec 2024 10:30:01 EST news653048532 In recent years, many physicists and materials scientists have been studying a newly uncovered class of magnetic materials known as altermagnets. These materials exhibit a unique type of magnetism that differs from both conventional ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism, marked by electrons whose spin varies depending on their momentum. /news/2024-10-physicists-reveal-nonlinear-quantum-geometry.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 11 Oct 2024 06:30:02 EDT news647773547 Developing commercial fusion energy requires scientists to understand sustained processes that have never before existed on Earth. But with so many unknowns, how do we make sure we're designing a device that can successfully harness fusion power? /news/2023-06-mathematical-blueprint-fusion-device.html Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 22 Jun 2023 16:12:03 EDT news606669121 Excitations in solids can also be represented mathematically as quasiparticles; for example, lattice vibrations that increase with temperature can be well described as phonons. Mathematically, also quasiparticles can be described that have never been observed in a material before. If such "theoretical" quasiparticles have interesting talents, then it is worth taking a closer look. Take fractons, for example. /news/2023-05-fractons-storage-tangible.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 26 May 2023 13:01:49 EDT news604324907 In physics, one often has to deal with different scales that can be described separately from one another: For the Earth's orbit around the sun, it makes absolutely no difference whether an elephant in the zoo walks to the left or to the right. And the movement of the elephant can be described without having to know anything about the properties of the electrons in its ear. The world can be divided into different scales. /news/2023-05-scale-unsolvable-problems-solvable.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 05 May 2023 09:00:14 EDT news602496011 Strain-mediated magnetic coupling in ferroelectric and ferromagnetic heterostructures can offer a unique opportunity for scientific research in low-power multifunctional devices. Ferroelectrics are materials that can maintain spontaneous and reversible electric polarization. Relaxor-ferroelectrics that exhibit high electrostriction are ideal candidates for ferroelectric layer constructs due to their large piezoelectricity. Although the properties of relaxor ferroelectrics are known, their mechanistic origins remain a mystery, giving rise to an enigmatic form of materials. In addition to that, thin films are ineffective from substrate clamping and can substantially reduce piezoelectric in-plane strains. In a new report now published in Science Advances, Shane Lindemann and a research team in materials science, and physics in the U.S. and Korea, displayed low-voltage magnetoelectric coupling in an all-thin-film heterostructure using anisotropic strains induced by the orientation of the material. The team used an ideal ferroelectric layer of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 abbreviated PMN-PT during this work and coupled it with ferromagnetic nickel overlayers to create membrane heterostructures with magnetization. Using scanning transmission electron microscopy and phase-field simulations, they clarified the membrane response to understand the microstructural behavior of PMN-PT thin films, to then employ them in piezo-driven magnetoelectric heterostructures. /news/2021-11-low-voltage-magnetoelectric-coupling-membrane-heterostructures.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:40:02 EST news556536415 Molecules have a very intricate and rich structure, which allows them to rotate and vibrate freely. As a result, they have an almost limitless space in which computer scientists could encode quantum information. In addition to their vast internal space, molecules are capable of long-range interactions and could thus be entangled to other separate molecules. /news/2021-09-robust-storage-qubits-ultracold-polar.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 27 Sep 2021 09:30:02 EDT news551947343 A joint research team from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Institute of Â鶹ÒùÔºics at Chinese Academy of Science, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Beihang University in Beijing and Fudan University in Shanghai, has provided a successful example of modern era quantum material research. By means of the state-of-art quantum many-body simulations, performed on the world's fastest supercomputers (Tianhe-I and Tianhe-III protype at National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin and Tianhe-II at National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou), they achieved accurate model calculations for a rare-earth magnet TmMgGaO4 (TMGO). They found that the material, under the correct temperature regime, could realize the the long-sought-after two-dimensional topological Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) phase, which completed the pursuit of identifying the KT physics in quantum magnetic materials for half a century. The research work has been published in Nature Communications. /news/2020-06-quantum-material-discovery-materials-benefit.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 16 Jun 2020 11:12:01 EDT news511524717 Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy helps chemists and other scientists identify and explore atomic structures. However, NMR is limited by the availability of catalogs of reference data to compare and identify structures. /news/2020-06-cutting-edge-paves-future-nmr-spectroscopy.html Materials Science Mon, 15 Jun 2020 08:11:03 EDT news511427460 Most traditional electromagnetic methods for detecting hidden metal objects involve systems that are heavy, bulky and require lots of electricity. /news/2020-01-power-metal-detector-magnetic-fingerprints.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 21 Jan 2020 14:13:21 EST news498838394 Biochemists can use electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) on protein single crystals to determine the ultimate electronic structure of paramagnetic protein intermediates and investigate the relative magnetic tensor to a molecular structure. The method is, however, withheld by typical protein crystal dimensions (0.05 to 0.3 mm) that do not provide sufficient signal intensity during protein crystallography. In a new study on Science Advances, Jason W. Sidabras and an interdisciplinary research team in the departments of Chemical Energy Conversion, Photobiotechnology, Institute for Biology and Experimental Â鶹ÒùÔºics in Germany presented a microwave self-resonant microhelix to quantify nanoliter samples. The scientists implemented the technique in a commercial X-band (mid-range frequency; 9.5 GHz) EPR spectrometer. The self-resonant microhelix provided a measured signal-to-noise improvement compared to other commercial EPR resonators. The work enables advanced EPR techniques to study protein single crystals for X-ray crystallography, without size-related exclusions or challenges. To demonstrate the method, Sidabras et al. used single crystal protein [FeFe]-hydrogenase (from Clostridium pasteurianum) with 0.3 mm by 0.1 mm by 0.1 mm dimensions. /news/2019-11-electron-paramagnetic-resonance-epr-spectroscopy.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 04 Nov 2019 10:33:48 EST news492086010 Quantum simulation plays an irreplaceable role in diverse fields, beyond the scope of classical computers. In a recent study, Keren Li and an interdisciplinary research team at the Center for Quantum Computing, Quantum Science and Engineering and the Department of Â鶹ÒùÔºics and Astronomy in China, U.S. Germany and Canada. Experimentally simulated spin-network states by simulating quantum spacetime tetrahedra on a four-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum simulator. The experimental fidelity was above 95 percent. The research team used the quantum tetrahedra prepared by nuclear magnetic resonance to simulate a two-dimensional (2-D) spinfoam vertex (model) amplitude, and display local dynamics of quantum spacetime. Li et al. measured the geometric properties of the corresponding quantum tetrahedra to simulate their interactions. The experimental work is an initial attempt and a basic module to represent the Feynman diagram vertex in the spinfoam formulation, to study loop quantum gravity (LQG) using quantum information processing. The results are now available on Communication Â鶹ÒùÔºics. /news/2019-10-quantum-spacetime-simulator.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:00:01 EDT news490599538 The isolation of graphene more than a decade ago transformed the landscape of condensed-matter physics, as the single-atom-thick, two-dimensional material exhibited high crystal and electronic quality to represent a conceptually new class of quantum materials. Â鶹ÒùÔºicists and engineers have since explored a vast family of two-dimensional crystals known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in which electrons exist in layers with insulating, conducting or semiconducting properties, although little attention has been directed to investigate superconductivity in the 2-D crystals. Ongoing work in the field continues to provide surprisingly fertile ground for applications in low dimensional physics. /news/2019-04-evidence-pair-density-pdw-spin-valley.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Tue, 09 Apr 2019 09:40:01 EDT news474014594 With a newly developed neutron tomography technique, an HZB team has mapped for the first time magnetic field lines inside materials at the BER II research reactor. Tensorial neutron tomography promises new insights into superconductors, battery electrodes and other energy-related materials. /news/2018-10-neutrons-scan-magnetic-fields-samples.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 05 Oct 2018 07:47:33 EDT news457944447 (Â鶹ÒùÔº)—For the first time, scientists have determined the equation of state of an infinite chain of hydrogen atoms, which tells the amount of energy each hydrogen atom has, given the bond length between adjacent atoms. /news/2017-10-scientists-many-electron-problem-infinite-chain.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 09 Oct 2017 09:30:03 EDT news426737356 (Â鶹ÒùÔº)—Dynamic holograms allow three-dimensional images to change over time like a movie, but so far these holograms are still being developed. The development of dynamic holograms may now get a boost from recent research on optical metasurfaces, a type of photonic surface with tunable optical properties. /news/2017-03-electrically-tunable-metasurfaces-pave-dynamic.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 02 Mar 2017 09:30:01 EST news407649027 Scientists have used an imaging technique to reconstruct the brain architecture and neural networks of the thylacine—better known as the Tasmanian tiger—an extinct carnivorous marsupial native to Tasmania. The study, published in PLOS ONE, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to scan postmortem specimens of two thylacine brain specimens, both of which were about 100 years old. /news/2017-01-neuro-imaging-brain-wiring-extinct-tasmanian.html Plants & Animals Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:00:04 EST news403957102 Neuroscientists have for the first time mapped the sensory and motor systems in the brains of dolphins. Proceedings of the Royal Society B is publishing the results, showing that at least two areas of the dolphin brain are associated with the auditory system, unlike most mammals that primarily process sound in a single area. /news/2015-07-images-dolphin-brain-circuitry-hint.html Plants & Animals Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:00:02 EDT news355462103 In 1999, UCLA professor John Miao pioneered a technique called coherent diffractive imaging, or CDI, which allows scientists to re-create the 3D structure of noncrystalline samples or nanocrystals. The achievement was extremely significant because although X-ray crystallography had long allowed scientists to determine the atomic structure of a wide variety of molecules, including DNA, it does not work for noncrystalline materials used in a variety of disciplines, including physics, chemistry, materials science, nanoscience, geology and biology. /news/2015-05-rapidly-applications-coherent-diffractive-imaging.html Nanophysics Fri, 29 May 2015 05:30:23 EDT news352096216 The ability to make a Lower Paleolithic hand axe depends on complex cognitive control by the prefrontal cortex, including the "central executive" function of working memory, a new study finds. /news/2015-04-complex-cognition-stone-age-axe.html Archaeology Wed, 15 Apr 2015 14:00:04 EDT news348297833 (Â鶹ÒùÔº) -- The laws of classical electromagnetism that were developed in the 19th century are the same laws that scientists use today. They include Maxwell’s four equations along with the Lorentz law, which describes the force exerted by electric and magnetic fields on charged particles. But Masud Mansuripur, a professor of Optical Sciences at The University of Arizona in Tucson, is now arguing that the Lorentz law of force is incompatible with special relativity and momentum conservation, and should be abandoned. In a recent issue of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Review Letters, he has suggested replacing the Lorentz law with a more general expression of electromagnetic force density, such as one developed by Albert Einstein and Jakob Laub in 1908. /news/2012-05-classical-electrodynamics-law-incompatible-special.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 24 May 2012 09:50:01 EDT news257069877 (Â鶹ÒùÔºOrg.com) -- Most people attempt to reduce the little uncertainties of life by carrying umbrellas on cloudy days, purchasing automobile insurance or hiring inspectors to evaluate homes they might consider purchasing. For scientists, reducing uncertainty is a no less important goal, though in the weird realm of quantum physics, the term has a more specific meaning. /news/2012-02-scientists-score-victory-uncertainty-quantum.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:00:01 EST news249480424 Rare earths are an expensive and necessary component of strong permanent magnets. However, their use for this purpose can be optimised and thereby reduced. This has been demonstrated in computer simulations by a Special Research Program funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. The results, which will be presented in the US tomorrow, show that such magnets may contain local deformations in the crystal lattice of the material. These deformations are above all located at the boundary of material grains. According to the calculations of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, the magnetic force of the material is weakened in these areas. This could be avoided by optimising the material structure, which would save resources by reducing the amount of rare earths required. /news/2011-02-rare-earths-silicon-chip.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:38:32 EST news218104698