3+ day, 17+ hour ago   (249+ words) Could radioactive atoms in a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) form a “superradiant neutrino laser”? According to a paper published last year by Benjamin Jones and Joseph Formaggio of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the answer is “yes”. We were intrigued…...

4+ day, 1+ hour ago   (218+ words) One of the major challenges was simply doing precision optical experiments outdoors, he adds. “We had to contend with the unpredictability of nature: changes in sunlight and temperature, wind, rain and even the thermal expansion of buildings, which can affect…...

6+ day, 26+ min ago   (422+ words) The double-slit experiment is perhaps the most iconic demonstration in quantum mechanics: showing how a single particle’s wavefunction interferes with itself as it passes through two slits at once, with a tangible impact on where the particle is ultimately observed....

6+ day, 20+ hour ago   (387+ words) Maria Gragera Garcés is a PhD student contributor to Physics World. She is pursuing her PhD in distributed quantum computing at the Quantum Software Lab, University of Edinburgh, UK. Her research focuses on building software frameworks for computing systems where…...

1+ week, 24+ min ago   (184+ words) In any ionized system there is the potential for magnetic fields, but simulations of disc formation often take no account of them, partly as they remain poorly constrained: “It’s a lot easier to just crank up the gravity and use…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago   (220+ words) Isabelle Dumé is a contributing editor to Physics World. She has more than 10 years of experience in science writing and editing in condensed-matter physics relating to technology/nanotechnology/biotechnology, astronomy and astrophysics, energy and the environment, biology and medicine. She…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago   (382+ words) Many neurotherapies, with a range of sizes, could benefit from this drug delivery method. But measuring how much of the drug gets past the blood–brain barrier is challenging with current imaging methods. For example, fluorescence imaging is limited by…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago   (156+ words) Water droplets sliding across solid surfaces can acquire electric potentials of thousands of volts and thereby corrode non-conductive surfaces on metals when they discharge. That is the conclusion of researchers in Germany who say that the poorly-understood phenomenon warrants further…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (516+ words) Particle accelerators have traditionally been designed to maximize their scientific impact, but now they need to be environmentally friendly too. Joe McEntee examines initiatives pursuing a more sustainable roadmap for big science All good and well. Yet while their core…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago   (160+ words) Researchers harness sunlight to generate quantum entanglement Physics World As the world of quantum computing grows and researchers work towards scaling up quantum systems, energy consumption is becoming a major concern. Beyond the small scale and high level of control…...