Scientists finally see how nature moves energy so efficiently
Researchers have captured key steps in a chemical reaction that helps nature transfer energy with remarkable efficiency. Ultrafast X-rays revealed how changes involving electrons and protons are...
View ArticleA new kind of magnetism could unlock faster, more efficient computers
Scientists have discovered evidence of altermagnetism in a thin, highly tunable material that could help electronics use electron spin instead of relying only on electrical charge. The unusual magnetic...
View ArticleScientists just made a superconductor stronger using “empty space”
Researchers have demonstrated that quantum fluctuations in supposedly empty space can strengthen superconductivity, raising the transition temperature of an ultrathin material by as much as 5.4%. The...
View ArticleElectrons slow to a crawl in a strange new quantum state
Scientists at the University of Chicago have uncovered a surprising quantum state in the layered magnetic material Fe5GeTe2, where huge numbers of electrons move together unusually slowly while...
View ArticleCaltech physicists finally measure a quantum energy ladder predicted 40 years...
Researchers have experimentally observed energy patterns that physicists have predicted for about 40 years. By arranging laser-trapped atoms into a quantum simulator, they recreated two different...
View ArticleQuantum computer simulates matter “popping into existence”
Scientists recreated a particle-forming process linked to the extreme physics of the early universe using a 13-ion quantum simulator. The breakthrough suggests quantum computers could eventually help...
View ArticleAncient meteorites reveal a powerful force that helped build the Solar System
Ancient grains inside one of the oldest known meteorites reveal that a surprisingly strong magnetic field existed during the solar system’s first 200,000 years. The discovery suggests magnetism worked...
View ArticleThe LHC just ruled out another hiding place for quantum black holes
Physicists searching through Large Hadron Collider data found no evidence that the machine has been producing microscopic quantum black holes, but the result sharply narrows where such exotic physics...
View ArticleA new process turns plastic waste into gasoline and diesel fuel
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a surprisingly simple way to turn polyethylene, the common plastic used in shopping bags and cutting boards, into gasoline and diesel-like...
View ArticleBlack holes of every size follow the same surprising rule
Scientists have found evidence that black holes of vastly different sizes may launch powerful jets according to the same universal rule. Supermassive black holes can produce jets soon after tearing...
View ArticleWhat kills Schrödinger’s cat? Gravity may not be the answer
Physicists have put a decades-old idea about why the strange rules of quantum mechanics disappear in our everyday world to one of its toughest experimental tests yet. Deep beneath Italy’s Gran Sasso...
View ArticleScientists find that “perfect” systems may be surprisingly fragile
Complex systems may work better when their parts are not perfectly alike. Northwestern physicists found that carefully balanced variation, or “disorder,” can make networks such as power grids,...
View ArticleThis deep-sea enzyme survives heat that destroys most proteins
A deep-sea microbe uses an exceptionally heat-resistant enzyme to turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia at temperatures that would destroy most proteins. Its unusual structure and a newly observed...
View ArticleBillions in rare earth elements may be hiding in America’s coal ash
Scientists are looking to diatoms, sea sponges, and plants for a cleaner way to recover rare earth elements and other valuable minerals hidden inside coal ash, red mud, and mine tailings. The...
View ArticleChemistry textbooks have been getting this wrong for nearly 100 years
A foundational chemistry concept found in textbooks for almost 100 years may have been taught incorrectly. Researchers say the inductive effect in neutral molecules appears to extend only across one...
View ArticleScientists are building a microscope powered by a quantum computer
Scientists are combining an electron microscope with a quantum computer to squeeze far more information from each electron. The approach could reveal faint details with fewer electrons, helping protect...
View ArticleScientists create brilliant white material without a drop of white pigment
Researchers have created a foam-based material that produces intense whiteness and water repellency without titanium dioxide pigments or PFAS chemicals. Inspired by natural structures in snow, clouds,...
View ArticleAn important step towards detecting fractons in quantum spin liquids
A more realistic quantum model has revealed evidence that strange, nearly immobile quasiparticles called fractons could exist in solid materials. Their inability to move freely could make them...
View ArticleDark matter detector finds a strange signal scientists can’t yet explain
The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment has detected a rare particle interaction that looks unusually difficult to explain as ordinary background noise and appeared where dark matter might be expected. Scientists...
View ArticleQuantum oscillations defy expectations in this exotic material
Scientists have uncovered an unusual form of electron behavior in zirconium pentatelluride, a quantum material that can act as both an insulator and a conductor. Under temperatures near absolute zero...
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