Physics
press releases.

Physics20 Oct 2023

Felix Parra Diaz elected a fellow of the American Physical Society

Felix Parra Diaz, the head of the Theory Department at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has been elected a 2023 Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). This honor recognizes scientists who have helped advance physics by contributing original research, showing how to apply physics to the worlds of science and technology, or exhibiting excellence in physics teaching. Parra Diaz was cited for “transformational contributions to the theory ...

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Physics20 Oct 2023

Pupil response may shed light on who responds best to transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression

New findings from researchers at UCLA Health suggest that measuring changes in how pupils react to light could help predict recovery from depression and personalize transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment of major depressive disorder. TMS is a safe, non-invasive therapy that uses magnetic fields to stimulate parts of the brain involved in mood regulation. While TMS is proven effective, not all patients respond equally well to the therapy. The ability to predict who will benefit most could allow doctors to better customize ...

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Physics19 Oct 2023

Electrons are quick-change artists in molten salts, chemists show

In a finding that helps elucidate how molten salts in advanced nuclear reactors might behave, scientists have shown how electrons interacting with the ions of the molten salt can form three states with different properties. Understanding these states can help predict the impact of radiation on the performance of salt-fueled reactors. The researchers, from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Iowa, computationally simulated the introduction of an excess electron into molten zinc chloride salt to see what would happen. They found three possible scenarios. In one, the electron becomes part of a molecular radical that ...

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Physics19 Oct 2023

New study finds racial and ethnic disparities persist in access to chiropractic care and physical rehabilitation for adults with low back pain

BOSTON - Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and a major driver of healthcare costs in the United States, according to the World Health Organization. Over the last 20 years, recommended treatment of low back pain has shifted from use of pain medications including opioids to early use of nonpharmacologic treatments such as spinal manipulation and therapeutic exercise which are commonly provided by chiropractors and physical therapists. However, while nearly all Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives, most Americans ...

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Physics19 Oct 2023

Soft optical fibers block pain while moving and stretching with the body

Scientists have a new tool to precisely illuminate the roots of nerve pain. Engineers at MIT have developed soft and implantable fibers that can deliver light to major nerves through the body. When these nerves are genetically manipulated to respond to light, the fibers can send pulses of light to the nerves to inhibit pain. The optical fibers are flexible and stretch with the body. The new fibers are meant as an experimental tool that can be used by scientists to explore the causes and potential treatments for peripheral nerve disorders in animal models. ...

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Physics18 Oct 2023

From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges

Ordinary pencil lead holds extraordinary properties when shaved down to layers as thin as an atom. A single, atom-thin sheet of graphite, known as graphene, is just a tiny fraction of the width of a human hair. Under a microscope, the material resembles a chicken-wire of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal lattice. Despite its waif-like proportions, scientists have found over the years that graphene is exceptionally strong. And when the material is stacked and twisted in specific contortions, it can take on surprising electronic behavior. Now, MIT physicists have discovered another surprising property ...

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Physics18 Oct 2023

Milestone: Miniature particle accelerator works

Particle accelerators are crucial tools in a wide variety of areas in industry, research and the medical sector. The space these machines require ranges from a few square meters to large research centers. Using lasers to accelerate electrons within a photonic nanostructure constitutes a microscopic alternative with the potential of generating significantly lower costs and making devices considerably less bulky. Until now, no substantial energy gains were demonstrated. In other words, it has not been shown that electrons really have increased in speed significantly. A team of laser physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg ...

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Physics18 Oct 2023

Superlensing without a super lens: physicists boost microscopes beyond limits

Ever since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered the world of bacteria through a microscope in the late seventeenth century, humans have tried to look deeper into the world of the infinitesimally small. There are, however, physical limits to how closely we can examine an object using traditional optical methods. This is known as the ‘diffraction limit’ and is determined by the fact that light manifests as a wave. It means a focused image can never be smaller than half the wavelength of light used to observe an object. Attempts to break this limit with “super lenses” have all hit the hurdle of extreme visual losses, making the lenses opaque. ...

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Physics18 Oct 2023

Physicists create new form of antenna for radio waves

University of Otago physicists have used a small glass bulb containing an atomic vapor to demonstrate a new form of antenna for radio waves. The bulb was “wired up” with laser beams and could therefore be placed far from any receiver electronics. Dr Susi Otto, from the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, led the field testing of the portable atomic radio frequency sensor. Such sensors, that are enabled by atoms in a so-called Rydberg state, can provide superior performance over current antenna ...

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Physics16 Oct 2023

Neutrons see stress in 3D-printed parts, advancing additive manufacturing

Using neutrons to see the additive manufacturing process at the atomic level, scientists have shown that they can measure strain in a material as it evolves and track how atoms move in response to stress. The automotive, aerospace, clean energy and tool-and-die industries — any industry that needs complex and high-performance parts — could use additive manufacturing,” said Alex Plotkowski, materials scientist in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division and the lead scientist of the experiment. Plotkowski and his ...

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Physics13 Oct 2023

Physicists demonstrate powerful physics phenomenon

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a new breakthrough, researchers have used a novel technique to confirm a previously undetected physics phenomenon that could be used to improve data storage in the next generation of computer devices. Spintronic memories, like those used in some high-tech computers and satellites, use magnetic states generated by an electron’s intrinsic angular momentum to store and read information. Depending on its physical motion, an electron’s spin produces a magnetic current. Known as the “spin Hall effect,” this has key applications ...

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Physics12 Oct 2023

Surprising discovery shows electron beam radiation can repair nanostructures

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (10/12/2023)—In a surprising new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures. The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day. “For ...

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Physics11 Oct 2023

Aston University researcher named in Photonics top 100

Aston University professor named in international Top 100 of Photonics Professor Igor Meglinski’s research overlaps engineering and health sciences He applies his photonics knowledge to develop methods to detect diseases such as dementia and cancer. An Aston University professor has been named in an international Top 100 of Photonics key players. Igor Meglinski, professor in quantum bio-photonics and biomedical engineering was elected by fellow experts as one of the Top 100 in the field of photonics – the science and technology of light. Although he is based in the College ...

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Physics10 Oct 2023

Houston wins $5 million in DOE funding for high performance superconducting tape projects

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a $10 million investment in three projects to develop novel technologies to manufacture high-performance superconducting tapes in the United States. Two of the projects are built on the foundations of cutting-edge research from the University of Houston. The DOE values superconductivity because it means zero wasted electricity. Superconductivity, found only in certain materials, allows direct electric current to be conducted with zero resistance and without energy loss. Widely available low cost, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are used for a broad range ...

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Physics10 Oct 2023

Source of electron acceleration and X-ray aurora of Mercury ̶ local chorus waves detected

Background Since Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun among the solar system planets, it is strongly influenced by the solar wind, a high-speed (several hundred km/s) stream of plasma blowing from the Sun. Explorations of Mercury was first carried out by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974 and 1975, which revealed that Mercury has a magnetic field, and thus a magnetosphere, similar to that of Earth. In the 2000s, the MESSENGER spacecraft provided a detailed picture of the Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere, and revealed that Mercury's magnetic field center is shifted northward from the planet’s center by approximately ...

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Physics9 Oct 2023

UofL receives $16 million to increase supply of primary care physicians for underserved rural and urban areas

The University of Louisville has received $16 million to help increase Kentuckians’ access to health care, particularly in underserved rural and urban areas. The UofL School of Medicine will use the funds from a four-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to train more primary care physicians and encourage them to practice in underserved communities where they are needed. Kentucky has a severe shortage of health care providers, with at least some portion of 113 of the state’s 120 counties designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas, including ...

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Physics6 Oct 2023

Researchers catch protons in the act of dissociation with SLAC’s ultrafast 'electron camera'

Scientists have caught fast-moving hydrogen atoms – the keys to countless biological and chemical reactions – in action. A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University used ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) to record the motion of hydrogen atoms within ammonia molecules. Others had theorized they could track hydrogen atoms with electron diffraction, but until now nobody had done the experiment successfully. The results, published October 5 in Physical ...

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Physics6 Oct 2023

Patterns in physician burnout

About The Study: The findings of this survey study involving 1,373 physicians and three survey periods suggest that the physician burnout rate in the U.S. is increasing. This pattern represents a potential threat to the ability of the health care system to care for patients and needs urgent solutions. Authors: Marcus V. Ortega, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.36745) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

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Physics5 Oct 2023

A new qubit platform is created atom by atom

Seoul, Korea - Researchers at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) at Ewha Womans University have accomplished a groundbreaking step forward in quantum information science. In partnership with teams from Japan, Spain, and the US, they created a novel electron-spin qubit platform, assembled atom-by-atom on a surface. This breakthrough was published in the journal Science on 2023/10/06. Unlike previous atomic quantum devices on surfaces where only a single qubit could be controlled, the researchers at QNS successfully demonstrated the ability to control multiple qubits simultaneously, enabling the application of single-, two-, and three-qubit gates. Qubits, ...

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Physics5 Oct 2023

Physicists find evidence for magnetically bound excitons

In art, the negative space in a painting can be just as important as the painting itself. Something similar is true in insulating materials, where the empty spaces left behind by missing electrons play a crucial role in determining the material's properties. When a negatively charged electron is excited by light, it leaves behind a positive hole. Because the hole and the electron are oppositely charged, they are attracted to each other and form a bond. The resulting pair, which is short lived, is known as an exciton [pronounced exit-tawn]. Excitons are a key part of many technologies, including solar panels, photodetectors and sensors, as well as light-emitting ...

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Physics4 Oct 2023

Navigating moiré physics and photonics with band offset tuning

When two lattices with distinct angles or periodicities come together, they conjure a moiré superlattice — a realm where astonishing phenomena like superconductivity and optical solitons spring to life. At the heart of this realm lies the moiré flatband, a key player in shaping advanced light–matter interactions, such as laser emission and second harmonic generation. In moiré physics and its relevant applications, wielding control over flatbands is a pivotal superpower. Moiré flatbands are typically generated with special structures, often manipulated ...

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Physics4 Oct 2023

New "Assembly Theory" unifies physics and biology to explain evolution and complexity

An international team of researchers has developed a new theoretical framework that bridges physics and biology to provide a unified approach for understanding how complexity and evolution emerge in nature. This new work on "Assembly Theory," published today in Nature, represents a major advance in our fundamental comprehension of biological evolution and how it is governed by the physical laws of the universe. This research builds on the team's previous work developing Assembly Theory as an empirically validated approach to life detection, ...

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Physics2 Oct 2023

Simulations reveal the atomic-scale story of qubits

Researchers led by Giulia Galli at University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering report a computational study that predicts the conditions to create specific spin defects in silicon carbide. Their findings, published online in Nature Communications, represent an important step towards identifying fabrication parameters for spin defects useful for quantum technologies. Electronic spin defects in semiconductors and insulators are rich platforms for quantum information, sensing, and communication applications. Defects are impurities and/or misplaced atoms in a solid and the electrons associated with these atomic defects carry ...

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Physics2 Oct 2023

Next-generation printing: precise and direct, using optical vortices

Osaka, Japan – Will printed photographs ever match the precision of a mirror's reflection? Even though the answer may still be no for a while, Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have made significant strides in precision printing with their innovative optical vortex laser-based technique that allows for the precise placement of minuscule droplets with micrometer-scale accuracy. Inkjet technology is a well-known printing technique that emits microdroplets from a nozzle directly onto a surface. However, when the ink droplets are viscous, with high density, ...

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Physics29 Sep 2023

ASTRO 2023 Session shines spotlight on physician burnout

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL SEPT. 29, 2023, AT 5 PM ET, 2023) – Physician burnout was already a trending topic within the medical community before 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought national attention to the issue. Typical stressors such as long hours, poor work-life balance, frustrating insurance denials and cumbersome medical documentation were compounded by new challenges from a novel, deadly virus that killed millions worldwide and necessitated a paradigm shift in care delivery. The side effects were widespread and readily apparent. By late 2021, research by the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic and Stanford ...

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