Scientist creates ‘mini‑universe’ to measure time without a clock

June 12, 2026 A University of Birmingham scientist has built a “mini-universe” that takes a step toward answering one of science’s biggest questions: “What is time?” Publishing his findings in Physical Review Research, Professor Giovanni Barontini shows how it is possible to measure the flow of time without using a clock at all. The new

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Cutting a photon in two creates an infinite swarm of particles

June 2, 2026 By definition, elementary particles can’t be broken into smaller pieces. But in a new theoretical study published in Physical Review Letters, Johannes Skaar and colleagues have revealed what would happen if you tried anyway for a single photon. The answer is deeply strange: attempting to cut a photon in two wouldn’t produce

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Chip-scale ‘acoustic atom’ controls sound waves to imitate atomic energy levels and advance computing

June 3, 2026 For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. What goes up must come down. Physical laws like these govern all of the natural world—except for the tiny internal components of today’s microprocessors, which operate according to the unique and complicated rules of quantum physics. Read the full article →

‘Don’t scare the cat!’ Engineers find smarter way to measure quantum systems

June 3, 2026 UNSW Sydney engineers have riffed on the famous Schrödinger’s cat analogy to demonstrate a more efficient way to eliminate errors in quantum computing. Read the full article →

Nanomagnets control diamond qubits, pointing to more scalable quantum hardware

June 3, 2026 Quantum computing, once only a theoretical possibility, promises to deliver faster, more energy-efficient computers—but only if scientists can build and scale the hardware needed to run the machines. New research from Virginia Commonwealth University brings scientists one small step closer to quantum computing at a practical scale, which could help dramatically reduce

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Photoexcitation flips 2D moiré devices from metals to insulators in ultrafast test

June 4, 2026 Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics describing many-body interactions, have proved promising for the development of various advanced technologies. Many of these materials undergo so-called phase transitions, switching between different physical states that alter how electrons flow through them. Read the full article →

Quantum shell structure reveals new rule for proton-neutron pairing inside nuclei

June 4, 2026 Nuclear physicists used a little magic in their latest experiment conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and the result has revealed surprising new information about the behavior of protons and neutrons inside the atom’s nucleus. Specifically, the research revealed another requirement that determines how protons and

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AI helps reveal large-scale quantum effects hidden in stacked atomic sheets

June 10, 2026 Quantum materials are a class of exotic materials with special properties that are governed by quantum mechanics rather than classical physics. Those properties—like superconductivity, entanglement and unusual forms of magnetism—often originate in the tiny repeating patterns of atoms inside crystals, but through clever engineering, they can be observed and controlled at a

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Electron matter waves gain ultrafast torque that flips handedness in femtoseconds

June 11, 2026 Many natural processes, ranging from magnetism to chemical reactions, entail the movement and rotation of particles at very small scales. In quantum mechanics, particles exhibit both particle-like and wave-like behaviors, and their states can be described mathematically using representations known as wavefunctions. Read the full article →

Newly synthesized fullerene material remains metallic even under low temperatures

June 11, 2026 An international team whose research was coordinated by Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has reported the survival of metallic behavior in the strongly correlated molecular material ytterbium cesium fulleride (Yb₂CsC₆₀). The electrons in the newly synthesized material remained mobile and continued to conduct electricity even at the lowest temperatures studied, despite strong electron

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