August 7, 2026 A tall glass of ice water isn’t just a thirst quencher; it’s also an everyday example of coexisting phases. Water can exist simultaneously in both liquid and solid phases. As it turns out, this phase duality can also exist in more exotic quantum materials, in ways that are far more complicated to
August 7, 2026 In Goethe’s ballad “Erlkönig,” immortalized in Schubert’s fevered 1815 setting, a dying boy riding through the night sees a spectral king beckoning from the darkness. His father calms him: “Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif”—my son, it is only a wisp of fog. In the poem, the father’s reassurance proves tragically wrong.
August 7, 2026 Using light to process quantum information is one of the most promising approaches to building future quantum computers. Light particles, known as photons, are excellent carriers of quantum information, but their lack of natural interactions has created a major challenge for researchers seeking to build systems capable of performing a full range
Eileen Guo, Gisela Perez de Acha, Martin Sona • August 7, 2026 This article was produced in partnership with Type Investigations, with support from the Wayne Barrett Project. One morning in April 2025, employees of a small office in the US State Department got the email many of them had been dreading. For months, Elon