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Pick of the Week

Theatre is bringing physics to new audiences but what is the definitive science play?

Isis Hainsworth on stage under interlocking rings and many small lights

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of science on stage

Check how much you know about physics at the theatre

NASA launches Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to shed light on the dark universe

The observatory will also study exoplanets, black holes and map billions of galaxies

From student to scientist – how to build a career with physics

Row of university graduates in caps and gowns, holding their degree certificates

Finding careers in STEM and the weirdness of AI

Photos of Alaina G Levine and Janelle Shane

Quiz of the week: how much data will NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope produce each day?

Launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope

Research updates

‘Lid’ of asteroid dust smothered and burned the dinosaurs, say scientists

Photo of Alexandria Johnson and Brandon Johnson in a laboratory. They're casually dressed and there are some model dinosaurs sitting on a lab bench next to them. There's a fume hood in the background.

Antineutrino detector could monitor spent nuclear fuel for clandestine activity

Two scientists in front of a white board covered with diagrams

Plasmonic metamaterial makes a photonic time crystal

Illustration showing a yellow sinusoidal wave coming in from the left side of the image and impinging on a cube with a rippling interference pattern on its nearest face

Two-dimensional material shows promise for long-term memory, thanks to slow electrons

A 2D magnetic material exhibits a charge-ordered state in which electrons move collectively and unusually slowly while maintaining quantum coherence

Breaking in: how ultrasound smuggles drugs past the blood–brain barrier

A creative spin on MRI technology measures the amount of drug delivered to a brain tumour

Sliding water droplets corrode Teflon-coated metal

Effect could damage outdoor equipment and monuments

Dose calculations reveal how patient motion impacts proton minibeam therapy

A Monte Carlo-based 4D dose calculation framework assesses the uncertainties for realistic clinical treatments

No show again for mirror neutrons

For now, the existence of a mirror universe cannot be confirmed, say physicists at the PSI

Magnetic field first kills superconductor, then brings it back to life

“Re-entrant” superconductivity discovered in a 2D material for the first time

Jobs hub

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Latest news

US orders universities to audit foreign research ties

A building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Researchers propose ‘economic Q’ metric for judging fusion power plant viability

Critics deride US administration’s ‘golden age of science’ report

The latest opinion and reviews

Honor Powrie: 10 things I wish I’d known (or done better) when I started my career

Seven writers, four physicists, one room, lots of plushies

Robert P Crease attends a workshop bringing physicists and journalists together

Knowing through uncertainty: probability and the evolution of our cosmos

Chrysi Malouchou Kanellopoulou reviews The Random Universe: How Models and Probability Help us Make Sense of the Cosmos by Andrew H Jaffe

Physics World podcasts

With e-MERLIN facing the axe, what next for Jodrell Bank and UK astronomy?

Aerial view of Jodrell Bank Observatory, surrounded by fields and hedges

Gamma Knife radiosurgery brings precision treatment to benign brain conditions

Photo of Katherine Hunt in front of a Gamma Knife facility

The Quantum Kid: childhood curiosity makes physics more accessible

Photo of Katia Moskvitch and her son Kai

Explore our two regular podcast series! Physics World Weekly looks at the latest events and headlines in physics, as well as featuring short interviews with scientists and our team of journalists. Physics World Stories takes a more in-depth look at a topic.

Explore more of our recent articles

Astronomers discover unusual 10-sided atmospheric wave on Saturn

Astronomers estimate the decagon-shaped wave may still be evolving

Image of a decagon atmospheric wave on Saturn

AI dominates the 4th International Congress of Basic Science in Beijing

Subir Sarkar finds that AI was a hot topic among the over 800 delegates

Quiz of the week: how will the new ‘AstroRad’ vest be of benefit to astronauts?

Have you been keeping up to date with physics news? Try our short quiz to find out

3D render of testing the new vest inside the Orion spacecraft

Earthquake fault irregularities control rupture speed and influence ground motion

New models show that high-speed rupture propagation produces stronger and longer-duration ground motion

A map of south-east Asia centred on Myanmar. It's a heat map and there's a long red slash running from north of Mandalay to south of Nay Pyi Taw, representing the location of the most intense shaking

Encapsulated islet transplants restore blood sugar control in diabetic mice

A thin coating that hides transplanted donor cells from the body’s immune system could enable a novel therapy for type 1 diabetes

Word wave puzzle no.8

Can you work out the word in this puzzle, which relates to a recent Physics World article?

X-ray camera catches spin waves in the act

Magnon microscope focuses on useful non-linear interactions

Illustration of magnon momentum microscopy

Physics-based simulations could improve earthquake-damage predictions, why aren’t they being used?

Discussion and debate at the US National Conference on Earthquake Engineering

The 12 August 2026 partial solar eclipse as seen from the Isle of Wight

Sean G Ryan snaps an astronomical spectacle that captured the public imagination

Radiation shielding vest could reduce cancer risk for astronauts on deep space missions

A new personal radiation shielding vest tested during the Artemis I flight could significantly reduce the radiation dose that future astronauts might receive

Testing the AstroRad vest inside the Orion spacecraft

Big science seeks big wins from sustainability efforts

Joe McEntee examines attempts to make particle accelerators more sustainable

Green energy in particle accelerators concept illustration

Quantum voting system aims to keep ballots secret

Two teams implement entanglement-based protocol

Featured employer

Physics World Jobs offers a range of opportunities for jobseekers with a background in physics or engineering. At all stages of your career, we can help find the job for you

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

For more than 60 years, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. Its defining responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent

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Featured webinar

Tune into online presentations that allow expert speakers to explain novel tools and applications

Changes in structure and ionic resistance of lithium-ion battery graphite electrodes

Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. EDT on 5 August 2026

For modellers and experimentalists: discover how SEI formation and graphite expansion define Li‑ion transport in electrodes

Sponsored by The Electrochemical Society, BioLogic, Hiden Analytical

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Featured event

Stay up to date with the latest international conferences, symposia and exhibitions for interdisciplinary scientists working across academic research and industry

Innovations in Applied Mechanics 2026

23—26 September 2026 | London, UK

Innovations in Applied Mechanics brings together two previous, highly successful conferences MPSVA – Modern Practice in Stress and Vibration Analysis and DAMAS – International Conference on Damage Assessment in Structures to present research findings in stress analysis, vibration dynamics and structural damage assessment with the intention of providing directed focus on the state-of-the-art in theoretical and experimental methodology.

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