Physics

A schematic of the VaTD training scheme.  Credit: Credit: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology A research team has developed a novel direct sampling method based on deep generative models. Their method enables efficient sampling of the Boltzmann distribution across a continuous temperature range. The findings have been published in Physical Review Letters. The […]

The illustration shows what happens on the surface of ice when another object, such as skis, ice skates or shoe soles, comes into contact with it: the previously orderly crystal structure of the water molecules is suddenly disrupted. Credit: AG Mueser For over a hundred years, schoolchildren around the world have learned that ice melts

An atom as seen in a field ion microscope. Credit: From the Eberly Family Special Collections, Penn State University Libraries / Penn State. Creative Commons Seventy years ago, in Osmond Laboratory on Penn State’s University Park campus, Erwin W. Müller, Evan Pugh Research Professor of Physics, became the first person to “see” an atom. In doing

Specimen design and experimental test protocol. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09300-8 A team from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the University of Vigo (UVigo) has just published in Nature the results of a study in which they have uncovered why bridges—specifically steel truss bridges—do not collapse when affected by a catastrophic event such

Comparison of the SR and ordinary fluorescence decay rates in 86Rb. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/l3c1-yg2l At any given moment, trillions of particles called neutrinos are streaming through our bodies and every material in our surroundings, without noticeable effect. Smaller than electrons and lighter than protons, these ghostly entities are the most abundant

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Playwright Tom Stoppard, in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” provides one of the best definitions of science: “The scientific approach to the examination of phenomena is a defense against the pure emotion of fear.” Nowhere is this more true than in the study of electricity in the wild; namely, lightning. Primitive

Credit: Applied Mechanics (2025). DOI: 10.3390/applmech6030062 Heat affects not only our well-being, but also the performance and lifespan of systems and devices. However, it is often difficult to measure these effects accurately. Dr. Jude Osara, assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering Technology, has developed a new scientific framework to quantify the impact of heat.

A proton (pink) and an electron (blue) experience stresses in the hydrogen atom. Investigating stress in subatomic particles and how it affects their constituents may reveal more about these particles’ complicated interactions. Credit: Jefferson Lab illustration/Shannon West Stress is a very real factor in the structure of our universe. Not the kind of stress that

Detailed view of the experimental setup. The hydrogen molecule ions are cooled by means of laser light to enable subsequent measurements to be taken using laser spectroscopy. Credit: Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf The molecular hydrogen ion H₂⁺ is the simplest molecule. This simplicity makes it a perfect study object for physicists, as its properties—for example, its

Droplet Bouncing. Credit: Anton Souslov When a droplet of liquid the size of a grain of icing sugar hits a water-repelling surface, like plastics or certain plant leaves, it can meet one of two fates: stick or bounce. Until now, scientists thought bouncing depended only on how repellent the surface was and how the droplet