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Thirty Meter Telescope rejects La Palma as alternative host site
€1bn funding package has been turned down by the Thirty Meter Telescope International Organization
The free-to-read Physics World Big Science Briefing 2026 is out now
Discover how big science is playing its part to tackle the climate crisis
Research updates
Proton–oxygen collisions put cosmic-ray models to the test
CERN’s ATLAS experiment probes the extreme universe
Microbes may survive at the Moon’s south pole
Crewed missions to the lunar polar regions must limit the unintended transfer of Earth life forms, say scientists
Tiny biodegradable stars enhance drug delivery to the skin
Microneedle-coated polymer particles rubbed onto the skin increase the delivery of medication by up to 37-fold
Metasurface optical device boosts nonlinear frequency conversion
Nanostructured device efficiently transforms light into different frequencies – including those at technologically important near-infrared wavelengths
Fast 3D imaging reveals how seizures move through the brain
A high-speed, 3D light-sheet microscope allows researchers to record seizure dynamics in larval zebrafish
‘Vacuumtronics’ could help make better superconductors
Vacuum fluctuations could be a non-invasive way to tune superconductivity
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Get your teeth into the cutting edge of materials science
Robert P Crease discovers the true extent of materials science in a dental lab
Universities should judge quantum-computing investments by what students learn
Students need to experiment with real quantum-computing systems, says Alex Krasnok
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Impact of VC on high temperature cycling of LFP/Gr cells
Join the audience for a live webinar at 6 p.m. BST/1 p.m. EDT on 14 October 2026
Read article: Impact of VC on high temperature cycling of LFP/Gr cells
In situ and operando optical microscopy and spectroscopy: investigating perovskite optoelectronic devices at work
Join the audience for a live webinar at 4 p.m. GMT/5 p.m. CET on 3 November 2026
Read article: In situ and operando optical microscopy and spectroscopy: investigating perovskite optoelectronic devices at work
Quiz of the week: how long could a lunar city survive?
Have you been keeping up to date with physics news? Try our short quiz to find out
Read article: Quiz of the week: how long could a lunar city survive?
Uncertainty and the random universe: a slide puzzle
Can you reconstruct the astrophysics illustration in our interactive slide puzzle?
Read article: Uncertainty and the random universe: a slide puzzle
Belarusian sculptor unveils artwork honouring US physicist Jim Gates
The sculpture forms part of Pavel’s sculptural series devoted to figures in science and culture
Read article: Belarusian sculptor unveils artwork honouring US physicist Jim Gates
Establishing a research career in advanced X-ray Imaging: insights from Xiaochuan Pan and PMB award winner Ronan Smith
Join the audience for a live webinar on 6 October 2026 sponsored by IOP Publishing's journal, Physics in Medicine and Biology
Read article: Establishing a research career in advanced X-ray Imaging: insights from Xiaochuan Pan and PMB award winner Ronan Smith
Above-average correlative materials characterization
Bringing measurements across time, space and spectrum together is revealing the hidden dynamics of innovative optoelectronic devices and novel semiconductor materials
Read article: Above-average correlative materials characterization
Moon’s water reserves insufficient to sustain a lunar city, astronomers find
While energy usage could be met, water would cause some issues
Read article: Moon’s water reserves insufficient to sustain a lunar city, astronomers find
Could quantum information theory explain universe evolution?
Gravity from entropy theory offer hints of why low-entropy regions persist in the universe
Read article: Could quantum information theory explain universe evolution?
Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
Kiefer Vermeulen is research team lead at Delft Circuits in the Netherlands
Read article: Ask me anything: Kiefer Vermeulen – ‘We had to figure everything out on a shoestring budget and on a really challenging timescale’
A hybrid energy system for heating, cooling and generating electricity
New concept exploits both the heat of the Sun and the coldness of outer space
Read article: A hybrid energy system for heating, cooling and generating electricity
Quiz of the week: how far ahead can we predict the weather?
Have you been keeping up to date with physics news? Try our short quiz to find out
Read article: Quiz of the week: how far ahead can we predict the weather?
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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
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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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