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Physics World Weekender

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MOND versus dark matter: the clash for cosmology’s soul

Dark matter’s secret identity: WIMPs or axions?

Keith Cooper explores rival theories, ambitious experiments and the ongoing race to understand why so much of the universe is invisible

Cosmic combat: delving into the battle between dark matter and modified gravity

Keith Cooper digs into the struggles and successes of modifying gravity, 40 years since its conception

Research updates

Photo of a researcher who is adjusting an ice disc

Melting ice propels itself across a patterned surface

A map of the globe showing the distribution of earthquakes detected and alerted during the study. Most of South America is covered by the network, as are the US, Australia, and a broad swathe running from southern Europe and northern Africa through the Middle East and into India and south-east Asia. Yellow and occasionally red blobs appear in earthquake-prone areas within this band. There are also grey blobs, indicating detections with no alert, in Mexico, eastern China, Japan and parts of Indonesia.

Android phone network makes an effective early warning system for earthquakes

Photo of Aaron Lauda pointing at a blackboard full of writing and mathematical symbols

Predicted quasiparticles called ‘neglectons’ hold promise for robust, universal quantum computing

Graphite ‘hijacks’ the journey from molten carbon to diamond

Machine-learning-based molecular simulations reveal unexpected crystallization pathway

Jet stream study set to improve future climate predictions

New findings help meteorologists better understand the physical mechanisms driving climate change, particularly the role of atmospheric circulation

Physicists get dark excitons under control

New capability could make it easier to generate single pairs of entangled photons on demand using semiconductor quantum dots

Amorphous carbon membrane creates precision proton beams for cancer therapy

Ultraclean monolayer amorphous carbon can be used to generate high-current, low-scattering proton treatment beams

Elusive scattering of antineutrinos from nuclei spotted using small detector

Interaction could lead to experiments that challenge the Standard Model

New metalaser is a laser researcher’s dream

Nanostructured lasing system creates arbitrarily-shaped wavefronts, making it possible to control laser emission at will

Jobs hub

Access the latest physics careers advice

Physics World podcasts

Photos of Preeti Chalsani and David Awschalom

Building a quantum powerhouse in the US Midwest

Building a career from a passion for science communication

Third age careers for physicists: writing and the arts beckon

The latest opinion and reviews

Abstract illustration of two people in a cityscape with machine cogs

Richard Muller: ‘Physics stays the same. What changes is how the president listens’

Entangled histories: women in quantum physics

Jennifer Carter reviews Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik

Honor Powrie: ‘So what has networking ever done for me?’

Honor Powrie describes how to get the most from networking events

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.

Latest news

NASA launches TRACERS mission to study Earth’s ‘magnetic shield’

People
News

IOP president-elect Michele Dougherty named next Astronomer Royal

Scientists decry ‘scientific injustice’ over lack of climate data in developing regions

Explore more of our recent articles

Quantum
Analysis
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Festival opens up the quantum realm

A series of events called the Quantum Fringe has enabled everyone from school students and the interested public to researchers and industry experts to gain new insights into quant...

Jumble of balls used in different sports, plus a shuttlecock

‘I left the school buzzing and on a high’

Colin White explains why doing schools outreach put him way outside his comfort zone

Researchers inspect the new laser-driven FEL

New laser-plasma accelerator could soon deliver X-ray pulses

New design is more efficient at driving electrons

Image showing chunks of white crystal interspersed with a blue amorphous background

Space ice reveals its secrets

Simulations and experiments indicate that the low-density amorphous ice found on comets and icy moons is not, in fact, entirely amorphous

Photo of Experimental Hall A at Jefferson Lab

Tritium and helium targets shed light on three-nucleon interactions

Study of small nuclei could help us understand neutron stars

The Butler-Volmer equation revisited: effect of metal work function

Join the audience for a live webinar at 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m EDT on 27 August 2025

If you use or teach the Butler-Volmer equation, join us to learn the latest advances

Illustration showing colourful arrows pouring out from a brain

Not sure what to do with your physics degree? Our expert panel give their careers advice

Matin Durrani speaks to four experts about their career tips for physicists

Diagram of a quantum thermochemical engine showing the different stages of the cycle

Quantum thermochemical engine could achieve high power with near-maximum efficiency

Otto engine design uses Bose gas as a working fluid and exchanges particles as well as heat with reservoirs

Deep-learning model outperforms cardiologists in identifying hidden heart disease

AI model analyses electrocardiogram traces to flag patients at high risk of structural heart disease

Feynman diagrams provide insight into quasiparticles in solids

Monte Carlo method combines billions of diagrams related to polarons

Infographic entitled "Clingy planets can trigger their own doom". It shows a planet passing close to its host star and perturbing the star's magnetic field, triggering a flare that blasts away the planet's wispy atmosphere and causing it to shrink over time

Too-close exoplanet triggers flares from host star

New observations are the first direct evidence of planets influencing their stars rather than just passively orbiting them

Modelled tritium concentration in seawater

Global ocean simulations examine tritium release from Fukushima

Model reveals that tritium in treated water discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor has negligible impact on tritium concentration in the ocean

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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

View the employer profile

Featured webinar

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

Development and application of a 3-electrode setup for the operando detection of side reactions in Li-Ion batteries

6 August 2025

Join this webinar by The Electrochemical Society. Looking for an easy to implement cell setup that enables the quantitative and qualitative analysis of parasitic side reactions taking place in lithium-ion batteries? We’ve got you!

View the webinar

Featured event

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

AVS 71st International Symposium & Exhibition

21 — 26 September 2025 | Charlotte, NC, US

The AVS International Symposium and Exhibition addresses cutting edge issues associated with materials, processing, and interfaces in both the research and manufacturing communities. The weeklong symposium fosters a multidisciplinary environment that cuts across traditional boundaries between disciplines, featuring papers from AVS Technical Division, groups, focus topics on emerging technologies and more. An extensive exhibition of related equipment, tools, materials, supplies, chemicals, services, consulting, technical literature and new technologies are showcased during the week.

View the event