Mastodawn

Physicists drive antihydrogen breakthrough at CERN

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-physicists-antihydrogen-breakthrough-cern-technique.html

#HackerNews #Physicists #Antihydrogen #CERN #Breakthrough #Science #Innovation

Physicists drive antihydrogen breakthrough at CERN with record trapping technique

Physicists from Swansea University have played the leading role in a scientific breakthrough at CERN, developing an innovative technique that increases the antihydrogen trapping rate by a factor of ten.

Phys.org

N-gated Hacker News 3d ago

🌰🔬 A team of scientists just threw a bunch of random junk (peanuts and leaves?!🍂) into a blender and somehow got lasers out of it. 🚀⚡ Meanwhile, actual #physicists everywhere are questioning their life choices. 🤦‍♂️
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/nanoph-2025-0312/html #scientificbreakthroughs #lasertechnology #randomscience #humor #HackerNews #ngated

Biomaterial-based random lasers achieved from peanut kernel doped with birch leaf–derived carbon dots

The intrinsically disordered periodic architecture inherent in natural biomaterials exhibits significant potential for serving as resonant cavities, enabling the development of eco-friendly, biocompatible, and cost-effective microlaser systems. In this study, we demonstrate a biomaterial-based random laser utilizing birch leaf–derived carbon dots (CDs) as the gain medium. CDs ethanol solution was introduced into the peanut via microinjection, successfully fabricating CDs-doped peanut samples that preserved the fluorescence characteristics of the CDs in solution. Random lasing was observed on multiple surfaces of the CDs-doped peanut under pulsed laser excitation, with varying thresholds across different regions. This demonstrates that the natural disordered microstructure of biological materials can facilitate random lasing. Analysis of surface morphology and scattering patterns indicates that the lasing mechanism arises from multiple light scattering within the disordered structure of the peanut surface, forming coherent feedback loops. Furthermore, the intrinsic biocompatibility of bio-derived CDs effectively addresses the persistent toxicity concerns associated with synthetic laser materials. Such biomaterial-based random lasers could enable eco-friendly and cost-effective photonic applications.

De Gruyter Brill

N-gated Hacker News Nov 20

🎉 Breaking news: #Physicists discover soap bubbles aren't just for bathtime fun 😲! In a groundbreaking revelation, they've decided to probe soap-film singularities, presumably to add to their collection of utterly useless trivia 🧼🔬. Next up: unraveling the mysterious complexities of drying paint. 🙄
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-proofs-probe-soap-film-singularities-20251112/ #breakingnews #soapbubbles #sciencefun #trivialpursuits #curiosity #HackerNews #ngated

New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities | Quanta Magazine

Mathematicians have broken through a long-standing barrier in the study of “minimizing surfaces,” which play an important role in both math and physics.

Quanta Magazine

N-gated Hacker News Nov 10

👓 Ah, the thrill of zero-point motion in crystals—because apparently, #physicists ran out of exciting things to study. ⚛️ Watch as they spend countless hours squinting through microscopes at #nanocrystals that glow just enough to make you wish you were reading literally anything else. 💡
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/178 #zeroPointMotion #research #scienceHumor #microscopy #HackerNews #ngated

Zeroing In on Zero-Point Motion Inside a Crystal

A nanocrystal cooled to near absolute zero produces an unexpected light emission, which is shown to arise from quantum fluctuations in the crystal’s atomic lattice.

Physics

Scientific Frontline Nov 6

In a promising breakthrough, MIT #physicists have today reported their observation of new key evidence of unconventional superconductivity in “magic-angle” twisted tri-layer #graphene (MATTG) — a material that is made by stacking three atomically-thin sheets of graphene at a specific angle, or twist, that then allows exotic properties to emerge.
#Physics #MaterialScience #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/11/phy11062501.html

Physicists observe key evidence of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene

The findings could open a route to new forms of higher-temperature superconductors.

Scientific Frontline Nov 3

#Physicists at Umeå University, in collaboration with researchers in China, have developed a #laser made entirely from #biomaterials – birch leaves and peanut kernels. The environmentally friendly laser could become an inexpensive and accessible tool for medical diagnostics and imaging.
#Physics #Photonics #Biotechnology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/11/phy11032502.html

Birch leaves and peanuts turned into advanced laser technology

Instead of relying on complex technology, the natural microstructure of the peanut kernel does the job

Scientific Frontline Oct 29

New research conducted by an international team of #physicists has found that high-energy #gamma rays might offer the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Sun’s magnetic fields.
#Astrophysics #SpaceWeather #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/10/asph10292501.html

International research collaboration finds solar gamma rays could unlock the mystery of the Sun’s hidden magnetic fields

Magnetic activity of the Sun is the driver behind the space weather and as a consequence the effects space weather has on our society

Steve Dustcircle 🌹Oct 27

The #Universe “Will End in a Big Crunch,” #Physicists Warns

https://scitechdaily.com/the-universe-will-end-in-a-big-crunch-physicists-warns/

The Universe “Will End in a Big Crunch,” Physicists Warns

Dark-energy evidence suggests the universe will end in a “big crunch” roughly 20 billion years from now. The universe is nearing the halfway point of what may be a 33-billion-year lifespan, according to new calculations by a Cornell physicist using updated dark energy data. The findings suggest t

SciTechDaily

Scientific Frontline Oct 22

In a new analysis, #physicists provide the most precise picture yet of how #neutrinos change ‘flavor’ as they travel through the #cosmos
#Physics #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/10/phy10222501.html

Neutrinos ‘flavor’ may hold clues to the universe’s biggest secrets

Collaborative experiments zero in on ghost particle’s unusual properties

Scientific Frontline Oct 21

It sounds bizarre, but they exist: #crystals made of rotating objects. #Physicists have jointly studied these exotic objects and their properties. They easily break into individual fragments, have odd grain boundaries and evidence defects that can be controlled in a targeted fashion.
#Physics #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2025/10/phy10212501.html

Exotic roto-crystals

“Transverse forces” can occur in synthetic systems, such as in certain magnetic solids