Fundamental physics, quantum technology and new materials.
A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon near Einstein Crater on August 5, 2026, creating an artificial impact crater and highlighting concerns about space debris disposal.
LHAASO detects Cygnus X-3 accelerating cosmic-ray protons to at least 30 PeV, confirming the Milky Way's most powerful natural particle accelerator and shattering the long-held ~1 PeV ceiling for galactic accelerators.
IBM and the University of Chicago announced three quantum computing demonstrations on July 30, 2026, claiming to have crossed the threshold for computational advantage — a milestone that separates verifiable classical-hard proofs from empirical benchmark comparisons.
A $57 million vertical wind tunnel replaces two aging facilities and will test aircraft, rockets, and spacecraft for missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Titan.
On July 24, the European Physical Society announced three researchers receive the 2026 Europhysics Prize for discovering altermagnetism, a third fundamental class of magnetic order that combines zero net magnetization with spin-polarized electronic properties.
All four LHC experiments have found signs of quark-gluon plasma in oxygen and neon collisions — a state of matter previously thought to require heavy ions like lead.
Applying intense pressure to tantalum disulfide raises its superconducting temperature threefold and boosts electron participation sevenfold, revealing new insights into unconventional superconductivity.
LSU physicists have built the first room-temperature quantum material that can distinguish and route different quantum states of light — a breakthrough that could reshape photonic quantum computing.
Researchers have observed ray-like thermal transport in boron arsenide at room temperature for the first time, revealing wavelike heat waves that persist across micrometer distances and fan into directional patterns dictated by the crystal's symmetry.
Scientists discovered that deep-sea pressure squeezes carbon and nitrogen from sinking organic particles, providing an unexpected food source for microbes and potentially rewriting how the ocean's carbon cycle works.
The CMS Collaboration has released results from the largest sample of beauty mesons ever analyzed, delivering the most precise measurement yet of CP violation in the decay of the B0s particle.
Scientists have filmed DNA unzipping at atomic resolution, revealing helicase uses ATP as an 'entropy switch'—a universal mechanism with direct implications for designing antiviral and anticancer drugs.
The LHCb Collaboration has observed the final member of a family of particles theorised over half a century ago, closing an important chapter in heavy-flavour spectroscopy.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems released five peer-reviewed papers today in a bid to show the scientific community that its 400-megawatt ARC fusion power plant is built on proven physics, not optimism.
After a productive extension, Run 3 at the LHC concluded in early July 2026. The machine now enters Long Shutdown 3 for a major upgrade.
The ATLAS Collaboration has observed a new excited meson, bringing the tally of hadrons discovered at the LHC to 84.