When a US research lab accidentally created a sticky web-like substance, it turned to Peter Parker and comic-book lore for inspiration on what to do next.
In June 1925, a relatively unknown physics postdoc by the name of Werner Heisenberg developed the basic mathematical framework that would be the basis for the first quantum revolution. Heisenberg, who would later win the Nobel Prize for Physics, famously came up with quantum mechanics on a two-week vacation on the tiny island of Helgoland off the coast of Germany, where he had gone to cure a bad bout of hay fever.
Now, a century later, we are on the cusp of a second quantum revolution, with quantum science and technologies growing rapidly across the globe. According to the State of Quantum 2024 report, a total of 33 countries around the world currently have government initiatives in quantum technology, of which more than 20 have national strategies with large-scale funding. The report estimates that up to $50bn in public cash has already been committed.
It’s a fitting tribute, then, that the United Nations (UN) has chosen 2025 to be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). They hope that the year will raise global awareness of the impact that quantum physics and its applications have already had on our world. The UN also aims to highlight to the global public the myriad potential future applications of quantum technologies and how they could help tackle universal issues – from climate and clean energy to health and infrastructure – while also addressing the UN’s sustainable development goals.
The Institute of Physics (IOP), which publishes Physics World, is one of the IYQ’s six “founding partners” alongside the German and American physical societies, SPIE, Optica and the Chinese Optical Society. “The UNESCO International Year of Quantum is a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about quantum research and technology and the transformational opportunities it is opening up” says Tom Grinyer, chief executive of the IOP. “The Institute of Physics is co-ordinating the UK and Irish elements of the year, which mark the 100th anniversary of the first formulation of quantum mechanics, and we are keen to celebrate the milestone, making sure that as many people as possible get the opportunity to find out more about this fascinating area of science and technology,” he adds.
“IYQ provides the opportunity for societies and organizations around the world to come together in marking both the 100-year history of the field, as well as the longer-term real-world impact that quantum science is certain to have for decades to come,” says Tim Smith, head of portfolio development at IOP Publishing. “Quantum science and technology represents one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of science today, encompassing the global physical-sciences community in a way that connects scientific wonder with fundamental research, technological innovation, industry, and funding programmes worldwide.”
Taking shape
The official opening ceremony for IYQ takes place on 4–5 February at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, although several countries, including Germany and India, held their own launches in advance of the main event . Working together, the IOP and IOP Publishing have developed a wide array of quantum resources, talks, conferences, festivals and public-themed events planned as a part of the UK’s celebrations for IYQ.
In late February, meanwhile, the Royal Society – the world’s oldest continuously active learned society – will host a two-day quantum conference. Dubbed “Quantum Information”, it will bring together scientists, industry leaders and public-sector stakeholders to discuss the current challenges involved in quantum computing, networks and sensing systems.
In Scotland, the annual Edinburgh Science Festival , which takes place in April, will include a special “quantum explorers” exhibit and workshop by the UK’s newly launched National Quantum Computing Centre. Elsewhere, the Quantum Software Lab at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh is hosting a month-long “Quantum Fringe 2025” event across Scotland. It will include a quantum machine-learning school on the Isle of Skye and well as the annual UK Quantum Hackathon, which brings together teams of aspiring coders with industry mentors to tackle practical challenges and develop solutions using quantum computing.
In June, the Institution of Engineering and Technology is hosting a Quantum Engineering and Technologies conference, as part of its newly launched Quantum technologies and 6G and Future Networks events. The event’s themes include everything from information processing and memories to photon sources and cryptography.
The IOP will use the focus this year gives us to continue to make the case for the investment in research and development, and support for physics skills, which will be crucial if we are to fully unlock the economic and social potential of the quantum sector
Further IYQ-themed events will take place atQuAMP, the IOP’s biennial international conference on quantum, atomic and molecular physics in September. Activities culminate in a three-part celebration in November, with a quantum community event led by the IOP’s History of Physics and quantum Business and Innovation Growth (qBIG) special interest groups, a schools event at the Royal Institution, and a public celebration with a keynote speech from University of Surrey quantum physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili. “The UK and Ireland already have a globally important position in many areas of quantum research, with the UK, for instance, having established one of the world’s first National Quantum Technology Programmes,” explains Grinyer. “We will also be using the focus this year gives us to continue to make the case for the investment in research and development, and support for physics skills, which will be crucial if we are to fully unlock the economic and social potential of what is both a fascinating area of research, and a fast growing physics-powered business sector,” he adds.
Quantum careers
With the booming quantum marketplace, it’s no surprise that employers are on the hunt for many skilled physicists to join the workforce. And indeed, there is a significant scarcity of skilled quantum professionals for the many roles across industry and academia. Also, with quantum research advancing everything from software and machine learning to materials science and drug discovery, your skills will be transferable across the board.
If you plan to join the quantum workforce, then choosing the right PhD programme, having the right skills for a specific role and managing risk and reward in the emerging quantum industry are all crucial. There are a number of careers events on the IYQ calendar, to learn more about the many career prospects for physicists in the sector. In April, for example, the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training is hosting a Careers in Quantum event, while the Economist magazine is hosting its annual Commercialising Quantum conference in May.
There will also be a special quantum careers panel discussion, including top speakers from the UK and the US, as part of our newly launched Physics World Live panel discussions in April. This year’s Physics World Careers 2025 guide has a special quantum focus, and there’ll also be a bumper, quantum-themed issue of the Physics World Briefing in June. The Physics World quantum channel will be regularly updated throughout the year so you don’t miss a thing.
Read all about it
IOP Publishing’s journals will include specially curated content – from a series of Perspectives articles – personal viewpoints from leading quantum scientists – in Quantum Science and Technology. The journal will also be publishing roadmaps in quantum computing, sensing and communication, as well as focus issues on topics such as quantum machine learning and technologies for quantum gravity and thermodynamics in quantum coherent platforms.
“Going right to the core of IOP Publishing’s own historic coverage we’re excited to be celebrating the IYQ through a year-long programme of articles in Physics World and across our journals, that will hopefully show a wide audience just why everyone should care about quantum science and the people behind it,” says Smith.
Of course, we at Physics World have a Schrödinger’s box full of fascinating quantum articles for the coming year – from historical features to the latest cutting-edge developments in quantum tech. So keep your eyes peeled.
In this episode of Physics World Stories, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Werner Heisenberg’s trip to the North Sea island of Helgoland, where he developed the first formulation of quantum theory. Listen to the podcast as we delve into the latest advances in quantum science and technology with three researchers who will be attending a 6-day workshop on Helgoland in June 2025.
Featuring in the episode are: Nathalie De Leon of Princeton University, Ana Maria Rey from the University of Colorado Boulder, and Jack Harris from Yale University, a member of the programme committee. These experts share their insights on the current state of quantum science and technology: discussing the latest developments in quantum sensing, quantum information and quantum computing.
They also reflect on the significance of attending a conference at a location that is so deeply ingrained in the story of quantum mechanics. Talks at the event will span the science and the history of quantum theory, as well as the nature of scientific revolutions.
Physicists in the US, Europe and Korea have produced a long-lasting light-driven magnetic state in an antiferromagnetic material for the first time. While their project started out as a fundamental study, they say the work could have applications for faster and more compact memory and processing devices.
Antiferromagnetic materials are promising candidates for future high-density memory devices. This is because in antiferromagnets, the spins used as the bits or data units flip quickly, at frequencies in the terahertz range. Such rapid spin flips are possible because, by definition, the spins in antiferromagnets align antiparallel to each other, leading to strong interactions among the spins. This is different from ferromagnets, which have parallel electron spins and are used in today’s memory devices such as computer hard drives.
Another advantage is that antiferromagnets display almost no macroscopic magnetization. This means that bits can be packed more densely onto a chip than is the case for the ferromagnets employed in conventional magnetic memory, which do have a net magnetization.
A further attraction is that the values of bits in antiferromagnetic memory devices are generally unaffected by the presence of stray magnetic fields. However, Nuh Gedik of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who led the latest research effort, notes that this robustness can be a double-edged sword: the fact that antiferromagnet spins are insensitive to weak magnetic fields also makes them difficult to control.
Antiferromagnetic state lasts for more than 2.5 milliseconds
In the new work, Gedik and colleagues studied FePS3, which becomes an antiferromagnet below a critical temperature of around 118 K. By applying intense pulses of terahertz-frequency light to this material, they were able to control this transition, placing the material in a metastable magnetic state that lasts for more than 2.5 milliseconds even after the light source is switched off. While such light-induced transitions have been observed before, Gedik notes that they typically only last for picoseconds.
The technique works because the terahertz source stimulates the atoms in the FePS3 at the same frequency at which the atoms collectively vibrate (the resonance frequency). When this happens, Gedik explains that the atomic lattice undergoes a unique form of stretching. This stretching cannot be achieved with external mechanical forces, and it pushes the spins of the atoms out of their magnetically alternating alignment.
The result is a state in which the spin in one direction is larger, transforming the originally antiferromagnetic material into a state with net magnetization. This metastable state becomes increasingly robust as the temperature of the material approaches the antiferromagnetic transition point. That is a sign that critical fluctuations near the phase transition point are a key factor in enhancing both the magnitude and lifetime of the new magnetic state, Gedik says.
A new experimental setup
The team, which includes researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Germany, the University of the Basque Country in Spain, Seoul National University and the Flatiron Institute in New York, wasn’t originally aiming to produce long-lived magnetic states. Instead, its members were investigating nonlinear interactions among low-energy collective modes, such as phonons (vibrations of the atomic lattice) and spin excitations called magnons, in layered magnetic materials like FePS3. It was for this purpose that they developed a new experimental setup capable of generating strong terahertz pulses with a wide spectral bandwidth.
“Since nonlinear interactions are generally weak, we chose a family of materials known for their strong coupling between magnetic spins and phonons,” Gedik says. “We also suspected that, under such intense resonant excitation in these particular materials, something intriguing might occur – and indeed, we discovered a new magnetic state with an exceptionally long lifetime.”
While the researchers’ focus remains on fundamental questions, they say the new findings may enable a “significant step” toward practical applications for ultrafast science. “The antiferromagnetic nature of the material holds great potential for potentially enabling faster and more compact memory and processing devices,” says. Gedik’s MIT colleague Batyr Ilyas. He adds that the observed long lifetime of the induced state means that it can be explored further using conventional experimental probes used in spintronic technologies.
The team’s next step will be to study the nonlinear interactions between phonons and magnons more closely using two-dimensional spectroscopy experiments. “Second, we plan to demonstrate the feasibility of probing this metastable state through electrical transport experiments,” Ilyas tells Physics World. “Finally, we aim to investigate the generalizability of this phenomenon in other materials, particularly those exhibiting enhanced fluctuations near room temperature.”
Learn about the archaeological discovery of the oldest European site occupied by ancient hominins, indicating their spread into the region 2 million years ago.
This episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast features a conversation with Colm O’Dwyer, who is professor of chemical energy at University College Cork in Ireland and president of the Electrochemical Society.
He talks about the role that electrochemistry plays in the development of modern technologies including batteries, semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals. O’Dwyer chats about the role that the Electrochemical Society plays in advancing the theory and practice of electrochemistry and solid-state science and technology. He also explains how electrochemists collaborate with scientists and engineers in other fields including physics – and he looks forward to the future of electrochemistry.
This podcast is supported by American Elements. Trusted by researchers and industries the world over, American Elements is helping shape the future of battery and electrochemistry technology.
A fusion tokamak in China has smashed its previous fusion record of maintaining a steady-state plasma. This week, scientists working on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) announced that they had produced a steady-state high-confinement plasma for 1066 seconds, breaking EAST’s previous 2023 record of 403 seconds.
EAST is an experimental superconducting tokamak fusion device located in Hefei, China. Operated by the Institute of Plasma Physics (AISPP) at the Hefei Institute of Physical Science, it began operations in 2006. It is the first tokamak to contain a deuterium plasma using superconducting niobium-titanium toroidal and poloidal magnets.
EAST has recently undergone several upgrades, notably with new plasma diagnostic tools and a doubling in the power of the plasma heating system. EAST is also acting as a testbed for the ITER fusion reactor that is currently being built in Cadarache, France.
The EAST tokamak is able to maintain a plasma in the so-called “H‐mode”. This is the high-confinement regime that modern tokamaks, including ITER, employ. It occurs when the plasma undergoes intense heating by a neutral beam and results in a sudden improvement of plasma confinement by a factor of two.
In 2017 scientists at EAST broke the 100 seconds barrier for a steady-state H-mode plasma and then in 2023 achieved a 403 seconds, a world record at the time. On Monday, EAST officials announced that they had almost tipled that time, delivering H-mode operation for 1066 seconds.
ASIPP director Song Yuntao notes that the new record is “monumental” and represents a “critical step” toward realizing a functional fusion reactor. “A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma,” he says, “which is essential for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants”.
Physicists in Germany have developed a new way of defining the standard unit of electrical resistance. The advantage of the new technique is that because it is based on the quantum anomalous Hall effect rather than the ordinary quantum Hall effect, it does not require the use of applied magnetic fields. While the method in its current form requires ultracold temperatures, an improved version could allow quantum-based voltage and resistance standards to be integrated into a single, universal quantum electrical reference.
Since 2019, all base units in the International System of Units (SI) have been defined with reference to fundamental constants of nature. For example, the definition of the kilogram, which was previously based on a physical artefact (the international prototype kilogram), is now tied to Planck’s constant, h.
These new definitions do come with certain challenges. For example, today’s gold-standard way to experimentally determine the value of h (as well the elementary charge e, another base SI constant) is to measure a quantized electrical resistance (the von Klitzing constant RK = h/e2) and a quantized voltage (the Josephson constant KJ = 2e/h). With RK and KJ pinned down, scientists can then calculate e and h.
To measure RK with high precision, physicists use the fact that it is related to the quantized values of the Hall resistance of a two-dimensional electron system (such as the ones that form in semiconductor heterostructures) in the presence of a strong magnetic field. This quantized change in resistance is known as the quantum Hall effect (QHE), and in semiconductors like GaAs or AlGaAs, it shows up at fields of around 10 Tesla. In graphene, a two-dimensional carbon sheet, fields of about 5 T are typically required.
The problem with this method is that KJ is measured by means of a separate phenomenon known as the AC Josephson effect, and the large external magnetic fields that are so essential to the QHE measurement render Josephson devices inoperable. According to Charles Gould of the Institute for Topological Insulators at the University of Würzburg (JMU), who led the latest research effort, this makes it difficult to integrate a QHE-based resistance standard with the voltage standard.
A way to measure RK at zero external magnetic field
Relying on the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) instead would solve this problem. This variant of the QHE arises from electron transport phenomena recently identified in a family of materials known as ferromagnetic topological insulators. Such quantum spin Hall systems, as they are also known, conduct electricity along their (quantized) edge channels or surfaces, but act as insulators in their bulk. In these materials, spontaneous magnetization means the QAHE manifests as a quantization of resistance even at weak (or indeed zero) magnetic fields.
In the new work, Gould and colleagues made Hall resistance quantization measurements in the QAHE regime on a device made from V-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3. These measurements showed that the relative deviation of the Hall resistance from RK at zero external magnetic field is just (4.4 ± 8.7) nΩ Ω−1. The method thus makes it possible to determine RK at zero magnetic field with the needed precision — something Gould says was not previously possible.
The snag is that the measurement only works under demanding experimental conditions: extremely low temperatures (below about 0.05 K) and low electrical currents (below 0.1 uA). “Ultimately, both these parameters will need to be significantly improved for any large-scale use,” Gould explains. “To compare, the QHE works at temperatures of 4.2 K and electrical currents of about 10 uA; making its detection much easier and cheaper to operate.”
Towards a universal electrical reference instrument
The new study, which is detailed in Nature Electronics, was made possible thanks to a collaboration between two teams, he adds. The first is at Würzburg, which has pioneered studies on electron transport in topological materials for some two decades. The second is at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, which has been establishing QHE-based resistance standards for even longer. “Once the two teams became aware of each other’s work, the potential of a combined effort was obvious,” Gould says.
Because the project brings together two communities with very different working methods and procedures, they first had to find a window of operations where their work could co-exist. “As a simple example,” explains Gould, “the currents of ~100 nA used in the present study are considered extremely low for metrology, and extreme care was required to allow the measurement instrument to perform under such conditions. At the same time, this current is some 200 times larger than that typically used when studying topological properties of materials.”
As well as simplifying access to the constants h and e, Gould says the new work could lead to a universal electrical reference instrument based on the QAHE and the Josephson effect. Beyond that, it could even provide a quantum standard of voltage, resistance, and (by means of Ohm’s law) current, all in one compact experiment.
The possible applications of the QAHE in metrology have attracted a lot of attention from the European Union, he adds. “The result is a Europe-wide EURAMET metrology consortium QuAHMET aimed specifically at further exploiting the effect and operation of the new standard at more relaxed experimental conditions.”
Learn about hotspots in tundras and boreal forests that are releasing higher level of carbon dioxide, altering the carbon balance in the world's coldest regions.
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