Discover how genetic data supports archeological evidence that some hunter-gatherers who originated in Europe ‘held out’ on farming, dared to cross Mediterranean
Learn more about the schoolyard dinosaur discovery, which found 200-million-year-old fossilized footprints on a boulder from Australia’s Early Jurassic period hiding in plain sight.
Learn more about how these experiments show that those small electrical charges can trigger the chemical reactions necessary to form organic molecules.
Researchers in France have devised a new technique in quantum sensing that uses trapped ultracold atoms to detect acceleration and rotation. They then combined their quantum sensor with a conventional, classical inertial sensor to create a hybrid system that was used to measure acceleration due to Earth’s gravity and the rotational frequency of the Earth. With further development, the hybrid sensor could be deployed in the field for applications such as inertial navigation and geophysical mapping.
Measuring inertial quantities such as acceleration and rotation is at the heart of inertial navigation systems, which operate without information from satellites or other external sources. This relies on the precise knowledge of the position and orientation of the navigation device. Inertial sensors based on classical physics have been available for some time, but quantum devices are showing great promise. On one hand, classical sensors using quartz in micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) devices have gained widespread use due to their robustness and speed. However, they suffer from drifts – a gradual loss of accuracy over time, due to several factors such as temperature sensitivity and material aging. On the other hand, quantum sensors using ultracold atoms achieve better stability over long operation times. While such sensors are already commercially available, the technology is still being developed to achieve the robustness and speed of classical sensors.
Now, the Cold Atom Group of the French Aerospace Lab (ONERA) has devised a new method in atom interferometry that uses ultracold atoms to measure inertial quantities. By launching the atoms using a magnetic field gradient, the researchers demonstrated stabilities below 1 µm/s2 and 1 µrad/s for acceleration and rotation measurements over 24 hours respectively. This was done by continuously performing a 4 s interferometer sequence on the atoms for around 20 min to extract the inertial quantities. That is equivalent to driving a car for 20 min straight and knowing the acceleration and rotation to the µm/s2 and µrad/s level.
Cold-atom accelerometer–gyroscope
They built their cold-atom accelerometer–gyroscope using rubidium-87 atoms. By holding the atoms in a magneto-optical trap, the researchers cool them down to 2 µK, enabling good control over the atoms for further manipulation. By releasing the atoms from the trap, the atoms freely fall along the gravity direction. This allows the researchers to measure their free falling acceleration using atom interferometry. In their protocol, a series of three light pulses that coherently splits an atomic cloud into two paths, redirects and then recombines it allowing the cloud to interfere with itself. From the phase shift of the interference pattern, the inertial quantities can be deduced.
Measuring their rotation rates however, requires that the atoms have an initial velocity in the horizontal direction. This is done by applying a horizontal magnetic field gradient, which results in a horizontal force on atoms with magnetic moments. The rubidium atoms are prepared in one of the magnetic states known as the Zeeman sublevels. The researchers then use a pair of coils that they called the “launching coils” in the horizontal plane to create the necessary magnetic field gradient to give the atoms a horizontal velocity. The atoms are then transferred back to the ground non-magnetic state using a microwave pulse before performing atom interferometry. This avoids any additional magnetic forces that can affect interferometer’s outcome.
Analysing the launch velocity using laser pulses with tuned frequencies, the researchers are able to discriminate the velocity of the atoms whether it being from the magnetic launching scheme or other effects. The researchers observe two dominant and symmetric peaks associated to the velocity of the atoms due to the magnetic launching. However, they also observe a third smaller peak in between. This peak is due to an unwanted effect from the laser beams that transfers additional velocity to the atoms. Further improvement in the stability of the laser beams’ polarization – the orientation of its oscillating electric field with respect to its propagation axis, as well the current noise in the launching coils will allow for more atoms to be launched.
Using their new launch technique, the researchers operated their cold-atom dual accelerometer–gyroscope for two days straight, averaging down their results to obtain an acceleration measurement of 7×10−7 m/s2 and a rotation rate of 4×10−7 rad/s, limited by residual ground vibration noise.
Best of both worlds
While classical sensors suffer from long term drifts, they operate continuously in comparison to a quantum sensor that requires preparation of the atomic sample and the interferometry process which takes around half a second. For this reason, a classical–quantum hybrid sensor benefits from the long-term stability of the quantum sensor and the fast repetition rate of the classical one. By attaching a commercial classical accelerometer and a commercial classical gyroscope to the atom interferometer, they implemented a feedback loop on the classical sensor’s outputs. The researchers demonstrated a respective 100-fold and three-fold improvement on the acceleration and rotation rates stabilities, respectively, of the classical sensors compared to when they are operated alone.
Operating this hybrid sensor continuously and utilizing their magnetic launch technique, the researchers report a measure of the local acceleration due gravity in their laboratory of 980,881.397 mGal (the milligal is a standard unit of gravimetry). They measured Earth’s rotation rate to be 4.82 × 10−5 rad/s. Cross checking with another atomic gravimeter, they find their acceleration value deviating by 2.3 mGal, which they regard to be due to misalignment of the vertical interferometer beams. Their rotation measurement has a significant error of about 25%, which the team attributes to wave-front distortions for the Raman beams used in their interferometer.
Yannick Bidel, a researcher working on this project, explains how such an inertial quantum sensor has room for improvement. Large-momentum-transfer, a technique to increase the arm separation of the interferometer, is one way to go. He further adds that once they reach bias stabilities of 10−9 to 10−10 rad/s within a compact size atom interferometer, such a sensor could become transportable and ready for in-field measurement campaigns.
Parts of China’s space strategy might not seem directly tied to defense: plans for a joint Chinese-Russian lunar facility, a permanently-crewed space station or a burgeoning quasi-commercial launch sector. It’s […]
One of NASA’s greatest successes of the 21st century thus far came in a very unexpected form: a four-pound helicopter called Ingenuity. Ingenuity created a new Wright Brothers moment when […]
(Courtesy: EHT Collaboration; Los Alamos National Laboratory)
1 When the Event Horizon Telescope imaged a black hole in 2019, what was the total mass of all the hard drives needed to store the data? A 1 kg B 50 kg C 500 kg D 2000 kg
2 In 1956 MANIAC I became the first computer to defeat a human being in chess, but because of its limited memory and power, the pawns and which other pieces had to be removed from the game? A Bishops B Knights C Queens D Rooks
(Courtesy: IOP Publishing; CERN)
3 The logic behind the Monty Hall problem, which involves a car and two goats behind different doors, is one of the cornerstones of machine learning. On which TV game show is it based? A Deal or No Deal BFamily Fortunes CLet’s Make a Deal DWheel of Fortune
4 In 2023 CERN broke which barrier for the amount of data stored on devices at the lab? A 10 petabytes (1016 bytes) B 100 petabytes (1017 bytes) C 1 exabyte (1018 bytes) D 10 exabytes (1019 bytes)
5 What was the world’s first electronic computer? A Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) B Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) C Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) D Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM)
6 What was the outcome of the chess match between astronaut Frank Poole and the HAL 9000 computer in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? A Draw B HAL wins C Poole wins D Match abandoned
7 Which of the following physics breakthroughs used traditional machine learning methods? A Discovery of the Higgs boson (2012) B Discovery of gravitational waves (2016) C Multimessenger observation of a neutron-star collision (2017) D Imaging of a black hole (2019)
8 The physicist John Hopfield shared the 2024 Nobel Prize for Physics with Geoffrey Hinton for their work underpinning machine learning and artificial neural networks – but what did Hinton originally study? A Biology B Chemistry C Mathematics D Psychology
9 Put the following data-driven discoveries in chronological order. A Johann Balmer’s discovery of a formula computing wavelength from Anders Ångström’s measurements of the hydrogen lines B Johannes Kepler’s laws of planetary motion based on Tycho Brahe’s astronomical observations C Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discovery of the period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables D Ole Rømer’s estimation of the speed of light from observations of the eclipses of Jupiter’s moon Io
10 Inspired by Alan Turing’s “Imitation Game” – in which an interrogator tries to distinguish between a human and machine – when did Joseph Weizenbaum develop ELIZA, the world’s first “chatbot”? A 1964 B 1984 C 2004 D 2024
11 What does the CERN particle-physics lab use to store data from the Large Hadron Collider? A Compact discs B Hard-disk drives C Magnetic tape D Solid-state drives
12 In preparation for the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, CERN tested a data link to the Nikhef lab in Amsterdam in 2024 that ran at what speed? A 80 Mbps B 8 Gbps C 80 Gbps D 800 Gbps
13 When complete, the Square Kilometre Array telescope will be the world’s largest radio telescope. How many petabytes of data is it expected to archive per year? A 15 B 50 C 350 D 700
This quiz is for fun and there are no prizes. Answers will be published in April.
HELSINKI — Chinese commercial launch company iSpace has secured new funding as it prepares for a first launch of its Hyperbola-3 reusable rocket. The company, full name Beijing Interstellar Glory […]
How would the climate and the environment on our planet change if an asteroid struck? Researchers at the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in South Korea have now tried to answer this question by running several impact simulations with a state-of-the-art Earth system model on their in-house supercomputer. The results show that the climate, atmospheric chemistry and even global photosynthesis would be dramatically disrupted in the three to four years following the event, due to the huge amounts of dust produced by the impact.
Beyond immediate effects such as scorching heat, earthquakes and tsunamis, an asteroid impact would have long-lasting effects on the climate because of the large quantities of aerosols and gases ejected into the atmosphere. Indeed, previous studies on the Chicxulub 10-km asteroid impact, which happened around 66 million years ago, revealed that dust, soot and sulphur led to a global “impact winter” and was very likely responsible for the dinosaurs going extinct during the Cretaceous/Paleogene period.
“This winter is characterized by reduced sunlight, because of the dust filtering it out, cold temperatures and decreased precipitation at the surface,” says Axel Timmermann, director of the ICCP and leader of this new study. “Severe ozone depletion would occur in the stratosphere too because of strong warming caused by the dust particles absorbing solar radiation there.”
These unfavourable climate conditions would inhibit plant growth via a decline in photosynthesis both on land and in the sea and would thus affect food productivity, Timmermann adds.
Something surprising and potentially positive would also happen though, he says: plankton in the ocean would recover within just six months and its abundance could even increase afterwards. Indeed, diatoms (silicate-rich algae) would be more plentiful than before the collision. This might be because the dust created by the asteroid is rich in iron, which would trigger plankton growth as it sinks into the ocean. These phytoplankton “blooms” could help alleviate emerging food crises triggered by the reduction in terrestrial productivity, at least for several years after the impact, explains Timmermann.
The effect of a “Bennu”-sized asteroid impact
In this latest study, published in Science Advances, the researchers simulated the effect of a “Bennu”-sized asteroid impact. Bennu is a so-called medium-sized asteroid with a diameter of around 500 m. This type of asteroid is more likely to impact Earth than the “planet killer” larger asteroids, but has been studied far less.
There is an estimated 0.037% chance of such an asteroid colliding with Earth in September 2182. While this probability is small, such an impact would be very serious, says Timmermann, and would lead to climate conditions similar to those observed after some of the largest volcanic eruptions in the last 100 000 years. “It is therefore important to assess the risk, which is the product of the probability and the damage that would be caused, rather than just the probability by itself,” he tells Physics World. “Our results can serve as useful benchmarks to estimate the range of environmental effects from future medium-sized asteroid collisions.”
The team ran the simulations on the IBS’ supercomputer Aleph using the Community Earth System Model Version 2 (CESM2) and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model Version 6 (WACCM6). The simulations injected up to 400 million tonnes of dust into the stratosphere.
The climate effects of impact-dust aerosols mainly depend on their abundance in the atmosphere and how they evolve there. The simulations revealed that global mean temperatures would drop by 4° C, a value that’s comparable with the cooling estimated as a result of the Toba volcano erupting around 74 000 years ago (which emitted 2000 Tg (2×1015 g) of sulphur dioxide). Precipitation also decreased 15% worldwide and ozone dropped by a dramatic 32% in the first year following the asteroid impact.
Asteroid impacts may have shaped early human evolution
“On average, medium-sized asteroids collide with Earth about every 100 000 to 200 000 years,” says Timmermann. “This means that our early human ancestors may have experienced some of these medium-sized events. These may have impacted human evolution and even affected our species’ genetic makeup.”
The researchers admit that their model has some inherent limitations. For one, CESM2/WACCM6, like other modern climate models, is not designed and optimized to simulate the effects of massive amounts of aerosol injected into the atmosphere. Second, the researchers only focused on the asteroid colliding with the Earth’s land surface. This is obviously less likely than an impact on the ocean, because roughly 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water, they say. “An impact in the ocean would inject large amounts of water vapour rather than climate-active aerosols such as dust, soot and sulphur into the atmosphere and this vapour needs to be better modelled – for example, for the effect it has on ozone loss,” they say.
The effect of the impact on specific regions on the planet also needs to be better simulated, the researchers add. Whether the asteroid impacts during winter or summer also needs to be accounted for since this can affect the extent of the climate changes that would occur.
Finally, as well as the dust nanoparticles investigated in this study, future work should also look at soot emissions from wildfires ignited by “impact “spherules”, and sulphur and CO2 released from target evaporites, say Timmermann and colleagues. “The ‘impact winter’ would be intensified and prolonged if other aerosols such as soot and sulphur were taken into account.”
NASA says its program to use commercial spacecraft to deliver payloads to the lunar surface is working well despite just a single fully successful landing in four attempts.
Italian smallsat developer Argotec has unveiled a new modular satellite bus design that it believes provides flexibility in accommodating a wide range payloads.
Learn how viruses lingering in sewage can enter bodies of water, posing a public health risk that may be on the rise as climate change brings more rain.
This episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast features Ileana Silvestre Patallo, a medical physicist at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, and Ruth McLauchlan, consultant radiotherapy physicist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Physics World’s Tami Freeman, Patallo and McLauchlan explain how ionizing radiation such as X-rays and proton beams interact with our bodies and how radiation is being used to treat diseases including cancer.
This episode was created in collaboration with IPEM, the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. IPEM owns the journal Physics in Medicine & Biology.
Europe’s investment in HydRON, a multi-orbit optical data relay network, signals a pivotal shift in how data is moved across Earth and beyond. The program aims to transform satellite connectivity, […]
Helium deep with the Earth could bond with iron to form stable compounds – according to experiments done by scientists in Japan and Taiwan. The work was done by Haruki Takezawa and Kei Hirose at the University of Tokyo and colleagues, who suggest that Earth’s core could host a vast reservoir of primordial helium-3 – reshaping our understanding of the planet’s interior.
Noble gases including helium are normally chemically inert. But under extreme pressures, heavier members of the group (including xenon and krypton) can form a variety of compounds with other elements. To date, however, less is known about compounds containing helium – the lightest noble gas.
Beyond the synthesis of disodium helide (Na2He) in 2016, and a handful of molecules in which helium forms weak van der Waals bonds with other atoms, the existence of other helium compounds has remained purely theoretical.
As a result, the conventional view is that any primordial helium-3 present when our planet first formed would have quickly diffused through Earth’s interior, before escaping into the atmosphere and then into space.
Tantalizing clues
However, there are tantalizing clues that helium compounds could exist in some volcanic rocks on Earth’s surface. These rocks contain unusually high isotopic ratios of helium-3 to helium-4. “Unlike helium-4, which is produced through radioactivity, helium-3 is primordial and not produced in planetary interiors,” explains Hirose. “Based on volcanic rock measurements, helium-3 is known to be enriched in hot magma, which originally derives from hot plumes coming from deep within Earth’s mantle.” The mantle is the region between Earth’s core and crust.
The fact that the isotope can still be found in rock and magma suggests that it must have somehow become trapped in the Earth. “This argument suggests that helium-3 was incorporated into the iron-rich core during Earth’s formation, some of which leaked from the core to the mantle,” Hirose explains.
It could be that the extreme pressures present in Earth’s iron-rich core enabled primordial helium-3 to bond with iron to form stable molecular lattices. To date, however, this possibility has never been explored experimentally.
Now, Takezawa, Hirose and colleagues have triggered reactions between iron and helium within a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell. Such cells crush small samples to extreme pressures – in this case as high as 54 GPa. While this is less than the pressure in the core (about 350 GPa), the reactions created molecular lattices of iron and helium. These structures remained stable even when the diamond-anvil’s extreme pressure was released.
To determine the molecular structures of the compounds, the researchers did X-ray diffraction experiments at Japan’s SPring-8 synchrotron. The team also used secondary ion mass spectrometry to determine the concentration of helium within their samples.
Synchrotron and mass spectrometer
“We also performed first-principles calculations to support experimental findings,” Hirose adds. “Our calculations also revealed a dynamically stable crystal structure, supporting our experimental findings.” Altogether, this combination of experiments and calculations showed that the reaction could form two distinct lattices (face-centred cubic and distorted hexagonal close packed), each with differing ratios of iron to helium atoms.
These results suggest that similar reactions between helium and iron may have occurred within Earth’s core shortly after its formation, trapping much of the primordial helium-3 in the material that coalesced to form Earth. This would have created a vast reservoir of helium in the core, which is gradually making its way to the surface.
However, further experiments are needed to confirm this thesis. “For the next step, we need to see the partitioning of helium between iron in the core and silicate in the mantle under high temperatures and pressures,” Hirose explains.
Observing this partitioning would help rule out the lingering possibility that unbonded helium-3 could be more abundant than expected within the mantle – where it could be trapped by some other mechanism. Either way, further studies would improve our understanding of Earth’s interior composition – and could even tell us more about the gases present when the solar system formed.
While Starlink’s broadband contract wins often grab the spotlight, a panel of multi-orbit operators at the Satellite Conference here highlighted how they are also gaining significant traction with enterprise and government customers.
HELSINKI — China is expanding its presence and capabilities in the strategically vital geostationary belt, raising security concerns due to unpredictable satellite movements, according to experts. Participants in a panel […]
The loss of a solid rocket motor nozzle on the second flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur last October was caused by a manufacturing defect.
Two months into Donald Trump’s second presidency and many parts of US science – across government, academia, and industry – continue to be hit hard by the new administration’s policies. Science-related government agencies are seeing budgets and staff cut, especially in programmes linked to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is also causing havoc as it seeks to slash spending.
In mid-February, DOGE fired more than 300 employees at the National Nuclear Safety Administration, which is part of the US Department of Energy, many of whom were responsible for reassembling nuclear warheads at the Pantex plant in Texas. A day later, the agency was forced to rescind all but 28 of the sackings amid concerns that their absence could jeopardise national security.
A judge has also reinstated workers who were laid off at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The judge said the government’s Office of Personnel Management, which sacked the staff, did not have the authority to do so. However, the NSF rehiring applies mainly to military veterans and staff with disabilities, with the overall workforce down by about 140 people – or roughly 10%.
The NSF has also announced a reduction, the size of which is unknown, in its Research Experiences for Undergraduates programme. Over the last 38 years, the initiative has given thousands of college students – many with backgrounds that are underrepresented in science – the opportunity to carry out original research at institutions during the summer holidays. NSF staff are also reviewing thousands of grants containing such words as “women” and “diversity”.
NASA, meanwhile, is to shut its office of technology, policy and strategy, along with its chief-scientist office, and the DEI and accessibility branch of its diversity and equal opportunity office. “I know this news is difficult and may affect us all differently,” admitted acting administrator Janet Petro in an all-staff e-mail. Affecting about 20 staff, the move is on top of plans to reduce NASA’s overall workforce. Reports also suggest that NASA’s science budget could be slashed by as much as 50%.
Hundreds of “probationary employees” have also been sacked by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provides weather forecasts that are vital for farmers and people in areas threatened by tornadoes and hurricanes. “If there were to be large staffing reductions at NOAA there will be people who die in extreme weather events and weather-related disasters who would not have otherwise,” warns climate scientist Daniel Swain from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Climate concerns
In his first cabinet meeting on 26 February, Trump suggested that officials “use scalpels” when trimming their departments’ spending and personnel – rather than Musk’s figurative chainsaw. But bosses at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still plan to cut its budget by about two-thirds. “[W]e fear that such cuts would render the agency incapable of protecting Americans from grave threats in our air, water, and land,” wrote former EPA administrators William Reilly, Christine Todd Whitman and Gina McCarthy in the New York Times.
The White House’s attack on climate science goes beyond just the EPA. In January, the US Department of Agriculture removed almost all data on climate change from its website. The action resulted in a lawsuit in March from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York and two non-profit organizations – the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group. They say that the removal hinders research and “agricultural decisions”.
The Trump administration has also barred NASA’s now former chief scientist Katherine Calvin and members of the State Department from travelling to China for a planning meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meanwhile, in a speech to African energy ministers in Washington on 7 March, US energy secretary Chris Wright claimed that coal has “transformed our world and made it better”, adding that climate change, while real, is not on his list of the world’s top 10 problems. “We’ve had years of Western countries shamelessly saying ‘don’t develop coal’,” he said. “That’s just nonsense.”
At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), staff are being told to cancel hundreds of research grants that involve DEI and transgender issues. The Trump administration also wants to cut the allowance for indirect costs of NIH’s and other agencies’ research grants to 15% of research contracts, although a district court judge has put that move on hold pending further legal arguments. On 8 March, the Trump administration also threatened to cancel $400m in funding to Columbia purportedly due to its failure to tackle anti-semitism on the campus.
A Trump policy of removing “undocumented aliens” continues to alarm universities that have overseas students. Some institutions have already advised overseas students against travelling abroad during holidays, in case immigration officers do not let them back in when they return. Others warn that their international students should carry their immigration documents with them at all times. Universities have also started to rein in spending with Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, implementing a hiring freeze.
Falling behind
Amid the turmoil, the US scientific community is beginning to fight back. Individual scientists have supported court cases that have overturned sackings at government agencies, while a letter to Congress signed by the Union of Concerned Scientists and 48 scientific societies asserts that the administration has “already caused significant harm to American science”. On 7 March, more than 30 US cities also hosted “Stand Up for Science” rallies attended by thousands of demonstrators.
Elsewhere, a group of government, academic and industry leaders – known collectively as Vision for American Science and Technology – has released a report warning that the US could fall behind China and other competitors in science and technology. Entitled Unleashing American Potential, it calls for increased public and private investment in science to maintain US leadership. “The more dollars we put in from the feds, the more investment comes in from industry, and we get job growth, we get economic success, and we get national security out of it,” notes Sudip Parikh, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, who was involved in the report.
Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, meanwhile, has called on the community to continue to highlight the benefit of science. “We need to underscore the fact that stable federal funding of research is the main mode by which radical new discoveries have come to light – discoveries that have enabled the age of quantum computing and AI and new materials science,” she said. “These are areas that I am sure are very important to this administration as well.”
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New for 2025, the American Physical Society (APS) is combining its March Meeting and April Meeting into a joint event known as the APS Global Physics Summit. The largest physics research conference in the world, the Global Physics Summit brings together 14,000 attendees across all disciplines of physics. The meeting takes place in Anaheim, California (as well as virtually) from 16 to 21 March.
Uniting all disciplines of physics in one joint event reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of scientific research and enables everybody to participate in any session. The meeting includes cross-disciplinary sessions and collaborative events, where attendees can meet to connect with others, discuss new ideas and discover groundbreaking physics research.
The meeting will take place in three adjacent venues. The Anaheim Convention Center will host March Meeting sessions, while the April Meeting sessions will be held at the Anaheim Marriott. The Hilton Anaheim will host SPLASHY (soft, polymeric, living, active, statistical, heterogenous and yielding) matter and medical physics sessions. Cross-disciplinary sessions and networking events will take place at all sites and in the connecting outdoor plaza.
With programming aligned with the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the meeting also celebrates all things quantum with a dedicated Quantum Festival. Designed to “inspire and educate”, the festival incorporates events at the intersection of art, science and fun – with multimedia performances, science demonstrations, circus performers, and talks by Nobel laureates and a NASA astronaut.
Finally, there’s the exhibit hall, where more than 200 exhibitors will showcase products and services for the physics community. Here, delegates can also attend poster sessions, a career fair and a graduate school fair. Read on to find out about some of the innovative product offerings on show at the technical exhibition.
Precision motion drives innovative instruments for physics applications
For over 25 years Mad City Labs has provided precision instrumentation for research and industry, including nanopositioning systems, micropositioners, microscope stages and platforms, single-molecule microscopes and atomic force microscopes (AFMs).
This product portfolio, coupled with the company’s expertise in custom design and manufacturing, enables Mad City Labs to provide solutions for nanoscale motion for diverse applications such as astronomy, biophysics, materials science, photonics and quantum sensing.
Mad City Labs’ piezo nanopositioners feature the company’s proprietary PicoQ sensors, which provide ultralow noise and excellent stability to yield sub-nanometre resolution and motion control down to the single picometre level. The performance of the nanopositioners is central to the company’s instrumentation solutions, as well as the diverse applications that it can serve.
Within the scanning probe microscopy solutions, the nanopositioning systems provide true decoupled motion with virtually undetectable out-of-plane movement, while their precision and stability yields high positioning performance and control. Uniquely, Mad City Labs offers both optical deflection AFMs and resonant probe AFM models.
Product portfolio Mad City Labs provides precision instrumentation for applications ranging from astronomy and biophysics, to materials science, photonics and quantum sensing. (Courtesy: Mad City Labs)
The MadAFM is a sample scanning AFM in a compact, tabletop design. Designed for simple user-led installation, the MadAFM is a multimodal optical deflection AFM and includes software. The resonant probe AFM products include the AFM controllers MadPLL and QS-PLL, which enable users to build their own flexibly configured AFMs using Mad City Labs micro- and nanopositioners. All AFM instruments are ideal for material characterization, but resonant probe AFMs are uniquely well suited for quantum sensing and nano-magnetometry applications.
Stop by the Mad City Labs booth and ask about the new do-it-yourself quantum scanning microscope based on the company’s AFM products.
Mad City Labs also offers standalone micropositioning products such as optical microscope stages, compact positioners and the Mad-Deck XYZ stage platform. These products employ proprietary intelligent control to optimize stability and precision. These micropositioning products are compatible with the high-resolution nanopositioning systems, enabling motion control across micro–picometre length scales.
The new MMP-UHV50 micropositioning system offers 50 mm travel with 190 nm step size and maximum vertical payload of 2 kg, and is constructed entirely from UHV-compatible materials and carefully designed to eliminate sources of virtual leaks. Uniquely, the MMP-UHV50 incorporates a zero power feature when not in motion to minimize heating and drift. Safety features include limit switches and overheat protection, a critical item when operating in vacuum environments.
For advanced microscopy techniques for biophysics, the RM21 single-molecule microscope, featuring the unique MicroMirror TIRF system, offers multicolour total internal-reflection fluorescence microscopy with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and efficient data collection, along with an array of options to support multiple single-molecule techniques. Finally, new motorized micromirrors enable easier alignment and stored setpoints.
Visit Mad City Labs at the APS Global Summit, at booth #401
New lasers target quantum, Raman spectroscopy and life sciences
HÜBNER Photonics, manufacturer of high-performance lasers for advanced imaging, detection and analysis, is highlighting a large range of exciting new laser products at this year’s APS event. With these new lasers, the company responds to market trends specifically within the areas of quantum research and Raman spectroscopy, as well as fluorescence imaging and analysis for life sciences.
Dedicated to the quantum research field, a new series of CW ultralow-noise single-frequency fibre amplifier products – the Ampheia Series lasers – offer output powers of up to 50 W at 1064 nm and 5 W at 532 nm, with an industry-leading low relative intensity noise. The Ampheia Series lasers ensure unmatched stability and accuracy, empowering researchers and engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The lasers are specifically suited for quantum technology research applications such as atom trapping, semiconductor inspection and laser pumping.
Ultralow-noise operation The Ampheia Series lasers are particularly suitable for quantum technology research applications. (Courtesy: HÜBNER Photonics)
In addition to the Ampheia Series, the new Cobolt Qu-T Series of single frequency, tunable lasers addresses atom cooling. With wavelengths of 707, 780 and 813 nm, course tunability of greater than 4 nm, narrow mode-hop free tuning of below 5 GHz, linewidth of below 50 kHz and powers of 500 mW, the Cobolt Qu-T Series is perfect for atom cooling of rubidium, strontium and other atoms used in quantum applications.
For the Raman spectroscopy market, HÜBNER Photonics announces the new Cobolt Disco single-frequency laser with available power of up to 500 mW at 785 nm, in a perfect TEM00 beam. This new wavelength is an extension of the Cobolt 05-01 Series platform, which with excellent wavelength stability, a linewidth of less than 100 kHz and spectral purity better than 70 dB, provides the performance needed for high-resolution, ultralow-frequency Raman spectroscopy measurements.
For life science applications, a number of new wavelengths and higher power levels are available, including 553 nm with 100 mW and 594 nm with 150 mW. These new wavelengths and power levels are available on the Cobolt 06-01 Series of modulated lasers, which offer versatile and advanced modulation performance with perfect linear optical response, true OFF states and stable illumination from the first pulse – for any duty cycles and power levels across all wavelengths.
The company’s unique multi-line laser, Cobolt Skyra, is now available with laser lines covering the full green–orange spectral range, including 594 nm, with up to 100 mW per line. This makes this multi-line laser highly attractive as a compact and convenient illumination source in most bioimaging applications, and now also specifically suitable for excitation of AF594, mCherry, mKate2 and other red fluorescent proteins.
In addition, with the Cobolt Kizomba laser, the company is introducing a new UV wavelength that specifically addresses the flow cytometry market. The Cobolt Kizomba laser offers 349 nm output at 50 mW with the renowned performance and reliability of the Cobolt 05-01 Series lasers.
Visit HÜBNER Photonics at the APS Global Summit, at booth #359.
Are we at risk of losing ourselves in the midst of technological advancement? Could the tools we build to reflect our intelligence start distorting our very sense of self? Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technological advancement with huge ethical implications, and in The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking,Shannon Vallor offers a philosopher’s perspective on this vital question.
Vallor, who is based at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, argues that artificial intelligence is not just reshaping society but is also subtly rewriting our relationship with knowledge and autonomy. She even goes as far as to say, “Today’s AI mirrors tell us what it is to be human – what we prioritize, find good, beautiful or worth our attention.”
Vallor employs the metaphor of AI as a mirror – a device that reflects human intelligence but lacks independent creativity. According to her, AI systems, which rely on curated sets of training data, cannot truly innovate or solve new challenges. Instead, they mirror our collective past, reflecting entrenched biases and limiting our ability to address unprecedented global problems like climate change. Therefore, unless we carefully consider how we build and use AI, it risks stalling human progress by locking us into patterns of the past.
The book explores how humanity’s evolving relationship with technology – from mechanical automata and steam engines to robotics and cloud computing – has shaped the development of AI. Vallor grounds readers in what AI is and, crucially, what it is not. As she explains, while AI systems appear to “think”, they are fundamentally tools designed to process and mimic human-generated data.
The book’s philosophical underpinnings are enriched by Vallor’s background in the humanities and her ethical expertise. She draws on myths, such as the story of Narcissus, who met a tragic end after being captivated by his reflection, to illustrate the dangers of AI. She gives as an example the effect that AI social-media filters have on the propagation and domination of Western beauty standards.
Vallor also explores the long history of literature grappling with artificial intelligence, self-awareness and what it truly means to be human. These fictional works, which include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick, are used not just as examples but as tools to explore the complex relationship between humanity and AI. The emphasis on the ties between AI and popular culture results in writing that is both accessible and profound, deftly weaving complex ideas into a narrative that engages readers from all backgrounds.
One area where I find Vallor’s conclusions contentious is her vision for AI in augmenting science communication and learning. She argues that our current strategies for science communication are inadequate and that improving public and student access to reliable information is critical. In her words: “Training new armies of science communicators is an option, but a less prudent use of scarce public funds than conducting vital research itself. This is one area where AI mirrors will be useful in the future.”
Science communication and teaching are about more than simply summarising papers or presenting data; they require human connection to contextualize findings and make them accessible to broad audiences
In my opinion, this statement warrants significant scrutiny. Science communication and teaching are about more than simply summarising papers or presenting data; they require human connection to contextualize findings and make them accessible to broad audiences. While public distrust of experts is a legitimate issue, delegating science communication to AI risks exacerbating the problem.
AI’s lack of genuine understanding, combined with its susceptibility to bias and detachment from human nuance, could further erode trust and deepen the disconnect between science and society. Vallor’s optimism in this context feels misplaced. AI, as it currently stands, is ill-suited to bridge the gaps that good science communication seeks to address.
Despite its generally critical tone, The AI Mirror is far from a technophobic manifesto. Vallor’s insights are ultimately hopeful, offering a blueprint for reclaiming technology as a tool for human advancement. She advocates for transparency, accountability, and a profound shift in economic and social priorities. Rather than building AI systems to mimic human behaviour, she argues, we should design them to amplify our best qualities – creativity, empathy and moral reasoning – while acknowledging the risk that this technology will devalue these talents as well as amplify them.
The AI Mirror is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. Vallor’s arguments are rigorous yet accessible, drawing from philosophy, history and contemporary AI research. She challenges readers to see AI not as a technological inevitability but as a cultural force that we must actively shape.
Her emphasis on the need for a “new language of virtue” for the AI age warrants consideration, particularly in her call to resist the seductive pull of efficiency and automation at the expense of humanity. Vallor argues that as AI systems increasingly influence decision-making in society, we must cultivate a vocabulary of ethical engagement that goes beyond simplistic notions of utility and optimization. As she puts it: “We face a stark choice in building AI technologies. We can use them to strengthen our humane virtues, sustaining and extending our collective capabilities to live wisely and well. By this path, we can still salvage a shared future for human flourishing.”
Vallor’s final call to action is clear: we must stop passively gazing into the AI mirror and start reshaping it to serve humanity’s highest virtues, rather than its worst instincts. If AI is a mirror, then we must decide what kind of reflection we want to see.
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called on the Senate to quickly confirm Jared Isaacman for the post, saying he has “all the tools” to lead the space agency.
Set to operate for two years in a polar orbit about 650 km from the Earth’s surface, SPHEREx will collect data from 450 million galaxies as well as more than 100 million stars to create a 3D map of the cosmos.
It will use to this gain an insight into cosmic inflation – the rapid expansion of the universe following the Big Bang.
It will also search the Milky Way for hidden reservoirs of water, carbon dioxide and other ingredients critical for life as well as study the cosmic glow of light from the space between galaxies.
The craft features three concentric shields that surround the telescope to protect it from light and heat. Three mirrors, including a 20 cm primary mirror, collect light before feed it into filters and detectors. The set-up allows the telescope to resolve 102 different wavelengths of light.
Packing a punch
SPHEREx has been launched together with another NASA mission dubbed Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH). Via a constellation of four satellites in a low-Earth orbit, PUNCH will make 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy become solar wind. It will also explore the formation and evolution of space weather events such as coronal mass ejections, which can create storms of energetic particle radiation that can be damaging to spacecraft.
PUNCH will now undergo a three-month commissioning period in which the four satellites will enter the correct orbital formation and the instruments calibrated to operate as a single “virtual instrument” before it begins studying the solar wind.
“Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and sending both SPHEREx and PUNCH up on a single rocket doubles the opportunities to do incredible science in space,” noted Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate. “Congratulations to both mission teams as they explore the cosmos from far-out galaxies to our neighbourhood star. I am excited to see the data returned in the years to come.”
With his magnificent underwater images, Gerardo del Villar wants to rehabilitate the reputation of the ocean's great predators, inspire conservation, and encourage responsible ecotourism.
Rocket Lab announced plans March 11 to buy its optical communications terminal supplier Mynaric, which entered restructuring last month following production delays and supply chain issues.
HELSINKI — A new group of 18 satellites entered orbit Tuesday for the Thousand Sails constellation with the first launch from a new commercial launch pad. A Long March 8 […]
The successful second flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 has become an opportunity for European officials to highlight the need for “strategic autonomy” in space.
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