Physics is supposed to be predictable. Drop a ball, and gravity pulls it down. Heat water, and it boils. Light travels in straight lines. Yet throughout history, scientists have encountered ...

Physics experiments have changed the world irrevocably, altering our reality and enabling us to take gigantic leaps in technology. From ancient times to now, here's a look at some of the greatest ...

Researchers from Skoltech and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics have developed an approach that helps optimize the parameters of a laser-plasma source of attosecond pulses—ultrashort ...

For the first time, a quantum radiation reaction in strong electromagnetic fields has been demonstrated experimentally by allowing electrons to collide with an extremely intense and powerful laser ...

This is all covered by Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, which is one of physics’ most familiar rules: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. But physicists in China have now ...

A humble elevator shaft was recently used in a test of the constancy of the speed of light. Credit: Jason Wong/Flickr, CC ...

Anne L’Huillier of Lund University, Pierre Agostini of The Ohio State University, and Ferenc Krausz of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics “for ...

The most beautiful experiment in physics, according to a poll of Physics World readers, is the interference of single electrons in a Young’s double slit. Robert P Crease reports Simply beautiful – the ...

Quantum physicists have measured negative time in a remarkable quantum experiment that is reshaping discussions around quantum mechanics, photon behavior, and the nature of time itself. The study, ...

A device that can detect particles arriving from space does not necessarily require a multimillion-dollar laboratory. A ...

A proposed funding program for small- and medium-scale projects reveals insights into the science, logistical challenges, and future of particle physics research. Particle physicists have a reputation ...

Temporal measurements in conditions similar to those in the Sun rebut a leading hypothesis for why models and experiments disagree on how much light iron absorbs. Figure 1: With a surface temperature ...