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 ...

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 ...

Thomas Young, born 250 years ago this week, was a polymath who made seminal contributions in fields from physics to Egyptology. But perhaps his most enduring legacy is proving Isaac Newton wrong about ...

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 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 ...

Arthur Compton (left, shown here with Francis Simon) used this equipment to prove that light, in the form of x rays and gamma rays, acts like a stream of tiny billiard balls—not waves—when it scatters ...

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 ...