Local Disorder Impacts a Quantum Material’s Electronic States

Posted on February 24, 2026 by rberkowitz

Atom-level understanding of how the surface electronic properties of a magnetic semimetal can be tuned could guide its use in advanced technologies like spintronics and catalysis. Read more at Berkeley Lab…

Posted in Berkeley Lab | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Wildfire Smoke Drives One-Way Swirling

Posted on February 19, 2026 by rberkowitz

New modeling explains why smoke-filled vortices in the upper atmosphere have all been observed rotating in a single direction. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

AI Discovers Geophysical Turbulence Model

Posted on February 11, 2026 by rberkowitz

Researchers have used an artificial-intelligence tool to reveal long-sought equations that describe small-scale features in 2D turbulent systems. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New AI Sensor ‘Sniffs’ Out Spectral Targets

Posted on February 11, 2026 by rberkowitz

A first-of-its-kind smart sensor developed at Berkeley Lab performs AI tricks to identify targets while it captures spectral images. Read more at Berkeley Lab…

Posted in Berkeley Lab | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Novelist Derives Physics–Crime Duality

Posted on February 6, 2026 by rberkowitz

Nova Jacobs reflects on how she came to write murder mysteries set in the world of physics. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thin-Film Coating Boosts X-Ray Instrument Performance

Posted on January 28, 2026 by rberkowitz

Researchers developed optimized coatings for diffraction gratings that use thin-film interference to double the light reaching the sample, capturing power otherwise lost to absorption. Read more at Berkeley Lab…

Posted in Berkeley Lab | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Patterned Surface Sustains Ultrahigh Vacuum

Posted on January 21, 2026 by rberkowitz

The 3D-printed fitting could help to miniaturize cold-atom sensors by reducing the need for continuous pumping. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A Very Stable Mirror

Posted on January 21, 2026 by rberkowitz

A crystalline mirror coating significantly reduces fluctuations in the resonant frequency of an optical cavity. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Arctic’s ‘last ice area’ is on thin ice

Posted on January 15, 2026 by rberkowitz

Mission to Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Islands reveals signs of weakness in a sea ice haven. Read more in Science Magazine…

Posted in Science Magazine | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

X-Ray–Optical Technique Detects Subtle Signal

Posted on January 8, 2026 by rberkowitz

A high-sensitivity measurement reveals the asymmetric shifts of electrons along atomic bonds. Read more in APS Physics Magazine…

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment