Physicists uses light to build complex structures

Ph.D. candidate Petr Steindl creates complex structures of light using single photons. As a teenager, he wanted to study Czech poetry but decided on quantum physics. "Looking back, I am glad I switched fields," he says. On ...

Astronomers find a planet that shouldn't exist

When our sun reaches the end of its life, it will expand to 100 times its current size, enveloping the Earth. Many planets in other solar systems face a similar doom as their host stars grow old. But not all hope is lost, ...

These are the fastest stars in the galaxy

Until recently, there were only ten known stars on trajectories that will allow them to escape the Milky Way galaxy, thrown astray by powerful supernova explosions. A new study using data from ESA's Gaia survey this June ...

Origami heat shield: Reusable for reentries

A novel origami-based heat shield developed with ESA support is planned to be tested with an actual atmospheric reentry from space. Named Pridwen, after the legendary shield of King Arthur, this reusable design will spring ...

Breaking bonds: Double-helix unzipping reveals DNA physics

Accurately reconstructing how the parts of a complex molecular are held together knowing only how the molecule distorts and breaks up—this was the challenge taken on by a research team led by SISSA's Cristian Micheletti ...

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