Light beam 'swims' upstream through a quantum fluid by violating Newton's third law

Written and edited by the WorldPing NewsdeskPublished Updated Original reporting: Phys.org
Light beam 'swims' upstream through a quantum fluid by violating Newton's third lawWorldPing
Image via Phys.org.

What happened

Just as a leaf drifts along with a stream, objects in other moving fluids normally drift along with the flow.

That is, unless they exert energy to move against it.

Although it may be less intuitive, light waves or photons work similarly.

Key facts

  • Reported by Phys.org and published Tue, 22 Sep 2026 20:10:02 UTC.

Why it matters

Research findings and mission results set the evidence base that policy, funding and later discoveries build on.

What to watch next

  • Peer review status and replication of the findings
  • Mission milestones and next scheduled attempt
  • Funding or policy decisions that follow

Coverage timeline

When each newsroom published on this story, oldest first — all times UTC.

  1. Risks of Decompression Sickness and Venous Thromboembolism during Spaceflight and Patent Foramen Ovale Implications

  2. Game delays for lightning may be annoying, but they save lives—a sports meteorologist explains the risk

  3. Tiny quantum nanostructures could make AI less of an energy hog

  4. Light beam 'swims' upstream through a quantum fluid by violating Newton's third law

  5. Physicists crack the math connecting ultraslow quantum magnetism to ultrafast black-hole physics

  6. Injectable nanoparticles make blind retinas respond to light in preclinical study

Sources

The original report was published by Phys.org. WorldPing does not claim that reporting — this page summarises and contextualises it.

Read the full report at Phys.org

Related WorldPing coverage