Swimmer made of quantum light breaks Newton’s third law

Written and edited by the WorldPing NewsdeskPublished Updated Original reporting: New Scientist
Swimmer made of quantum light breaks Newton’s third lawWorldPing
Image via New Scientist.

What happened

According to Newton’s third law, all actions are paired with reciprocal reactions.But breaking this principle allowed an artificial swimmer to move upstream in a quantum stream of light…

Key facts

  • Reported by New Scientist and published Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:00:00 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. Swimmer made of quantum light breaks Newton’s third law

  2. Spaceflight may harm the reproductive system of astronauts' kids and grandkids, early mouse study suggests

  3. Student-led missions deploy free-flying light sails from CubeSats in low Earth orbit

Sources

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

Read the full report at New Scientist

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