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New Scientist profiles John Pendry's work on materials controlling light in time

By The Likely · Updated Oct 4, 7:01 AM ET · Drawn from 4 sources · Written by AI, checked against sources

New Scientist reported on April 8, 2026, that Imperial College London physicist John Pendry is studying materials engineered to control how light moves in time. In 2023, Pendry calculated these structures could mimic a black hole's boundary.

Why it mattersLaboratory tests mimicking black holes will help researchers safely explore extreme physics without leaving Earth.

How we got here

  1. Pendry published the theoretical proposal “Negative Refraction Makes a Perfect Lens.” Kyotoprize
  2. The Inamori Foundation named Pendry a Kyoto Prize laureate for theoretically constructing metamaterials. Kyotoprize
  3. The Royal Society awarded Pendry its Copley Medal. Royalsociety
  4. A feature highlighted Pendry's interest in temporal metamaterials and laboratory analogues of extreme physics. Newscientist
  5. The Nobel Prize in Physics announcement was scheduled for 11:45 CEST at the earliest. Nobelprize

What's likely next

  1. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was scheduled to announce the Nobel Prize in Physics at 11:45 CEST at the earliest.

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