Articles by Sam Jarman
Phys.org / Sound-sensing hair bundles in our ears act as tiny thermodynamic machines
The hair cells lining the inner ear are among the most sophisticated structures in the human body: capable of detecting sounds as faint as a whisper, while helping to maintain our sense of balance. Through new models detailed ...
Phys.org / 'Voorhees law' explains why the slower car often catches up
Many drivers will know the feeling: you pull ahead of the slower car you've been stuck behind and cruise the open road ahead at your own, faster speed. By the time you reach the next stop light, you're sure that you've left ...
Phys.org / Bennu sample reveals how water flowed through the newly forming asteroid
A team of US astronomers has carried out one of the deepest analyses to date of a sample from the asteroid Bennu, revealing new details about how water and organic material interacted during the earliest stages of the solar ...
Phys.org / Quantum coherence could be preserved at large scales in realistic environments
Quantum states are notoriously fragile, and can be destroyed simply through interactions, measurements, and exposure to their surrounding environments. In a new theoretical study published in Physical Review X, Rohan Mittal ...
Phys.org / Ytterbium atomic clock could open a new window on fundamental physics
For the first time, an international team of physicists has successfully harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms of ytterbium to create a new type of atomic clock that is both highly precise and extremely sensitive to ...
Phys.org / Cosmologists collaborate to sharpen measurements of the Hubble constant
Drawing together leading experts from across the field, an international collaboration of cosmologists has created a unified approach for measuring the value of the Hubble constant. Published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, ...
Phys.org / Unexplained sky flashes from the 1950s: Independent analysis supports their existence
Historical observations from an observatory in Germany have now independently verified evidence for brief, mysterious flashes of light in the night sky, first picked up by an American astronomical survey in the 1950s. Through ...
Phys.org / Framework unifies the classical and quantum Mpemba effects
Physicists have developed a new theoretical framework which unifies a wide array of seemingly unrelated "Mpemba effects": counterintuitive cases where systems driven further from equilibrium relax faster than those closer ...
Phys.org / Lab-based mini-atmosphere reveals how turbulence changes on different scales
With a new lab-based experiment, researchers in the UK and France have recreated the characteristic cascades of energy and angular momentum that underpin key features of Earth's atmosphere. Reporting in Physical Review Letters, ...
Phys.org / AI-driven framework uncovers new carbon structures—one thought to be harder than diamond
Through new improvements to existing AI models, researchers in China have created a framework that can methodically identify useful new forms of solid carbon. With their approach, Zhibin Gao and colleagues at Xi'an Jiaotong ...
Phys.org / Quantum experiment shows events may have no fixed order
For the first time, a team of physicists in Austria has carried out an experiment that appears to verify the principle of indefinite causal order: an idea that suggests that timelines of events can exist in multiple orders ...
Phys.org / New framework suggests dark energy could be evolving—and may be linked to the Hubble tension
A team of cosmologists in China has introduced a mathematical framework that investigates two of the deepest mysteries in cosmology at the same time. Publishing their research in The Astrophysical Journal, Yun Chen and colleagues ...
Phys.org / Quantum computers could have a fundamental limit after all
The performance of quantum computers could cap out after around 1,000 qubits, according to a new analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Through new calculations, Tim Palmer at the University ...
Phys.org / Superconducting altermagnets could carry spin without energy loss
Researchers have proposed that a newly identified class of magnetic materials could extend the zero-resistance currents of superconductors to electron spins. Publishing their calculations in Physical Review X, Kyle Monkman ...
Phys.org / Moons orbiting wandering exoplanets could be habitable—with one catch
Provided they host thick, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, moons orbiting free-floating exoplanets could retain much of the heat generated deep within their interiors by tidal forces. Led by David Dahlbüdding at the Max Planck ...