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Phys.org / Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Phys.org / Missing technosignatures? Turbulent plasma may blur ultra-narrow signals before they leave their home star systems
A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting ...
Phys.org / Almost a third of Gen Z men agree a wife should obey her husband, global study finds
Some 31% of Gen Z men agree that a wife should always obey her husband and one third (33%) say a husband should have the final word on important decisions, according to a new global study of 23,000 people. Gen Z men (born ...
Phys.org / Carbon emissions now more than double the planetary boundary, analysis finds
Earth is not infinite. Pollution beyond certain levels threatens the climate and ecosystems. To prevent this, scientists have proposed planetary boundaries, defining the safe operating limits of the Earth system. A KAIST ...
Phys.org / Superconductivity controlled by a built-in light-confining cavity
For the first time, physicists have demonstrated that a material's superconductivity can be altered by coupling it to an in-built, light-confining cavity. In experiments published in Nature, a team led by Itai Keren at Columbia ...
Phys.org / How to live a long and healthy life, according to the ancients
Just like in the modern world, people in ancient times wanted to know how to live a long and healthy life.
Phys.org / Quantum entanglement offers route to higher-resolution optical astronomy
Researchers in the US have demonstrated how quantum entanglement could be used to detect optical signals from astronomical sources at the single-photon level. Published in Nature, a team led by Pieter-Jan Stas at Harvard ...
Phys.org / Salt may have pushed us further into Snowball Earth 700 million years ago
Our planet plunged into one of the most dramatic climate states in its long history, approximately 720–635 million years ago. During a period geologists call Snowball Earth, ice sheets crept from the poles all the way to ...
Phys.org / Inland China experienced typhoon-related population decline 3,000 years ago, according to 'oracle bones,' AI and physics
Evidence suggests that China's "cradle of civilization" experienced marked climate disasters and social upheavals during the mid-late Holocene (around 3,000 years ago). However, the direct causes and impacts of these ancient ...
Tech Xplore / Hybrid 'super foam' uses 3D-printed struts to absorb up to 10 times more energy
Aerospace engineering and materials science researchers at Texas A&M University and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory have developed a "super foam" that can absorb up to 10 times more energy than conventional padding.
Tech Xplore / How AI could end online anonymity
The internet is rife with anonymous accounts as users adopt pseudonyms, sometimes for genuine reasons like speaking freely, and other times for nefarious ones. But this era of online privacy could be coming to a close. In ...
Medical Xpress / Teenagers are getting far less sleep now than they did in late 2000s, finds new study
Eight hours of sleep used to be the norm, and all-nighters with only a few hours of rest were rare among teenagers. In recent years, however, there has been an alarming decline in sleep duration. It has reached a point where ...