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Phys.org / Weighing in on the mystery of the gravitational constant
The time had come to open the envelope, but Stephan Schlamminger, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), wasn't sure he wanted to know the secret number that lay inside. For the past 10 ...
Phys.org / Atlantic current shows two-decade decline across four deep-ocean monitoring sites
A paper published in the journal Science Advances is adding to the growing body of research showing that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is weakening. In this new study, instead of relying mainly on ...
Phys.org / Navigating the past with ancient stone compass needles
Magnetic rocks with iron oxide concentrations act as natural chroniclers of Earth's past continental movements. Using small samples of rocks, scientists can isolate magnetic grains that were frozen in orientation as the rock ...
Tech Xplore / Fusion power may never be cost-competitive with renewables, study warns
Fusion power plants are sites at which electricity could be generated via a process known as nuclear fusion, which entails the merging of two atomic nuclei into a single heavier nucleus. This process is known to generate ...
Phys.org / Water simulation of famous quantum effect reveals unexpected wave patterns
In the quirky quantum world, particles can be affected by forces that they never directly encounter. A classic example is the Aharonov–Bohm (AB) effect, where electrons are affected by a magnetic field, despite not passing ...
Phys.org / Laser bursts flip nanoscale magnetic vortices at blistering speeds, opening a path to brain-like spintronics
Spintronics are devices that operate leveraging the spin, an intrinsic form of angular momentum, of electrons. The ability to switch magnetic states is central to the functioning of these devices, as it ultimately allows ...
Medical Xpress / B cells that fight infections may also boost muscle performance during exercise
B cells are white blood cells that form a core part of the body's adaptive immune system, enabling it to recognize specific infections, remember them, and mount a targeted response by producing antibodies. A recent study ...
Phys.org / World's largest collection of Olympiad-level math problems now available to everyone
Every year, the countries competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad arrive with a booklet of their best, most original problems. Those booklets get shared among delegations, then quietly disappear. No one had ever ...
Phys.org / The moon might be more prone to fires
Engineers love a good practical challenge, especially when it comes to spaceflight. But there's one particular challenge facing the crewed missions of the near future that scares mission planners above almost all others—fire. ...
Phys.org / Pressure-tuned quantum spin liquid-like behavior observed in material Y-kapellasite
A quantum spin liquid is a phase of matter in which the magnetic moments in a material do not align or freeze, even at temperatures close to absolute zero (i.e., at 0 K). The experimental realization of this highly dynamic ...
Phys.org / Breakthrough sulfur polymer kills dangerous fungi and bacteria while sparing human and plant cells
Antimicrobial resistance is becoming a global burden in human health and food production, so affordable new materials are needed to overcome this growing problem. To answer the call, a multidisciplinary research team led ...
Phys.org / Missing link in evolution of ancient fish found in 150-year-old museum specimen
A new species of coelacanth has been identified from a 150-year-old fossil housed at London's Natural History Museum. Former University of Portsmouth paleontology student Jack L. Norton located the coelacanth, which provides ...
