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Phys.org / 'Impossible' merger of two massive black holes explained
In 2023, astronomers detected a huge collision. Two unprecedentedly massive black holes had crashed an estimated 7 billion light-years away. The enormous masses and extreme spins of the black holes puzzled astronomers. Black ...
Phys.org / Could mass arise without the Higgs boson?
The geometry of space, where physical laws unfold, may also hold answers to some of the deepest questions in fundamental physics. The very structure of spacetime might underlie every interaction in nature.
Phys.org / An ionic fix for frost: Electrostatic defrosting removes ice without heat or chemicals
During winter months, frost can unleash icy havoc on cars, planes, heat pumps, and much more. But thermal defrosting with heaters is very energy intensive, while chemical defrosting is expensive and toxic to the environment.
Phys.org / Vegan diet can halve your carbon footprint, study finds
Only around 1.1% of the world's population is vegan, but this percentage is growing. For example, in Germany the number of vegans approximately doubled between 2016 and 2020 to 2% of the population, while a 2.4-fold increase ...
Phys.org / Climate conference's webpages emit 10 times more carbon than average sites, study says
Websites produced for COP conferences emit up to 10 times more carbon than average internet pages, new research published in the journal PLOS Climate suggests.
Phys.org / COP30 climate pledges favor unrealistic land-based carbon removal over emission cuts, says report
An analysis of national climate plans released today at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil warns that countries are failing to carry out core work required to reduce emissions by halting and reversing deforestation and forest ...
Phys.org / COP30: Governments must empower forest communities to keep fossil fuels underground
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has dubbed COP30 the forest COP. Taking place in Belém, a large urban center in the Amazon, this choice signals a welcome shift from the capital cities of petro-states to the ...
Phys.org / COP30: Pacific leaders now have world court backing to call countries to account over climate risk
At the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, Pacific Island states are making a familiar plea to keep warming at 1.5°C. But now they have the backing of a legal opinion that has transformed climate action from a moral and political ...
Phys.org / The path to responsible mining in northern Ontario starts with Indigenous consent
Canada and Ontario are accelerating efforts to attract global investment and speed up approvals for new mining projects.
Phys.org / Plastic waste is a toxic legacy—and an important archaeological record
Imagine a remote Galapagos beach, where iguanas stomp around between fishing nets, flip flops, baseball caps and plastic bottles. Stuck in the sand is the empty packet for food sold only in Ecuador, the nearest mainland hundreds ...
Phys.org / COP30: Zimbabwe's forest and energy projects reveal the downside of carbon credits
Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to "cancel out" some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or provide clean energy—sometimes on the other ...
Phys.org / Relentless rise in carbon pollution from fossil fuels slightly dampens climate-fighting hopes
For each of the past several years, scientists, analysts and officials have been hoping that it would be the year when emissions from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas would stop going up.