Phys.org news
Phys.org / Probing the quantum nature of black holes through entropy
In a study published in Physical Review Letters, physicists have demonstrated that black holes satisfy the third law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy remains positive and vanishes at extremely low temperatures, ...
Phys.org / Humans and artificial neural networks exhibit some similar patterns during learning
Past psychology and behavioral science studies have identified various ways in which people's acquisition of new knowledge can be disrupted. One of these, known as interference, occurs when humans are learning new information ...
Phys.org / Rapid X-ray pulses enable 100-fold efficiency boost for photoionization
Speed matters. When an X-ray photon excites an atom or ion, making a core electron jump onto a higher energy level, a short-lived window of opportunity opens. For just a few femtoseconds, before an electron fills the void ...
Phys.org / Saturday Citations: Cute squid with scary name; potential detection of dark matter; fate of the AMOC
This week, researchers reported that weight and health markers may rebound when patients stop using some of the new hormonal gastric inhibitory polypeptide drugs. A prototype device can restore lost olfactory sense. And a ...
Phys.org / Asteroid loaded with amino acids offers new clues about the origin of life on Earth
One of the most elegant theories about the origins of life on our planet is that it was kick-started by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests that prebiotic molecules—the building blocks of life—were transported ...
Phys.org / Six strategies identified to help households cut down on food waste
Researchers from the Center for Food Policy at City St George's, University of London and Scotland's Rural College have set out six key areas for action that could help households cut down on food waste in a new comment article ...
Phys.org / First 'Bible map' published 500 years ago still influences how we think about borders, study suggests
The first Bible to feature a map of the Holy Land was published 500 years ago in 1525. The map was initially printed the wrong way round—showing the Mediterranean to the East—but its inclusion set a precedent which continues ...
Phys.org / Caribbean rainfall driven by shifting long-term patterns in the Atlantic high-pressure system, study finds
A new study published in Science Advances overturns a long-standing paradigm in climate science that stronger Northern Hemisphere summer insolation produces stronger tropical rainfall. Instead, a precisely dated 129,000-year ...
Phys.org / New universal law predicts how most objects shatter, from dropped bottles to exploding bubbles
When a plate drops or a glass smashes, you're annoyed by the mess and the cost of replacing them. But for some physicists, the broken pieces are a source of fascination: Why does everything break into such a huge variety ...
Phys.org / Africa's forests have switched from absorbing to emitting carbon, new study finds
New research warns that Africa's forests, once vital allies in the fight against climate change, have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source.
Phys.org / Archaeologists discover solitary grave from ancient Kingdom of Kerma in remote Bayuda Desert
Dr. Monika Badura and her colleagues have published a study analyzing an isolated burial found in the Bayuda Desert in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. The discovery, made at site BP937 in Sudan, has ...
Phys.org / Domestic cats came from North Africa to Europe only 2,000 years ago, DNA evidence suggests
Despite the ubiquity of cats in modern homes, we still don't know many details about the timing and routes of early cat domestication and dispersal into Europe and beyond, aside from the common association of cats with ancient ...
