Phys.org news
Phys.org / LHAASO discovers new extreme particle accelerator in the Milky Way
The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has made a breakthrough in exploring the extreme universe. For the first time, the LHAASO collaboration has detected ultra-high-energy (UHE) gamma rays—with energies ...
Phys.org / Quantum computing's next dark horse emerges from a frozen surface, where almost nothing behaves as expected
Quantum bits (qubits) are the fundamental building blocks of quantum information processing. A novel qubit platform invented at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory exhibits noise levels thousands ...
Phys.org / Massive reef expansion 20 million years ago may explain modern coral life's origins
New research published in Science Advances reveals that the largest expansion of coral reefs in the past 100 million years happened about 20 to 10 million years ago, between Australia and Southeast Asia.
Phys.org / A lost galaxy called 'Loki' may be hiding inside the Milky Way
The Milky Way galaxy grew into its current form with the help of smaller galaxies over time, which it has "consumed" or merged with. Astronomers are able to pick out which stars in the Milky Way came from other galaxies by ...
Phys.org / A physics explanation shows why US elections keep ending 50:50—and why more spending won't change that
A physics-inspired model calibrated on 40 years of US congressional data pinpoints a spending threshold of roughly 1.8 million USD at which campaigns stop influencing who wins and start fueling polarization instead.
Phys.org / Rare Tyrian purple reveals elite Roman infant burials in York
Two infants buried in Roman York were laid to rest in costly purple cloth normally reserved for emperors and members of the aristocracy, new research reveals. The babies were wrapped in a fine textile of Tyrian purple embellished ...
Phys.org / Medieval images may have triggered imagined soundscapes, reshaping how viewers experienced saints
In cathedrals, such as Canterbury Cathedral in England, colorful stained glass and illustrated hagiographies tell the stories of saints through vivid visual narratives, inviting viewers into richly detailed scenes. Sometimes, ...
Phys.org / Frozen-in gravity: A new way to understand the evolution of spacetime dynamics
The concept of spacetime, first described in Einstein's theory of general relativity, has since been widely studied by many physicists worldwide. Spacetime is described mathematically as a four-dimensional (4D) continuum ...
Phys.org / GP Com observations sharpen picture of a rare ultracompact binary system
Using the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian astronomers have conducted optical photometric observations of an ultracompact binary known as GP Com. Results of the observational campaign, presented in the ...
Phys.org / A silent robot shadows sperm whales by listening to their clicks
An autonomous underwater glider is giving us a new and effective way to track sperm whales by tuning into their clicks and silently following them. To study these large oceanic predators, researchers need to monitor their ...
Phys.org / A hidden food boom across Central Africa is pushing wildlife and rural diets toward a precarious edge
The total annual biomass of wild meat consumed across Central Africa has increased from an estimated 0.73 million metric tons in 2000 to 1.10 million metric tons in 2022. This increase is threatening wildlife populations ...
Phys.org / One overlooked mineral may have quietly powered a crucial step toward life on early Earth
Manganese dioxide can convert amino acids into hydrogen cyanide (HCN) without requiring methane, a finding that solves a long-standing puzzle about the origin of this key prebiotic molecule on early Earth. Although HCN is ...