Phys.org news

Phys.org / Why so many mollusks sound Greek—their naming evolves at a snail's pace

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare's famous play. And the same is presumably true for mollusks, albeit with different odors. When you think about the scientific names ...

21 minutes ago
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 ...

21 minutes ago
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 ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / These blazing blue explosions may be born when a compact dead star slams into a Wolf-Rayet star

Luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are among the universe's brightest and fastest explosions but their origin is not completely understood. A new study takes a closer look at the galaxies they occur in, offering ...

16 hours ago
Phys.org / A light-controlled 'muscle' could give synthetic cells a new way to move

Engineers interested in creating artificial cells to deliver drugs to unhealthy parts of the body face a key challenge: for a cell-like system to move, change shape, or divide, it needs a way to generate force on command.

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Sulfur-rich Mercury magmas behave differently than Earth's do

Mercury is a small, rocky planet about which researchers know relatively little. Two missions, taking readings as they passed over the planet, have revealed that Mercury is covered by an iron-poor and sulfur-rich crust. It ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Wafer-scale 2D magnetic films emerge thanks to a new low-defect growth technique

In a major advance, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have devised a method to grow high-quality 2D magnetic materials (2D-MMs) over centimeter-scale wafers. Earlier approaches in the field were limited ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Quantum model explains how single electrons cause damage inside silicon chips

Researchers in the UC Santa Barbara Materials Department have uncovered the elusive quantum mechanism by which energetic electrons break chemical bonds inside microelectronic devices—a detrimental process that slowly degrades ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / How tiny voids could make fusion targets more stable under powerful shockwaves

Picture two materials sandwiched together. The boundary between them may appear flat, but, in reality, it is full of tiny bumps and dents. Suddenly, the materials are hit with a shockwave. If that wave hits a bump in the ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Theoretical models of supernova chemistry overhauled after X-ray data from Perseus Cluster reveal key discrepancies

The Perseus Cluster is a massive galaxy cluster located in the constellation Perseus. It is one of the largest structures in the observable universe, comprising more than a thousand galaxies—equivalent to roughly a thousand ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / There's a range of magic angles to study superconductivity in a twisted 2D semiconductor

Last year, tungsten diselenide (WSe2) had its magic moment. Two independent research groups discovered "magic angles" at which two atom-thin layers of the unique semiconductor, when twisted relative to one another into what's ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / People with dark personality traits are naturally inclined towards leadership roles, finds new study

Can you tell if you're working with a narcissist or a psychopath? A new study suggests that people's job choices may offer some clues, especially in fields built on leadership and persuasion such as business, politics, and ...

Apr 18, 2026