Phys.org news
Phys.org / Firefly brightness holds a cautionary tale about accepting older measurements
For over a century, the accepted value for a firefly's brightness has mostly stood, tracing its origins to experiments carried out in 1912. Through rigorous new analysis published in the American Journal of Physics, David ...
Phys.org / Six massive landslides discovered on icy Pluto
Scientists have detected evidence of landslides on Pluto for the first time. A paper published in the journal Icarus reports that images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft during a flyby revealed six large landslides in ...
Phys.org / Scientists strike invisible gold in the deep sea—locked inside fool's gold
Pyrite, an iron sulfide ore, is often known as fool's gold because its shiny metallic luster and pale brass-yellow color can easily fool the untrained eye into mistaking it for real gold. This time, however, 360 kilometers ...
Phys.org / New 3D thermal cloak hides objects from heat in any direction
Researchers have designed and built the first 3D device that can make objects invisible to heat, an advance that could transform how we protect sensitive electronics, manage heat in microchips and shield equipment from thermal ...
Phys.org / Study links sea level to Earth's carbon thermostat
Earth has a natural thermostat that has kept the planet habitable for more than 100 million years. Scientists have struggled to fully explain how it works, but new research identifies a missing link between phosphate availability ...
Phys.org / World's first superconducting quantum heat engine offers path to larger quantum computers
Recent improvements in our understanding of how the principles of thermodynamics apply in the quantum realm could give a boost to quantum technology, and a clearer picture of quantum thermodynamics could in turn enhance our ...
Phys.org / As super El Niño draws global attention, the Indian Ocean may hold the key to Mediterranean climate extremes
As scientists around the world closely monitor the possible development of a powerful "Super El Niño," a new study suggests that another tropical ocean deserves equal attention. Researchers have found that temperature changes ...
Phys.org / Atoms tell different stories when light hits a molecule in trillionths of a second
Researchers have captured how a molecule redistributes energy after absorbing light, differentiating the roles of individual atoms in the process. They used X-ray flashes from the European XFEL to show that different atoms ...
Phys.org / Dead stars in our cosmic backyard: Astronomers spot four white dwarfs hiding under our noses
Researchers at the University of Warwick and the University of Colorado Boulder have directly observed, for the first time, four white dwarfs in binary star systems in our nearby region of space. These stellar binaries are ...
Phys.org / Hidden in Maya wall writings: A named astronomer emerges from 1,200-year-old calculations
Researchers have reconstructed and transcribed a mathematical formula from the site of Xultun, Guatemala, revealing the name of a Maya astronomer for the first time. During the Classic period (250–900 CE), mathematics and ...
Phys.org / Hidden fifth dimension could tune dark matter resonance, new theory proposes
The mysterious substance that binds galaxies together could naturally be "in tune" with a hidden fifth dimension, according to a new University of Sheffield theory aiming to shed light on one of science's biggest enigmas: ...
Phys.org / Hubble discovers first of star cluster's missing black holes
The massive globular star cluster Omega Centauri has puzzled astronomers for decades. It should be filled with black holes left behind by exploding stars, yet evidence for them is scarce. Now, astronomers using archival data ...
