Phys.org news
Phys.org / How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Our sun is capable of storms far bigger than we've ever recorded. Studying the world's oldest trees suggests we could soon be due one of these gargantuan events.
Phys.org / Who's watching who? Otters turn their attention to humans
For many people, a trip to the zoo is a chance to watch playful otters dart through the water and chatter with one another. But while we may worry that crowds could stress the otter community, a new Australian study shows ...
Phys.org / Quantum light engine links atom-photon thermodynamics to classical physics
What is heat, and what is useful work if a machine consists only of an atom and light particles? In modern quantum technologies, this kind of question connects thermodynamics with quantum physics. Researchers at the University ...
Phys.org / Labrador Sea a key player in providing oxygen for deep North Atlantic life
Researchers from Cornell University have pinpointed the source of oxygen that sustains deep-sea life in the North Atlantic Ocean: the churning waters in the Labrador Sea.
Phys.org / Locust neurons detect PFAS at environmentally relevant levels, pointing to portable sensors
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that neurons in a locust's brain can distinguish among multiple PFAS compounds, including PFOS, one of the world's most common "forever chemicals," at environmentally ...
Phys.org / Dice design solves board gaming's most surprisingly complex problem—who goes first?
It took nearly 15 years, researchers around the world and enough computing power to search through a universe of possibilities to answer one question: Who goes first?
Phys.org / A weakening Atlantic Ocean current system could accelerate Earth's warming
A current system in the Atlantic Ocean that shapes regional climates and distributes ocean nutrients also serves as a control knob to help regulate temperatures across the planet, new research has found.
Phys.org / Ancient Austronesian seafarers carried symbolic art 4,000 years ago
A 4,000-year-old painted stone plaque discovered on a remote Indonesian island is the first known example of portable art belonging to the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT), providing a rare glimpse into the symbolic ...
Phys.org / Gluons may play a central role in baryon number conservation—and matter's stability
New results from the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) suggest that gluons, the glue-like particles that hold quarks together inside protons, play a central role in the conservation of baryon number—an ...
Phys.org / Time-gating technique sees through deep tissue, dense fog, and other obstacles
From helping doctors detect cancer to guiding self-driving cars through traffic, many modern imaging systems rely on near-infrared light, producing a crisp picture when visible light would scatter and yield a blurry picture. ...
Phys.org / Pesticides make Argentine ants go crazy, sending them roaming or clustering before workers die
Don't assume an uptick in ant activity after setting out pesticide traps means the treatment failed. New UC Riverside research shows their behavior changes as chemicals make their way through a colony.
Phys.org / Graphene device measures fractional electric charges carried by some of quantum physics' strangest objects
An electron is supposed to be indivisible. It carries one fundamental unit of electric charge, and every electron is exactly the same. But under extreme conditions, large numbers of electrons act together and give rise to ...
