Phys.org news

Phys.org / Thin films 'dance' with substrates that are no longer inert, opening path toward 3D chips

Many of today's electronic devices—from the semiconductors in your cell phone to the photovoltaic cells in your solar panels—are built on thin-film substrates. The thin film is an electrically conductive material, while the ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Astronomers identify one of the universe's rarest black hole events

A team of astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has observed an extremely rare "wandering" black hole located tens of thousands of light-years from the center of its galaxy. This finding could reshape ...

11 hours ago
Phys.org / California wildfire damage risk map uses factors most closely linked to severe property losses

By analyzing 100,000 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection inspection records from 2013 to 2024, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have identified the key environmental and human factors ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / How invasive rats rewire coral reef food webs to create winners and losers

Invasive rats on tropical islands are creating winners and losers among the tiny underwater animals near the bottom of the food chain that inhabit surrounding coral reefs. Scientists say the changes to these marine ecosystems ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / New thermodynamic framework explains pressure and edge currents in spinning active particles

Physicists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), the Technical University of Darmstadt, Sapienza University in Rome and the University of Camerino (both in Italy) have calculated the fundamental laws of thermodynamics ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Purple corn offers a stable natural alternative to artificial food dyes

University of Missouri researchers are turning a unique variety of corn into an effective natural alternative to artificial food dyes.

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Quantum neural networks get their first hardware test

Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins. So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Why the future of fashion might involve wearing live fungi

The idea of having living fungi cover your body might not be the most appealing thing in the world. But what if it was part of a clothing fabric that could change color, protect you from UV rays and even repair its own tears? ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Membrane nanostructures reshape in water, revealing route to better ion transport

Next-generation energy devices like fuel cells and water electrolyzers depend on ion-exchange membranes that allow only water and certain ions to pass through.

7 hours ago
Phys.org / New quantum chip architecture could use built-in vibrations to link distant qubits

A new concept from Warwick researchers could help solve one of the biggest challenges to building large-scale quantum computers: enabling communication between vast numbers of quantum bits (qubits) over long distances across ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Burning soil and peat drove most emissions in Canada's record 2023 wildfire season, study finds

Most of the carbon released during Canada's record-breaking 2023 wildfire season came from burning soil and peat, rather than trees, according to new research from McMaster University.

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Mercury reveals short-lived radiation belts during its swing farther from the sun

Mercury was long considered the exception to the rule that magnetic planets have radiation belts similar to Earth's Van Allen belts, but a new study by University of Michigan Engineering and the University of California, ...

9 hours ago