Phys.org news

Phys.org / How black holes produce powerful relativistic jets

A hundred years before the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration released the first image of a black hole in 2019—located at the heart of the galaxy M87—astronomer Heber Curtis had already discovered a strange jet protruding ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Researchers integrate waveguide physics into metasurfaces for advanced light control

Ultrathin structures that can bend, focus, or filter light, metasurfaces are reshaping how scientists think about optics. These engineered materials offer precise control over lights behavior, but many conventional designs ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / How the Southern Ocean controlled climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide during the lukewarm interglacials

Earth's climate has fluctuated between cold and warm periods for millions of years. During the so-called "lukewarm interglacials"—warm phases between 800,000 and 430,000 years ago—atmospheric CO2 concentrations were only ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / With new analysis, Apollo samples brought to Earth in 1972 reveal exotic sulfur hidden in moon's mantle

When astronauts returned from NASA's final Apollo moon mission in 1972, some of the samples they collected were sealed and carefully stored away in the hope that future researchers using advanced equipment might analyze them ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Third dimension of data storage: Physicists demonstrate first hybrid skyrmion tubes for higher-density quantum computing

Typically, the charge of electrons is used to store and process information in electronics-based devices. In spintronics, the focus is instead on the magnetic moment or on magnetic vortices, so-called skyrmions—the goal ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Bacteria may influence accumulation of gold nanoparticles in spruce tree needles

A new study has, for the first time, uncovered a connection between bacteria living in Norway spruce needles and gold nanoparticles. This discovery could pave the way for environmentally friendly gold exploration methods, ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / The real reasons Endurance sank—study finds Shackleton knew of ship's shortcomings

Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, was crushed by Antarctic sea ice and sank in November 1915. Emblematic of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, it is widely considered the strongest polar ship of its time, albeit ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / World's first known butt-drag fossil trace was left by a rock hyrax in South Africa 126,000 years ago

Rock hyraxes, known in southern Africa more often as "dassies," are furry, thickset creatures with short legs and no discernible tails. They spend much of their time sunning themselves on rocky outcrops.

Oct 6, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Stretchable waveguides maintain stable transmission even when bent or twisted

Researchers have designed and demonstrated stretchable waveguides that maintain efficient, stable signal transmission of surface plasmon polaritons even when bent, twisted or stretched. These plasmonic waveguides could make ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Digital twin for forests developed with help of new laser scan technology

Scanning forests with lasers can provide three-dimensional models of forests, creating a unique way to look at these ecosystems. Researchers at the University of Helsinki are pioneers in applying this technical solution to ...

Oct 6, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Inhalers drive carbon emissions equivalent to 530,000 cars each year, study shows

Inhalers are the frontline treatment for asthma and COPD, but they come with a steep environmental cost, according to a new UCLA Health study—the largest to date quantifying inhaler-related emissions in the United States.

Oct 6, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language

More than two millennia ago, Teotihuacan was a thriving metropolis in central Mexico with up to 125,000 inhabitants. The city had gigantic pyramids and was a cultural center in Mesoamerica at the time.

Oct 6, 2025 in Other Sciences