Phys.org news
Phys.org / Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Phys.org / Why woodpeckers rarely get rattled: Skulls built to control rotation, not cushion blows
Woodpeckers are well known for striking tree trunks with remarkable force and precision. These birds deliver thousands of high-speed impacts per day, generating mechanical loads that would destabilize the skulls of most other ...
Phys.org / Toxic evolution: How wasps and frogs mimic pain molecules to deter predators
Certain species of wasps and frogs share a pain and inflammation peptide similar to one found in vertebrates to help defend against predators—a discovery that contributes to a shifting view of how evolution works, say researchers. ...
Phys.org / Missing technosignatures? Turbulent plasma may blur ultra-narrow signals before they leave their home star systems
A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting ...
Phys.org / Why Large Hadron Collider predictions can miss the mark, and a new way to fix it
Estimating things that exist is generally easy, but when it comes to estimating things that do not exist, it's more difficult. This is something physicists from Poland and the UK are well aware of. To improve current simulations ...
Phys.org / Electric field tunes vibrations to ease heat transfer
New research from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in collaboration with The Ohio State University and Amphenol Corporation, challenges conventional understanding about controlling heat flow in solid ...
Phys.org / Plant cell structure could hold key to cancer therapies and improved crops
Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led ...
Phys.org / Making mini-lightning in a block of plastic
Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers have discovered ...
Phys.org / Multifractal patterns across deep time: What measurement density reveals about Earth's history
Much of our understanding of Earth's past is derived from stratigraphic records exposed in rock outcrops or recovered from drilled cores. These records span immense time intervals, from thousands to billions of years, and ...
Dialog / Amazon fish contaminated with toxic metals threaten riverine communities' health
For riverside communities along the Amazon, fish is not a menu choice—it is a lifeline. Millions of people in the Brazilian Amazon depend on fish as their primary source of protein, consuming it daily in quantities far ...
Phys.org / AI-designed diffractive optical processors pave the way for low-power structural health monitoring
A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has introduced a novel framework for monitoring structural vibrations using diffractive optical processors. This new technology uses artificial intelligence ...
Phys.org / 3D imagery helps bring world's ant diversity to life
For more than a decade, Evan Economo's lab has been using micro-CT machines to scan insect specimens. The resulting X-ray images help researchers study the form and structure of insects—a subfield of entomology known as ...
