Phys.org news
Phys.org / Ancient CO₂ surge triggered widespread forest fires and erosion 56 million years ago
The climate warmed up almost as quickly 56 million years ago as it is doing now. When a huge amount of CO2 entered the atmosphere in a short period of time, it led to large-scale forest fires and erosion. Mei Nelissen, Ph.D. ...
Phys.org / World's smallest capacitor paves way for next-generation quantum metrology
Nanomechanical systems developed at TU Wien have now reached a level of precision and miniaturization that will allow them to be used in ultra-high-resolution atomic force microscopes in the future. Their new findings are ...
Phys.org / Soil ecoacoustics: Researchers call for global effort to listen underground
An international team of researchers has mapped a new way forward to monitor the health of the planet by listening to the soil beneath our feet.
Phys.org / First direct evidence of Migdal effect opens new path for dark matter search
In a landmark discovery that bridges nearly a century of theoretical physics, a Chinese research team has successfully captured the first direct evidence of the Migdal effect, a breakthrough with profound implications for ...
Phys.org / Woodland birds living among native trees produce more chicks, study shows
Native trees, such as oaks, have long held a special place in our culture and countryside. Now, researchers have shown that these trees are also important to woodland birds and their offspring.
Phys.org / Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets' interior details
Over the years, passing spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge atmospheric whirlpools that rotate ...
Phys.org / Golden Gate method enables fully-synthetic engineering of therapeutically relevant bacteriophages
Bacteriophages have been used therapeutically to treat infectious bacterial diseases for over a century. As antibiotic-resistant infections increasingly threaten public health, interest in bacteriophages as therapeutics has ...
Phys.org / Ecosystem productivity shapes how soil microbes store or release carbon, challenging old assumptions
Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts ...
Phys.org / Some moral acts matter more than others, study shows
Every day, we quietly judge the people around us. Did that co-worker split the credit fairly? Did a neighbor return a lost package? Did someone cut in line or respect the rules?
Phys.org / Vibrational spectroscopy technique enables nanoscale mapping of molecular orientation at surfaces
Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the ...
Phys.org / Twisted 2D materials get an ultraclean, scalable upgrade for future quantum devices
Exciting electronic characteristics emerge when scientists stack 2D materials on top of each other and give the top layer a little twist.
Phys.org / How pointing errors impact quantum key distribution systems
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an emerging communication technology that utilizes quantum mechanics principles to ensure highly secure communication between two parties. It enables the sender and receiver to generate a ...