Phys.org news
Phys.org / Next‑generation membranes can refine crude oil using under half the energy of distillation
Oil refining is necessary for transforming raw, unusable crude oil into valuable goods like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and petrochemical feedstocks. However, the usual distillation process is energy-intensive, spurring researchers ...
Phys.org / Morning glories reveal 96% drop in adaptation as pollinator pressure reshapes evolution
Facing both climate change and a crashing pollinator population, plants may be evolving to attract pollinators rather than adapting to a warming climate, and the trade-off has resulted in a steep decline in plants' rate of ...
Phys.org / Fossils found decades ago reveal extinct 3.5 million-year-old giant salamander species
In the late 1990s in the Ajimu region of Japan's Oita Prefecture, researchers discovered three fossilized vertebrae belonging to the Cryptobranchidae family of giant salamanders. These were embedded in the Tsubusugawa Formation, ...
Phys.org / New catalyst could make mixed plastic waste recyclable in one chemical step
Ever wondered where your plastics end up? A PET bottle can be washed, shredded, melted and given a second life. But most everyday items—toys, mattresses, car seats—are made from different plastics that refuse to mix when ...
Phys.org / AI reveals hidden San Andreas Fault movements
When people think about geological faults, they usually think about earthquakes. Yet faults do not move only during earthquakes. Sometimes they slip silently, without generating noticeable shaking, releasing stress over hours ...
Phys.org / Shackleton's final ship is no longer just a sonar shadow
An expedition led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has obtained the first close-up images of the wreck of Quest, the last ship of famed Antarctic explorer ...
Phys.org / Ancient rocks reveal Earth's past warm periods were cooler than thought
Earth's temperature has been much cooler in the past than previously thought, meaning it could be moving toward the warmest it's ever been.
Phys.org / Carbon–bismuth bonds reveal that relativity blurs the textbook line between sigma and pi bonds
Brown University chemists have provided direct evidence that upends the textbook explanation of how triple chemical bonds work in heavy elements. In a study published in Science, the researchers show evidence that when atomic ...
Phys.org / The real Moana story: Why the Polynesians suddenly sailed east
Major drought forced people to migrate across the Pacific beyond Samoa and Tonga and toward the Americas, scientists have discovered. With the new live-action "Moana" film hitting cinemas, a team of geographers and climate ...
Phys.org / Programmable light simulates quantum matter across 300 processes without bigger circuits
A team of researchers at the University of Ottawa and its Nexus for Quantum Technologies Institute, in collaboration with researchers from Federico II University in Italy, has developed a programmable quantum simulator that ...
Phys.org / Quantum optics may turn this rare visual phenomenon into an eye test
Modern life depends on quantum physics. It makes technologies such as GPS navigation, MRI scanners and computer chips possible. Now, the same science may also lead to a new way to test the health of our eyes. A University ...
Phys.org / Observing oscillations, flares and tornados on the sun
For six and a half days in July 2024, the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III kept its gaze fixed on the sun. The stratospheric flight, which stretched from the northernmost tip of Sweden to Canada's Northwest Territories, ...
