Phys.org news
Phys.org / A solid-state quantum processor based on nuclear spins
Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, have the potential of outperforming classical systems on some tasks. Instead of storing information as bits, like classical computers, ...
Phys.org / Glaciers speed up and slow down at predictable times according to the first global map of ice movement
The speed at which glaciers move changes predictably each year, according to the first-ever global map of how glacier and ice sheet speeds vary with the seasons. Knowing this yearly rhythm could help us better predict sea-level ...
Phys.org / Archaic humans were strategic and picky hunters, new study suggests
Extinct relatives of modern humans, like Neanderthals and Homo erectus, that lived in the Levant around 120,000 years ago, did not engage in mass hunting but preferred selective and strategic hunting of wild cattle. Scientists ...
Phys.org / Penguins likely starved to death en masse: Populations off South Africa may have fallen 95% in just 8 years
Penguins living off the coast of South Africa have likely starved to death en masse during their molting season as a result of collapsing food supplies.
Phys.org / A new look at TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized, habitable-zone exoplanet
Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists. This planet orbits the star within the "Goldilocks zone"—a distance where water ...
Phys.org / NASA completes Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope construction
NASA's next big eye on the cosmos is now fully assembled. On Nov. 25, technicians joined the inner and outer portions of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in the largest clean room at the agency's Goddard Space Flight ...
Phys.org / New massive duck-billed dinosaur species identified
There's a new dinosaur species on the block. An international team, including a biologist from Penn State Lehigh Valley, discovered that a 75-million-year-old fossil classified as a different dinosaur is its own massive, ...
Phys.org / Cracking the code of why and when some choose to 'self-handicap'
Partying the night before a big exam. Preparing last-minute for a work presentation. Running a 5K in a 10-pound Halloween costume. All are examples of what psychologists call "self-handicapping"—creating obstacles to success ...
Phys.org / Astrophysicists test a new piece of the sky to probe dark matter and dark energy
In the leading model of cosmology, most of the universe is invisible: a combined 95% is made of dark matter and dark energy. Exactly what these dark components are remains a mystery, but they have a tremendous impact on our ...
Phys.org / LHC data confirm validity of new model of hadron production—and test foundations of quantum mechanics
A boiling sea of quarks and gluons, including virtual ones—this is how we can imagine the main phase of high-energy proton collisions. It would seem that particles here have significantly more opportunities to evolve than ...
Phys.org / Space debris poses growing threat, but new study suggests cleanup is feasible
High up in Earth's orbit, millions of human-made objects large and small are flying at speeds of over 15,000 miles per hour. The objects, which range from inactive satellites to fragments of equipment resulting from explosions ...
Phys.org / The microbiome of an entire country mapped for the first time
An international research team led by Aalborg University with contributions from the University of Vienna has systematically mapped the microbiome of an entire country for the first time. In the study "Microflora Danica," ...