Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why many birds add fresh plants to their nests remains unclear despite signs of healthier offspring
As they build their nests, many birds are known to interweave dried grasses and other materials with green plants, such as fresh leaves, grass stems, herbs and aromatic leaves. While this behavior is well documented, why ...
Phys.org / Universal pattern revealed in quantum matter
When different materials transition from one phase to another, such as water coming to a boil or a magnet losing its ability to attract metals, something remarkable can happen: They begin to behave identically, following ...
Phys.org / A little bit more than magic: The secret to quantum computing may lie in negativity
Quantum computers hold great promise for applications from drug discovery to cybersecurity. Yet figuring out what would give quantum computers their edge over everyday "classical" computers is a subtle problem. A new theoretical ...
Phys.org / An echo of Einstein: An unexpected link between whale calls and special relativity
Standing on the sandy, windswept shores of Provincetown, Massachusetts, people may find themselves squinting at the horizon, waiting for a whale to make its grand entrance with a spectacular breach.
Phys.org / Turning a quantum battery's environmental sensitivity into an advantage
Quantum batteries, devices that store energy by exploiting quantum mechanical phenomena, could, in principle, be charged faster and more efficiently than classical ones. Despite their potential, connecting these batteries ...
Phys.org / Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest views yet of a galaxy cluster ...
Phys.org / Gentle chemical glow helps scientists capture sharper images of living cells
We reach for brighter, better lighting for sharper pictures, whether we're photographing a puppy or a microscopic cell. In most cases, the light comes from outside the object being photographed. A recent study explored a ...
Phys.org / Shrews exhibit reversible size changes in their skulls and noses to get through the winter
Scientists had previously observed that some species of shrews undergo a form of biological plasticity in which their bodies, skulls, brains and some organs shrink in the winter, then regrow in the spring. Now, a new study ...
Phys.org / Dark Stars may have left gravitational-wave echoes across the universe
A mysterious background of extremely low-frequency gravitational waves detected by networks of pulsars may carry information about events that began more than 13 billion years ago—including the formation of some of the first ...
Phys.org / 3D-printed ceramic waveguide lasers could surpass the power of glass fiber lasers by 10 times
At the bottom of the ocean, optical fibers transmit telecommunications and internet data around the world. Waveguides make that feat possible by channeling and amplifying the light—and therefore the data within—over enormous ...
Phys.org / Volcano myths unravel, from 'smoke' plumes to Yellowstone catastrophe claims
Volcanoes emit smoke. Beneath a volcano lies a huge chamber filled with liquid magma. A series of earthquakes means an eruption is imminent. And if a "supervolcano" like Yellowstone were to awaken, a global catastrophe would ...
Phys.org / Oases in the desert of Arabia created 'brands' in the Bronze Age
Did brands exist before modern society, in noncapitalist economies? An international team led by Marta Luciani of the University of Vienna has made unexpected discoveries about Bronze Age trade: Yes, brands did indeed exist ...
