Phys.org news
Phys.org / How fast can a microlaser switch 'modes?' A simple rule reveals a power-law time scaling
Modern technologies increasingly rely on light sources that can be reconfigured on demand. Think of microlasers that can quickly switch between different operating states—much like a car shifting gears—so that an optical ...
Phys.org / First evidence of a subsurface lava tube on Venus
Volcanic activity is not unique to Earth: traces of volcanic activity, such as lava tubes, have been found on Mars and the moon. Now, the University of Trento has demonstrated the existence of an empty lava tube even in the ...
Phys.org / The Arctic's first inhabitants shaped thousands of years of ecological development
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence for repeated prehistoric occupation in the remote island cluster of Kitsissut, north of Greenland, indicating the first people in the High Arctic were skilled seafarers who had a profound ...
Phys.org / Topological antenna could pave the way for 6G networks
Using ideas borrowed from topological photonics, researchers in Singapore, France and the US have designed a compact antenna capable of handling information-rich terahertz (THz) signals. Reporting their results in Nature ...
Phys.org / 2023–2024 El Niño triggered record-breaking sea level spike along African coastlines, study finds
Africa's coastlines are under growing threat as sea levels climb faster than ever, driven by decades of global warming caused by human activity, natural climate cycles, and warming ocean waters. Between 2009 and 2024, the ...
Phys.org / Study of 400 children in five societies finds culture shapes how kids cooperate
How do children learn to cooperate with others? A new cross-cultural study suggests that the answer depends less on universal rules and more on the social norms surrounding the child.
Phys.org / Ancient Yangtze floods linked to Shijiahe decline, new 1,000-year rainfall record shows
A new study involving researchers from Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences has finally solved the mystery of what caused the collapse of an Ancient Chinese civilization—finding that widespread flooding was to blame. The ...
Phys.org / Why supermarkets may sell more by putting fresh meals in front
Why did the rotisserie chicken cross the aisle—and end up in your shopping cart? Maybe you grabbed the container that was closest to you, or maybe you examined all of the chickens, checking dates and timestamps to see when ...
Phys.org / Skull fragments expand the frontiers of Iberian severed head ritual
The study of skull fragments from the Olèrdola (Olèrdola, Barcelona) and Molí d'Espígol (Tornabous, Lleida) sites has provided new evidence that would allow the ritual of "severed heads" from the northeast of the Iberian ...
Phys.org / Chemistry isn't always essential for order: How simple geometry gives rise to complex materials
Utrecht University researchers Rodolfo Subert and Marjolein Dijkstra show in their latest study that complex three-dimensional networks in materials can emerge from nothing more than particle shape. In Nature Communications ...
Phys.org / Water molecules actively reshape chiral catalyst structure, research shows
Researchers have analyzed the stepwise hydration of prolinol, a molecule widely used as a catalyst and as a building block in chemical synthesis. The study shows that just a few water molecules can completely change the preferred ...
Phys.org / Webb unveils nature of distant ultraviolet-luminous galaxy CEERS2-588
Astronomers from the University of Tokyo in Japan and elsewhere have employed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe a distant ultraviolet-luminous galaxy known as CEERS2-588. Results of the observational campaign, ...
