Phys.org news
Phys.org / Corals reveal 100-year warming history of the Pacific Ocean
Earth's oceans are a complex system of interconnected transport highways for heat, nutrients and the transfer of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and sea. Meridional overturning circulation is the process by which these ...
Phys.org / Physicists achieve breakthrough in Monte Carlo computer simulations
Researchers at Leipzig University have developed a highly efficient method to investigate systems with long-range interactions that were previously puzzling to experts. These systems can be gases or even solid materials such ...
Phys.org / New insights into the origin of the Indo-European languages
An international team of linguists and geneticists led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has achieved a significant breakthrough in our understanding of the origins of Indo-European, ...
Phys.org / Some alloys don't change size when heated, and we now know why
Nearly every material, whether it is solid, liquid, or gas, expands when its temperature goes up and contracts when its temperature goes down. This property, called thermal expansion, makes a hot air balloon float, and the ...
Phys.org / 600-million-year-old ocean water from Himalayas provides clues to Earth's past
High up in the Himalayas, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Niigata University, Japan, have discovered droplets of water trapped in mineral deposits that were likely left behind from an ancient ocean ...
Phys.org / Researchers 'grow' high quality superconductor, find resilience against magnetic fields
Researchers have demonstrated the ability to grow high-quality thin films of a recently discovered superconductor material called potassium tantalate (KTaO3). The researchers also discovered that the material retains its ...
Phys.org / Fungi that break down hardwood trees can do the same with plastic, study shows
A team of plant and molecular biologists from the University of Kelaniya and the University of Peradeniya, both in Sri Lanka, reports that many types of fungi that break down hardwood trees can also break down polyethylene, ...
Phys.org / 'Time-traveling' pathogens in melting permafrost pose likely risk to environment, say scientists
Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study by Giovanni Strona of the European Commission ...
Phys.org / Predicting molecular rotational temperature for enhanced plasma recombination
Humans may never be able to tame the sun, but hydrogen plasma—making up most of the sun's interior—can be confined in a magnetic field as part of fusion power generation: with a caveat.
Phys.org / Chemists develop next-generation self-healing plastic that's also biodegradable
Imagine a plastic that is harder than common plastics, non-flammable, and even has self-healing properties. But that is not all—it can be produced at room temperature in water, which is very energy-efficient and does not ...
Phys.org / Mixing of moiré-surface and bulk states: Capturing Hofstadter's butterfly in one of Earth's most ancient materials
Researchers in the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester have revisited one of the most ancient materials on Earth—graphite—and discovered new physics that has eluded the field for decades.
Phys.org / Imaging shows how solar-powered microbes turn carbon dioxide into bioplastic
When considering ways to sustainably generate environmentally friendly products, bacteria might not immediately spring to mind.