Phys.org news
Phys.org / Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Phys.org / Missing technosignatures? Turbulent plasma may blur ultra-narrow signals before they leave their home star systems
A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting ...
Phys.org / Scientists create a hexagonal diamond that could be even harder than the real thing
To misquote a famous song, "Diamonds are industry's best friend." Cubic diamond is the hardest mineral on Earth and is used in everything from precision cutting tools to high-performance semiconductors as well as expensive ...
Phys.org / Researchers create a never-before-seen molecule and prove its exotic nature with quantum computing
An international team of scientists from IBM, The University of Manchester, Oxford University, ETH Zurich, EPFL and the University of Regensburg have created and characterized a molecule unlike any previously known—one ...
Phys.org / New species of ancient mollusk found in South Korean waters
Scientists have discovered a new species of chiton, an ancient marine mollusk that has remained virtually unchanged for the last 300 million years. Chitons have an elongated oval shape with a shell composed of eight interlocking ...
Phys.org / Neutrons reveal magnetic signatures of chiral phonons
Physicists in China have uncovered new evidence that chiral phonons and magnons can interact strongly inside magnetic crystals. Using neutron spectroscopy, a team led by Song Bao at Nanjing University mapped magnetic signatures ...
Phys.org / New LVK catalog adds 128 gravitational-wave candidates, more than doubling detections
When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. ...
Phys.org / Binary star population of open cluster NGC 2158 explored with Hubble
Astronomers have analyzed the images collected by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to investigate a galactic open cluster known as NGC 2158. Results of the study, published Feb. 25 on the arXiv pre-print server, provide essential ...
Phys.org / Newfound terrestrial crocodile fossil redraws the map of Europe in the age of the dinosaurs
A research team led by Dr. Márton Rabi from the Biogeology Department of the University of Tübingen, together with Máté Szegszárdi and Professor Attila Ősi from the Hungarian Eötvös Loránd University, is challenging ...
Phys.org / Engineers improve infrared devices using century-old materials
After decades of intense research, surprises in the realm of semiconductors—materials used in microchips to control electrical currents—are few and far between. But with a pair of published papers, materials engineers ...
Phys.org / Microbial ancestor of complex life was more sophisticated than previously thought, studies suggest
Our single-celled ancestor lived in a world without plants, animals or oxygen-rich oceans. Yet, this seemingly simple microorganism took the first steps toward complex life. From this ancestor emerged all multicellular (complex) ...
Phys.org / Toxic evolution: How wasps and frogs mimic pain molecules to deter predators
Certain species of wasps and frogs share a pain and inflammation peptide similar to one found in vertebrates to help defend against predators—a discovery that contributes to a shifting view of how evolution works, say researchers. ...
