Phys.org news
Phys.org / This ultracold quantum device turns electricity into something far stranger that could unlock sound-based lasers
Researchers at McGill University have developed a novel device that generates sound-like particles known as phonons at extremely cold temperatures. The technology could be used to create phonon lasers, with possible applications ...
Phys.org / An unprecedented Antarctic heat wave hit in the dead of winter—what it signals for the decades ahead
In the middle of the Antarctic winter, during months of darkness when temperatures often dip below −30°C, the continent warmed dramatically. In July and August 2024, temperatures in parts of East Antarctica rose by up to ...
Phys.org / Sewers have been hiding a climate problem in plain sight, and this new tool finally exposes its true scale
Methane is the second-largest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, anthropogenic methane emissions account for nearly 45% of current net warming, making it an important factor ...
Phys.org / At just four nanometers thick, this metal starts behaving in a way physicists did not expect
Researchers in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have discovered a powerful new way to control the electronic behavior of a metal—by manipulating the atomic properties of materials where they meet. The study, published ...
Phys.org / Room-temperature vibrations could transform how industry makes graphene
Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating 2D materials that runs at room temperature and increases production rates tenfold over current methods, without using toxic solvents. Scientists led by Dr. Jason ...
Phys.org / How giants that vanished 10,000 years ago triggered ripple effects that are still felt today
Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world's largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than ...
Phys.org / Beer and cannabis could share 'sex switch,' study finds
Researchers at University College Dublin have identified a genetic "switch" that determines the sex of cannabis plants, and found the same system may exist in hops. The study, published in New Phytologist, pinpoints a specific ...
Phys.org / Two suns are better than one—planets thrive around binary stars
Planets may actually form more easily around double stars than around single stars like our sun, according to new research from astrophysicists at the University of Lancashire. Binary stars are common in our galaxy, yet for ...
Phys.org / Aligned cells may explain why some wounds heal faster than others
Understanding how wounds heal after injury could be a step closer thanks to a new mathematical model developed by researchers at the University of Bristol. The study, published in Physical Review Letters, builds on previous ...
Phys.org / Rivers worldwide reveal greenhouse gas rise that's been overlooked for decades
Rivers worldwide are under severe stress: they are warming, losing oxygen, and as a result emitting increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now quantified these ...
Phys.org / Breaking connections helps ideas spread farther, says physics-based study
Sticking with the same people might feel safe and comfortable. But a new Northwestern University study suggests it can actually trap new ideas and behaviors inside tight echo chambers. By contrast, the research, published ...
Phys.org / Why stars spin down, or up, before they die
From birth to death, stars generally slow by 100 to 1,000 times their initial rotation rates; in other words, they "spin down." The sun's total angular momentum has declined as material is gradually blown off at the surface ...
