Viking 'sunstone' more than a myth
Ancient tales of Norse mariners using mysterious sunstones to navigate the ocean when clouds obscured the Sun and stars are more than just legend, according to a study published Wednesday.
Ancient tales of Norse mariners using mysterious sunstones to navigate the ocean when clouds obscured the Sun and stars are more than just legend, according to a study published Wednesday.
Archaeology
Nov 2, 2011
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Researchers have discovered Homo sapiens did indeed live and survive in the Kalahari Desert more than 20,000 years ago.
Archaeology
Aug 17, 2022
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists from the University of Birmingham, with colleagues at Imperial College, London, and Technical University of Denmark, have demonstrated an 'invisibility cloak' that can hide a three-dimensional ...
General Physics
Feb 1, 2011
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A rough, whitish block recovered from an Elizabethan shipwreck may be a sunstone, the fabled crystal believed by some to have helped Vikings and other medieval seafarers navigate the high seas, researchers say.
Archaeology
Mar 8, 2013
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(PhysOrg.com) -- To survive in a tumultuous environment, sea urchins literally eat through stone, using their teeth to carve out nooks where the spiny creatures hide from predators and protect themselves from the crashing ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 22, 2010
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Ancient records tell us that the intrepid Viking seafarers who discovered Iceland, Greenland and eventually North America navigated using landmarks, birds and whales, and little else. There's little doubt that Viking sailors ...
Archaeology
Feb 1, 2016
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally occurring biominerals such as seashells.
Nanomaterials
Sep 6, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The spine of a sea urchin is 99.9% chalk, a very common material forming tiny crystals that are very hard but easy to break apart. Scientists have now discovered how these marine animals use chalk or lime ...
Analytical Chemistry
Feb 14, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Lara Estroff and colleagues have taken a deep, detailed look at the way lab-created calcite crystals, similar to those found in nature, grow in tandem with proteins and other large molecules.
Materials Science
Nov 30, 2009
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No self-respecting construction engineer would ever choose pure calcite – a weak, brittle mineral found in chalk – as a building material.
Materials Science
May 3, 2016
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