https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. What governs the speed at which raindrops fall, sediment settles in river estuaries, and matter is ejected during a supernova? These questions circle around one, deceitfully simple factor: the rate at which a fluid filled with particles mixes with a particle-free one. Raindrops travel from one layer of air to another; sediment falls from river to seawater, and ejecta travels from the exploding star through the surrounding dust cloud. The same principle dictates sediment mixing in rising smoke, dust storms, nuclear explosions, hydrocarbon refining, metal smelting, wastewater treatment, and more. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-fluid-simulation-unprecedented-scale-toolkit.html General Physics Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:10:07 EDT news692463481 Lying about Black people is nothing new in political campaigning. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-springfield-illinois-ohio.html Political science Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:10:04 EDT news648128496 Plastic pollution and other ocean debris are a complex global environmental problem. Every year, ten million tons of plastic are estimated to be mismanaged, resulting in entry into the ocean, of which half will float initially. Yet, only 0.3 million tons of plastic can be found floating on the surface of the ocean. Where has the rest of the plastic gone? https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ocean-plastic-boost-wave-induced-size.html Environment Wed, 26 May 2021 08:05:43 EDT news541235139 In a recent report, Xiaolei Peng and a team of scientists in materials science and engineering at the University of Texas, U.S., and the Tsinghua University, China, developed opto-thermoelectric microswimmers bioinspired by the motion behaviors of Escherichia coli (E. coli). They engineered the microswimmers using dielectric gold Janus particles driven by a self-sustained electric field arising from the optothermal response of the particles. When they illuminated the constructs with a laser beam, the Janus particles showed an optically generated temperature gradient along the particle surfaces, forming an opto-thermoelectrical field to propel themselves along. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-opto-thermoelectric-microswimmers.html General Physics Fri, 04 Sep 2020 13:10:01 EDT news518442238 Many of us as kids have played Poohsticks—throwing a twig into flowing water from a bridge or riverbank and watching it race downstream, but then losing the competition because your stick gets caught in the endless spin of an eddy on the edge of a creek. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-collaboration-art-science-explores-turbulent.html General Physics Fri, 24 May 2019 09:20:02 EDT news477906930 Bubbles are an essential part of many industrial applications including foam formation, water purification, and oil and gas extraction. To understand the effects of bubbles in these systems, A*STAR researchers have developed a computer model that predicts exactly how they rise through liquids and impact on solid surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2016-02-fluid-dynamics-accurately-impact-solid.html General Physics Wed, 24 Feb 2016 07:05:13 EST news375519904 The "El Nino" phenomenon, which sparks climate extremes around the globe, is likely to take hold in the Pacific Ocean by the end of the year and could even do so within weeks, the UN said on Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2014-06-el-nino-year.html Earth Sciences Thu, 26 Jun 2014 09:06:13 EDT news322992360 Using a combination of theory and experiment, researchers have developed a new approach for understanding and predicting how small legged robots – and potentially also animals – move on and interact with complex granular materials such as sand. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-terradynamics-technique-legged-robots-granular.html Robotics Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:00:16 EDT news283091775 (Phys.org)—Researchers at the University of Dundee in Scotland have devised a means of using a Microsoft Kinect sensing system to allow for hand control of holographic optical tweezers. They describe their results in a paper they've uploaded to the preprint server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-physicists-kinect-holographic-tweezers-video.html General Physics Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:57:28 EST news271331825