Best of Last Year—The top Phys.org articles of 2017

It was another great year for science, particularly physics, as evidenced by a study conducted by U.K., Canadian and Italian researchers who revealed substantial evidence of a holographic universe. They published what is ...

Can poor air quality mask global warming's effects?

During the 20th century, the average temperature of the continental United States rose by almost 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 degree Celsius)—everywhere, that is, except in the Southeast. There, until the 1980s, the temperature ...

Study explains the mystery of ball lightning

(Phys.org)—Sightings of ball lightning have been made for centuries around the world – usually the size of a grapefruit and lasting up to twenty seconds – but no explanation of how it occurs has been universally accepted ...

New lasing technique inspired by brightly colored birds

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Yale University have succeeded in building a new kind of laser based on the way brightly colored birds show their colors. Building on the new approach to creating laser beams, whereby holes ...

Swift gamma-ray burst mission marks ten years of discovery

(Phys.org) —NASA's Swift spacecraft lifted off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., beginning its mission to study gamma-ray bursts and identify their origins. Gamma-ray bursts are ...

Noise protection: Multifunctional and aesthetical

Noise abatement is growing in importance, thus, the demand for better acoustic building components raises. Scientists are developing new solutions: aesthetically good looking and flexibly applicable microperforated sound ...