Laser light traveling through ornately microfabricated glass has been shown to interact with itself to form self-sustaining wave patterns called solitons. The intricate design fabricated in the glass is a type of "photonic ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 1, 2020
0
745
The mystery of some lava-like flows on Mars has been solved by scientists who say they are caused not by lava but by mud.
Space Exploration
May 18, 2020
22
2204
A galactic visitor entered our solar system last year—interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. When astronomers pointed the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) toward the comet on 15 and 16 December 2019, for the ...
Astronomy
Apr 20, 2020
2
4251
A research team led by physicists at the University of California, Riverside, reports tiny satellite galaxies of the Milky Way can be used to test fundamental properties of "dark matter"—nonluminous material thought to ...
General Physics
Apr 15, 2020
23
676
The first appearance of bright green leaves heralds the start of spring, nudging insects, birds and other animals into a whirlwind of action. But a new study shows that urbanization shifts this seasonal cue in nuanced ways, ...
Ecology
Nov 11, 2019
0
105
It may still be decades before quantum computers are ready to solve problems that today's classical computers aren't fast or efficient enough to solve, but the emerging "probabilistic computer" could bridge the gap between ...
Quantum Physics
Sep 18, 2019
1
1438
Physicists have found "electron pairing," a hallmark feature of superconductivity, at temperatures and energies well above the critical threshold where superconductivity happens.
Superconductivity
Aug 21, 2019
1
720
Large differences in the 'fogginess' of the early universe were caused by islands of cold gas left behind when the universe heated up after the big bang, according to an international team of astronomers.
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2019
10
879
Barnacles that hitch rides on the backs of humpback and gray whales not only record details about the whales' yearly travels, they also retain this information after they become fossilized, helping scientists reconstruct ...
Ecology
Mar 25, 2019
0
239
People are great at detecting cold temperatures and also the cool sensation induced by natural substances like menthol, which is common in remedies used to soothe aching muscles. But it hasn't been entirely clear how we do ...
Biochemistry
Feb 7, 2019
0
75
