physics

Credit: National University of Singapore Global warming poses a significant threat to ecosystems, societies, and economies worldwide. In recent decades, an international climate policy goal of limiting global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels was established. This was to avoid severe and irreversible impacts on the environment. International agreements like the Paris Agreement and policy … Read more

Credit: Pixabay from Pexels The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots—objects so tiny, they’re controlled by the strange and complex rules of quantum physics. Many quantum dots used in electronics are made from toxic substances, but their nontoxic counterparts are now being developed and explored for uses in medicine and in … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain From abstract-looking cloud formations to roars of snow machines on ski slopes, the transformation of liquid water into solid ice touches many facets of life. Water’s freezing point is generally accepted to be 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But that is due to ice nucleation—impurities in everyday water raise its freezing point to … Read more

A farmer sits in a drought-stricken rice field in Vietnam’s southern Ben Tre province, which is plagued by intruding salt water. Every day, farmer Nguyen Hoai Thuong prays in vain for rain to fall on the cracked dry earth of her garden in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—the country’s “rice bowl” agricultural heartland. A blazing month-long heat … Read more

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Successive and overlapping crises can lead to a lack of information, a flood of information that overwhelms essential information, or even distorted information. Society needs to be information-resilient and resistant to crises, including disruptions related to information. According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, we need a … Read more

by KeAi Communications Co. H2S removal and regeneration mechanism of NH3–CuO/13X-3 adsorbent. Credit: Erping Cao, et al. Blast furnace gas (BFG) is an important by-product energy for the iron and steel industry and has been widely used for heating and electricity generation. However, the undesirable contaminants, such as COS, CS2, and H2S, in BFG generate … Read more

A typical fairy circle on the Kamberg, which the researchers investigated during the 2024 rainy season: The clumps of grass—up to 80 cm high—can be seen at the edge of the fairy circle. These clumps use the fallen rain first and have an immense competitive advantage due to their size. With their established roots at … Read more

Close-up of a sample collected with the neuston net, showing plastic particles with considerable animal ‘by-catch’ Credit: Annika Jahnke / UFZ When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles. If marine animals ingest these particles, their health can be severely affected. Large accumulations of plastic can therefore disrupt … Read more

An illustrated reconstruction of the Bronze Age stilt settlement unearthed at Must Farm in the East of England. Credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit A major report on the remains of a stilt village that was engulfed in flames almost 3,000 years ago reveals in unprecedented detail the daily lives of England’s prehistoric fenlanders. Must Farm, a … Read more

Fragments of brain from an individual buried in a Victorian workhouse cemetery (Bristol, UK), some 200 years ago. No other soft tissue survived among the bones, which were dredged from the heavily waterlogged grave. Credit: Alexandra L. Morton-Hayward Soft tissue preservation in the geological record is relatively rare, and except where deliberate intervention halts the … Read more