news
« BACK
Physics - Materials Science - 23.11.2020 
Moths strike out in evolutionary arms race with sophisticated wing design
Ultra-thin, super-absorbent and extraordinarily designed to detract attention, the wings of moths could hold the key for developing technological solutions to survive in a noisy world. As revealed in a new study published today in PNAS [date tbc], researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered the precise construction of moths wings that have enabled the species to evade its most troublesome predator in a 65 million-year-old evolutionary arms race.
Health - Physics - 23.11.2020
Physics - Electroengineering - 09.11.2020 
Combining electronic and photonic chips enables new record in super-fast quantum light detection
Bristol researchers have developed a tiny device that paves the way for higher performance quantum computers and quantum communications, making them significantly faster than the current state-of-the-art. Researchers from the University of Bristol's Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QET Labs) and Université Côte d‘Azur have made a new miniaturized light detector to measure quantum features of light in more detail than ever before.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 29.10.2020
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 29.10.2020
Chemistry - Physics - 13.10.2020 
Turning plastic waste into hydrogen and high-value carbons
The ever-increasing production and use of plastics over the last half century has created a huge environmental problem for the world.
Electroengineering - Physics - 13.10.2020 
Easy-to-make, ultra-low power electronics could charge out of thin air
Researchers have developed a new approach to printed electronics which allows ultra-low power electronic devices that could recharge from ambient light or radiofrequency noise. The approach paves the way for low-cost printed electronics that could be seamlessly embedded in everyday objects and environments.
Computer Science - Physics - 12.10.2020 
New virtual reality software allows scientists to ’walk’ inside cells
Virtual reality software which allows researchers to 'walk' inside and analyse individual cells could be used to understand fundamental problems in biology and develop new treatments for disease.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 12.10.2020
Physics - Materials Science - 12.10.2020 
Upper limit for the speed of sound
A research collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Queen Mary University of London and the Institute for High Pressure Physics in Troitsk has discovered the fastest possible speed of sound. The result - about 36 km per second - is around twice as fast as the speed of sound in diamond, the hardest known material in the world.
Materials Science - Physics - 05.10.2020 
Squeezing light inside memory devices could help improve performance
Researchers have developed a method to 'squeeze' visible light in order to see inside tiny memory devices. The technique will allow researchers to probe how these devices break down and how their performance can be improved for a range of applications. The team, led by the University of Cambridge, used the technique to investigate the materials used in random access memories, while in operation.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 01.10.2020
Physics - Earth Sciences - 23.09.2020 
Scientists shine light on tiny crystals behind unexpected violent eruptions
This image shows the usual, gentle effusive eruption typical of Mt Etna (Italy). The erupted Etna rock is melted in a wire furnace on the synchrotron beamline at Diamond Light Source. Richard Brooker Nanolite 'snow' surrounding an iron oxide microlite 'Christmas tree'. Even these small 50 nm spheres are actually made up of even smaller nanolites aggregated into clumps.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 14.09.2020 
Hints of life on Venus
Synthesized false colour image of Venus, using 283-nm and 365-nm band images taken by the Venus Ultraviolet Imager (UVI). JAXA / ISAS / Akatsuki Project Team An international team of astronomers, led by Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University, today announced the discovery of a rare molecule - phosphine - in the clouds of Venus.
Physics - Materials Science - 10.09.2020 
Computational modelling explains why blues and greens are brightest colours in nature
Researchers have shown why intense, pure red colours in nature are mainly produced by pigments, instead of the structural colour that produces bright blue and green hues.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 09.09.2020
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 03.09.2020
Physics - Computer Science - 02.09.2020 
Revolutionary quantum breakthrough paves way for safer online communication
The world is one step closer to having a totally secure internet and an answer to the growing threat of cyber-attacks, thanks to a team of international scientists who have created a unique prototype which could transform how we communicate online. The invention led by the University of Bristol, revealed today in the journal Science Advances , has the potential to serve millions of users, is understood to be the largest-ever quantum network of its kind, and could be used to secure people's online communication, particularly in these internet-led times accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 02.09.2020 
A gravitational "bang": LIGO and Virgo discover the most massive gravitational-wave source yet
The LIGO and Virgo Collaboration, which includes scientists from the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, have reported the discovery of a signal from what may be the most massive black hole merger yet observed in gravitational waves. The signal, labelled GW190521, was detected on May 21, 2019, with the LIGO and Virgo detectors.
Physics - 24.08.2020 
Study enables predicting computational power of early quantum computers
Sussex study enables predicting computational power of early quantum computers University of Sussex quantum physicists have developed an algorithm which helps early quantum computers to perform calculations most efficiently The team used their model to calculate the expected computational power of early quantum computers Their research highlights a fundamental advantage of the ‘trapped ion' approach over other methods Quantum physicists at
Physics
Results 1 - 20 of 921.
Ultra-thin, super-absorbent and extraordinarily designed to detract attention, the wings of moths could hold the key for developing technological solutions to survive in a noisy world. As revealed in a new study published today in PNAS [date tbc], researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered the precise construction of moths wings that have enabled the species to evade its most troublesome predator in a 65 million-year-old evolutionary arms race.
Magnetic brain waves to detect injury and disease
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a new sensor to measure weak magnetic signals in the brain, which has the potential to increase understanding of connectivity in the brain, and detect signs of traumatic brain injury, dementia and schizophrenia. Magnetic signals in the brain are measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a new sensor to measure weak magnetic signals in the brain, which has the potential to increase understanding of connectivity in the brain, and detect signs of traumatic brain injury, dementia and schizophrenia. Magnetic signals in the brain are measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Bristol researchers have developed a tiny device that paves the way for higher performance quantum computers and quantum communications, making them significantly faster than the current state-of-the-art. Researchers from the University of Bristol's Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QET Labs) and Université Côte d‘Azur have made a new miniaturized light detector to measure quantum features of light in more detail than ever before.
Einstein’s zoo: LIGO and Virgo confirm gravitational waves from 50 cosmic collisions
The LIGO and Virgo Collaborations, which includes researchers from the University of Birmingham, have announced a further 39 gravitational-wave events, bringing the total number of confident detections to 50. These 50 events include the mergers of binary black hole, binary neutron stars and, possibly, neutron star-black holes.
The LIGO and Virgo Collaborations, which includes researchers from the University of Birmingham, have announced a further 39 gravitational-wave events, bringing the total number of confident detections to 50. These 50 events include the mergers of binary black hole, binary neutron stars and, possibly, neutron star-black holes.
LIGO and Virgo announce new detections in updated gravitational-wave catalogue
The publication of a new catalogue of gravitational wave detections from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration is providing valuable new insight into the workings of the universe. The catalog contains 39 new signals from black-hole or neutron-star collisions detected between April 1 and October 1, 2019, which more than triples the number of confirmed detections since the first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015.
The publication of a new catalogue of gravitational wave detections from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration is providing valuable new insight into the workings of the universe. The catalog contains 39 new signals from black-hole or neutron-star collisions detected between April 1 and October 1, 2019, which more than triples the number of confirmed detections since the first detection of gravitational waves in September 2015.
The ever-increasing production and use of plastics over the last half century has created a huge environmental problem for the world.
Researchers have developed a new approach to printed electronics which allows ultra-low power electronic devices that could recharge from ambient light or radiofrequency noise. The approach paves the way for low-cost printed electronics that could be seamlessly embedded in everyday objects and environments.
Virtual reality software which allows researchers to 'walk' inside and analyse individual cells could be used to understand fundamental problems in biology and develop new treatments for disease.
Death by Spaghettification: Scientists Record Last Moments of Star Devoured by a Black Hole
A rare blast of light, emitted by a star as it is sucked in by a supermassive black hole, has been spotted by scientists using telescopes from around the world. The phenomenon, known as a tidal disruption event, is the closest flare of its kind yet recorded, occurring just 215 million light-years from Earth.
A rare blast of light, emitted by a star as it is sucked in by a supermassive black hole, has been spotted by scientists using telescopes from around the world. The phenomenon, known as a tidal disruption event, is the closest flare of its kind yet recorded, occurring just 215 million light-years from Earth.
A research collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Queen Mary University of London and the Institute for High Pressure Physics in Troitsk has discovered the fastest possible speed of sound. The result - about 36 km per second - is around twice as fast as the speed of sound in diamond, the hardest known material in the world.
Researchers have developed a method to 'squeeze' visible light in order to see inside tiny memory devices. The technique will allow researchers to probe how these devices break down and how their performance can be improved for a range of applications. The team, led by the University of Cambridge, used the technique to investigate the materials used in random access memories, while in operation.
Detection of gravitational wave ’lensing’ could be some way off
Gravitational wave scientists looking for evidence of ‘lensing', in which the faintest gravitational wave signals become amplified, are unlikely to make these detections in the near future according to new analysis by scientists at the University of Birmingham. A team in the University's School of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy has analysed currently available gravitational wave data to predict that these elusive signals are likely to remain undetected by the instruments currently operated by the LIGO and Virgo Collaboration.
Gravitational wave scientists looking for evidence of ‘lensing', in which the faintest gravitational wave signals become amplified, are unlikely to make these detections in the near future according to new analysis by scientists at the University of Birmingham. A team in the University's School of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy has analysed currently available gravitational wave data to predict that these elusive signals are likely to remain undetected by the instruments currently operated by the LIGO and Virgo Collaboration.
This image shows the usual, gentle effusive eruption typical of Mt Etna (Italy). The erupted Etna rock is melted in a wire furnace on the synchrotron beamline at Diamond Light Source. Richard Brooker Nanolite 'snow' surrounding an iron oxide microlite 'Christmas tree'. Even these small 50 nm spheres are actually made up of even smaller nanolites aggregated into clumps.
Synthesized false colour image of Venus, using 283-nm and 365-nm band images taken by the Venus Ultraviolet Imager (UVI). JAXA / ISAS / Akatsuki Project Team An international team of astronomers, led by Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University, today announced the discovery of a rare molecule - phosphine - in the clouds of Venus.
Researchers have shown why intense, pure red colours in nature are mainly produced by pigments, instead of the structural colour that produces bright blue and green hues.
AI shows how hydrogen becomes a metal inside giant planets
Researchers have used a combination of AI and quantum mechanics to reveal how hydrogen gradually turns into a metal in giant planets. The existence of metallic hydrogen was theorised a century ago, but what we haven't known is how this process occurs Bingqing Cheng Dense metallic hydrogen - a phase of hydrogen which behaves like an electrical conductor - makes up the interior of giant planets, but it is difficult to study and poorly understood.
Researchers have used a combination of AI and quantum mechanics to reveal how hydrogen gradually turns into a metal in giant planets. The existence of metallic hydrogen was theorised a century ago, but what we haven't known is how this process occurs Bingqing Cheng Dense metallic hydrogen - a phase of hydrogen which behaves like an electrical conductor - makes up the interior of giant planets, but it is difficult to study and poorly understood.
Where do black-hole parents meet? LIGO/Virgo may provide answers
Astrophysicists investigating gravitational-wave data from the far reaches of the Universe believe they may have found an explanation for a curious signal detected from the collision of two black holes. The signal, named GW190412, was picked up by the LIGO / Virgo detectors, which are set up to observe gravitational waves - the ripples in space and time caused by huge astronomical objects - and use them to make new discoveries about our Universe.
Astrophysicists investigating gravitational-wave data from the far reaches of the Universe believe they may have found an explanation for a curious signal detected from the collision of two black holes. The signal, named GW190412, was picked up by the LIGO / Virgo detectors, which are set up to observe gravitational waves - the ripples in space and time caused by huge astronomical objects - and use them to make new discoveries about our Universe.
The world is one step closer to having a totally secure internet and an answer to the growing threat of cyber-attacks, thanks to a team of international scientists who have created a unique prototype which could transform how we communicate online. The invention led by the University of Bristol, revealed today in the journal Science Advances , has the potential to serve millions of users, is understood to be the largest-ever quantum network of its kind, and could be used to secure people's online communication, particularly in these internet-led times accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The LIGO and Virgo Collaboration, which includes scientists from the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, have reported the discovery of a signal from what may be the most massive black hole merger yet observed in gravitational waves. The signal, labelled GW190521, was detected on May 21, 2019, with the LIGO and Virgo detectors.
Sussex study enables predicting computational power of early quantum computers University of Sussex quantum physicists have developed an algorithm which helps early quantum computers to perform calculations most efficiently The team used their model to calculate the expected computational power of early quantum computers Their research highlights a fundamental advantage of the ‘trapped ion' approach over other methods Quantum physicists at
