Matter & Energy

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CERN finds particle that eluded physicists for years

The LHCb experiment at CERN has confirmed for the first time the existence of the Ξcc⁺ baryon, a particle made up of two heavy charm quarks and one down quark. Physicists had predicted its existence years ago, but an earlier possible detection was never confirmed. The new signal exceeded seven standard deviations.

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    Glowing bacteria tested as tiny lamps for hydrogen production

    Scientists have tested whether glowing bacteria could act as tiny lamps inside reactors producing hydrogen - but their light proved almost 43 times too weak.

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    New material glows orange when hit by sound, friction or impact

    A new material developed by Polish physicists can be made to glow orange simply by striking, rubbing or hitting it with ultrasound. Physicists from the University of Gdańsk attribute the effect to the release of charges trapped in crystal defects.

  • Symbolic artwork depicts particles spinning in light. Source: AI-generated image

    Scientists create tiny molecular motors powered by ordinary daylight

    Scientists have developed a new family of molecular machines that can convert the energy of ordinary sunlight into unidirectional rotational motion with exceptional efficiency.

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    Scientists measure temperatures 268C below zero using light as a thermometer

    Scientists have measured temperatures as low as 4.9 kelvins — about 268 degrees Celsius below zero — by tracking the motion of hydrogen molecules with light instead of using a conventional thermometer.

  • 07.03.2009 PAP/Jacek Turczyk

    More pressure can make your espresso flow slower, Polish physicists find

    Press a button, a few seconds of whirring, and your morning espresso is ready. But does more pressure always mean a faster flow? Polish physicists have found that, instead of simply speeding up the brew, higher pressure can compress the coffee grounds and act like a tighter cork.

  • Marcin Runowski, photo from private archive

    Scientists develop 'smart' material that glows under friction, heat and ultrasound

    An international team of scientists, including researchers from Poland, has developed a new material that emits light when exposed to friction, impact, heat and even ultrasound.

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    AI can't replace mathematical thinking, Polish study warns

    Artificial intelligence and advanced mathematical software can solve increasingly complex equations, but engineers who rely on them without understanding the mathematics behind the answers risk making poor or even unsafe decisions, according to new research from Poland.

  • 05.07.2015 PAP/Marcin Bielecki

    Scientists record rare gamma-ray burst just before lightning strike

    A lightning can be more than just a flash of light and a sudden flow of electricity. An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Łódź and the National Centre for Nuclear Research, recorded a burst of gamma radiation directed toward Earth, formed just before one of the lightning strikes.

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    Researchers unveil programmable terahertz device that combines computing and communications for future 6G

    Researchers collaborating with the ENSEMBLE3 Centre of Excellence in Warsaw have developed a programmable terahertz metasurface capable of both processing and encoding data, a technological advance that could help future 6G communication networks reduce delays by carrying out simple computations before signals reach conventional electronics.

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  • Burial of a woman buried with a sickle and padlock from the 17th-century cemetery in Pień, Source: Pień Project/TSE Evolution

    ‘Vampire’ grave mystery deepens as 17th-century woman ‘may have been an outsider’

  • ‘6,000 planets found but where is everybody?’ asks Polish astronomer who discovered the first extrasolar planet

  • Polish invention for testing concrete shrinkage wins US approval

  • New test could detect Parkinson’s before motor symptoms appear

  • New material glows orange when hit by sound, friction or impact

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Professor Jarosław Sławek and Professor Magdalena Górska-Ponikowska. Credit: Krzysztof Mystkowski/KFP

New test could detect Parkinson’s before motor symptoms appear

Scientists from the Medical University of Gdańsk and the University of Gdańsk have obtained a patent for a method designed to diagnose Parkinson’s disease at an early stage, before the first motor symptoms appear.