Tag

Thermodynamics

All articles tagged with #thermodynamics

science26 days ago•2 min saved

Isotope Analysis Confirms T. rex Maintained Human-Like Body Temperature

A UCLA study published in Science Advances confirms that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, with a body temperature of approximately 97.3 degrees Fahrenheit. By analyzing carbon and oxygen isotopes in tooth enamel from two specimens, including 'Thomas the T. rex,' researchers determined the dinosaur’s metabolic heat was comparable to modern elephants and large birds. This finding supports the theory that T. rex was an active predator capable of surviving in diverse climates, including high latitudes, rather than a sluggish, cold-blooded ambush hunter.

via Jalopnik|

#dinosaur-evolution #paleontology #science

science27 days ago•43 min saved

Ireland’s Maynooth University Demonstrates Thermodynamically Driven DNA Computer in Nature

Researchers at Maynooth University have developed the Scaffolded DNA Computer (SDC), a molecular system that performs calculations by drifting toward thermodynamic equilibrium rather than consuming continuous energy. Published in Nature, the SDC executed ten distinct programs, including addition, multiplication, and division, with some tasks completing in under a minute. The system achieved up to 95% accuracy in standard tests and demonstrated reusability by running 25 consecutive calculations in a single droplet without performance loss. This approach eliminates the need for error-correction mechanisms typical of digital electronics, offering a potential pathway for ultra-low-energy computing and dense data storage.

via Nature|

#dna-computing #energy-efficiency #maynooth-university

science27 days ago•171 min saved

Tooth chemistry reveals T. rex body temperature was 97°F, confirming warm-blooded status

A new study in Science Advances confirms Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded by analyzing carbon-oxygen isotopes in fossil teeth. Researchers determined the dinosaur’s body temperature was approximately 97°F (36°C), similar to humans and large mammals. This finding resolves a decades-long debate about dinosaur metabolism and supports the theory that T. rex could thrive in cold climates, such as the Arctic, unlike cold-blooded reptiles.

via CNN|

#evolutionary-biology #fossil-analysis #paleontology

science-and-technology1 month ago•13 min saved

Life as a Dynamic Fourth State of Matter

Addy Pross argues that life is a distinct, dynamic state of matter, not just a collection of chemical compounds. He contends that the inability of physics to explain biological self-assembly stems from a failure to recognize life as a kinetic state where molecular components are constantly replaced, unlike static thermodynamic states like solids or liquids.

via The MIT Press Reader|

#biology #chemistry #physics

science1 month ago•53 min saved

Quantum Switch Rewrites Heat Flow by Scrambling Cause and Effect

Researchers used a quantum switch to create indefinite causal order between two heat reservoirs, effectively allowing heat to move from cooler to warmer regions and challenging a straightforward interpretation of the second law; an optical experiment with split photon beams matched theoretical predictions with over 99% fidelity, highlighting a potential bridge between quantum and classical causality and possible future photonics applications.

via Yahoo|

#heat-flow #indefinite-causal-order #photons

science1 month ago•51 min saved

Magnetized Liquids Refuse to Mix, Defying Thermodynamics

A graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst mixed immiscible liquids (oil and water) with magnetized nickel particles and observed that the liquid boundary bent into a Grecian urn shape, disrupting emulsification and effectively bending the laws of thermodynamics. Simulations and collaboration with other universities showed strong magnetism can alter liquid interfaces, revealing a never‑before‑seen state in soft‑matter physics with no immediate practical use but expanding fundamental understanding.

via Yahoo|

#emulsification #magnetism #science

space1 month ago•10 min saved

Moon's Permanently Shaded Pits Offer Stable 17°C Haven, Hinting at Underground Habitats

A UCLA-led study using NASA's LRO Diviner data shows that permanently shadowed sections of certain lunar pits can maintain a near-constant ~17°C, while the surrounding surface ranges from 127°C in daylight to −173°C in darkness. This stability arises from pit geometry and radiative exchange, suggesting caves could offer a natural thermal buffer for future habitats. However, this is a modeling result, not a confirmed underground base, and practical settlement would require robotic scouting, reliable access, power, life support, and radiation protection.

via Space Daily|

#lro-diviner #lunar-pits #moon

science2 months ago•4 min saved

Thermodynamics May Foretell the Final Fate of Merging Black Holes

A study of non-spinning binary black hole mergers shows the remnant’s mass and spin align closely with the Kerr entropy maximum, matching numerical relativity predictions within a few percent and suggesting a maximum-entropy principle could govern dynamical mergers.

via Physics World|

#black-holes #entropy #gravitational-waves

science2 months ago•52 min saved

Earth's Inner Core May Be Dominated by Superionic Hydrogen

New modeling suggests the inner core could host abundant superionic hydrogen—hydrogen that flows like a liquid and conducts electricity—with the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) phase likely more stable than body-centered cubic (BCC) under core conditions. Partitioning of hydrogen is driven mainly by temperature rather than pressure, creating a radial gradient that concentrates hydrogen toward the inner-core boundary where it re-partitions into a liquid that enriches the outer core. This ongoing exchange, plus inner-core growth, could provide chemical buoyancy to power the geodynamo, while other light elements like oxygen and carbon likely further shape the core's composition and evolution.

via Yahoo|

#earths-core #hydrogen #inner-core

science2 months ago•8 min saved

Gravity Emerges from Entropy: A Thermodynamic View of the Cosmos

Physicist Ginestra Bianconi proposes Gravity from Entropy (GfE), a quantum gravity framework in which gravity arises from an information-theoretic tension between two spacetime metrics. They find total entropy increases with cosmic expansion while entropy per unit volume falls, allowing local structure to form even as the universe trends toward disorder. GfE reduces to General Relativity at low energies but includes a dynamical dark-energy term that could yield observable effects, offering a potential bridge between gravity, thermodynamics, and quantum theory.

via SciTechDaily|

#cosmology #entropy #gravity

science2 months ago•10 min saved

Dynamic Horizons Extend Black Hole Thermodynamics

Penn State researchers propose using dynamical horizons instead of event horizons to define black hole entropy in real time, extending the first and second laws of black hole thermodynamics to non-equilibrium processes such as formation, merging, and evaporation, thus addressing teleological issues and offering a practical framework for evolving black holes and gravitational-wave observations.

via SciTechDaily|

#black-holes #dynamical-horizons #gravitational-waves

science2 months ago•51 min saved

Dynamic horizons extend Hawking’s thermodynamics to evolving black holes

A Penn State-led team replaces the conventional event horizon with a dynamical horizon and generalizes the laws of thermodynamics so Hawking’s black hole framework applies to evolving black holes during formation, mergers and evaporation.

via Yahoo|

#black-holes #dynamical-horizon #hawking-radiation

space2 months ago•106 min saved

Dynamic horizons rewrite black hole thermodynamics

A Penn State team led by Abhay Ashtekar proposes replacing Hawking's equilibrium-based event horizon with a 'dynamical horizon' and generalizing black hole thermodynamics to non-equilibrium situations, allowing the first and second laws to apply during growth, mergers, and evaporation. This framework complements Hawking radiation by focusing on entropy changes in dynamical processes, improving our understanding of evolving black holes; the work is published in Physical Review Letters.

via Space|

#black-holes #dynamical-horizon #entropy

science3 months ago•7 min saved

Quantum Control Reverses the Arrow of Time in the Lab

Researchers developed measurement-based quantum control that, by combining measurements, feedback, and tailored control fields, can stretch or reverse the apparent arrow of time in quantum systems, creating time-reversed trajectories and a measurement-powered engine that can extract energy from monitoring; the work, published in Physical Review X, points to new methods for quantum state preparation and energy management with platforms like superconducting qubits.

via SciTechDaily|

#measurement #quantum #quantum-control

science4 months ago•3 min saved

Topology Reveals Global Shape of Black Hole Thermodynamics

Black holes are not just features of their accretion disks: they possess intrinsic temperature and entropy, and topology is used to classify their thermodynamic behavior. By identifying special zero points in the thermodynamic landscape and assigning them topological charges, physicists derive a global fingerprint that distinguishes different black-hole types (such as Schwarzschild vs. Reissner–Nordström) while remaining robust to changes in mass, charge, or spin; this approach links stability and state transitions to invariant properties and could illuminate paths toward quantum gravity, with implications for light rings and spacetime bending.

via Universe Today|

#astrophysics #black-holes #quantum-gravity