Researchers at UBC have found a way to mimic the elusive Schwinger effect using superfluid helium, where vortex pairs appear out of thin films instead of electron-positron pairs in a vacuum. Their work not only offers a cosmic laboratory for otherwise unreachable phenomena, but also changes the way scientists understand vortices, superfluids, and even quantum tunneling.

In 1951, physicist Julian Schwinger theorized that by applying a uniform electrical field to a vacuum, electron-positron pairs would be spontaneously created out of nothing, through a phenomenon called quantum tunneling.

The problem with turning the matter-out-of-nowhere theory into Star Trek replicators or transporters? Enormously high electric fields would be re...

For around half a century, scientists have been puzzled by the odd spectral lines produced by solar flares. Now we may have some answers.
Anew study looking at solar flares may have solved a 50-year-old mystery about our host star, finding that solar flares may be far hotter than we realized.

Solar flares are a common event on the Sun’s surface. They can be seen regularly throughout the year, and particularly during the solar maximum phase of the Sun’s cycle.

“A solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system’s largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the Sun and they can last from minutes to hours,” NASA explains...

Everybody develops presbyopia as they age—a difficulty in focusing on near objects and text—and often must resort to reading glasses. However, the solution might be as simple as using special eye drops two or three times a day.

A retrospective study of 766 patients presented at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) has found that the majority could read an extra two, three or more lines on the eye chart used for testing near visual acuity (the Jaeger chart) after using specially formulated eye drops. This improvement was sustained for up to two years.

Dr...

A top Google scientist and 2024 Nobel laureate said Friday that the most important skill for the next generation will be “learning how to learn” to keep pace with change as Artificial Intelligence transforms education and the workplace.

Speaking at an ancient Roman theater at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind, said rapid technological change demands a new approach to learning and skill development.

“It’s very hard to predict the...