Physics
393 articles-
We Are Made of Waves
Everything in the universe, a playful new book argues, vibrates like a guitar string. -
How Schrödinger’s Cat Got Famous
Fifty years ago, science-fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin popularized physics’ most enigmatic feline. -
Making Light of Gravity
Physicist Claudia de Rham on her 3 greatest revelations while writing The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity. -
How Does Blood Splatter in Space?
Forensics has reached the final frontier, and could be used to solve future space accidents—or crimes. -
The End of the Dark Universe?
A new “post-quantum” theory of gravity says we can wave dark matter and dark energy goodbye. -
Science Is the New Nuclear Deterrent
Sarah Scoles on her 3 greatest revelations while writing Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons. -
What Physicists Have Been Missing
An exciting new theory reconciles gravity and quantum physics. I think it’s wrong. But I may be too. -
The Overlooked Experiment That Revealed the Quantum World
A century ago, the Stern-Gerlach experiment established the truth of quantum mechanics. Now it could build a bridge between the two pillars of modern physics. -
The Astrophysicist Who Loves the Things We Cannot Know
A conversation with “rational mystic,” physicist Marcelo Gleiser. -
The Uncanny Sight of Waves Breaking on a Star
Something remarkable happens when this small sun zooms past its larger companion.
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Scientists Watch Broken Metal Heal Itself
Time to rewrite our understanding of structural engineering.
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Have We Gotten Dark Matter All Wrong?
Physicists have yet to pinpoint the hypothetical matter that keeps galaxies from flying apart. Now they have a new focus.
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The Day Oppenheimer Feared He Might Blow Up the World
The story behind the scare that an atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere into a fireball.
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Probing the Mysteries of Neutron Stars With a Surprising Earthly Analog
Ultracold gases in the lab could help scientists better understand the universe.
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5 Amazing New Discoveries About Light
Invisible cloaks. Ghost imaging. Scientists are manipulating light in ways that were once only science fiction.
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A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons. -
Winning By a Hair
For cyclists, it’s a drag when you don’t shave your legs. -
Why Materialists Don’t Have to Be Atheists
Physicist Alan Lightman on evolution and atheism, creativity and spirituality. -
A Supermassive Test for Einstein’s Famous Theory
How a gravitational wave background re-opens the book on general relativity. -
Tiny Jets on the Sun Power the Colossal Solar Wind
A new analysis argues that ubiquitous eruptions in the sun’s corona explain the vast flow of charged particles seen streaming out through the solar system.