Physics
Theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg said, "not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think." That doesn't mean some very smart men and women will stop seeking answers as to how the Universe behaves. Here is where we try to make sense of their discoveries.
Latest News
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Large Hadron Collider restarts after three-year refit
April 24, 2022The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest and most powerful particle accelerator ever built, is ready to renter service after a three-year overhaul and refit. On April 22, two proton beams were sent around the the 27-kilometer-long ring. -
Startling discovery threatens to upend Standard Model of particle physics
April 07, 2022A collaboration of physicists has made the most precise measurement of the mass of the W boson. The new measurement of this key particle differs drastically from the Standard Model's predictions– and it may unravel physics as we know it. -
Firing lasers at the Moon to detect early-universe gravitational waves
March 17, 2022A team of European researchers has suggested that the Moon’s orbit could be used as a gigantic detector for gravitational waves. These waves, much smaller than those that existing detectors can pick up, could originate from the early universe. -
Physicists measure gravitational time warp to within one millimeter
February 17, 2022The flow of time isn’t as consistent as we might think – gravity slows it down, so clocks on Earth tick slower than those in space. Now researchers have measured time passing at different speeds across just one millimeter, the smallest distance yet. -
Quasiparticles used to generate millions of truly random numbers a second
February 08, 2022Random numbers are crucial for computing, but our current algorithms aren’t truly random. Researchers at Brown University have now found a way to tap into the fluctuations of skyrmions to generate millions of truly random numbers per second. -
"Quantum tornadoes" mark crossover from classical to quantum physics
January 06, 2022The universe is governed by two sets of seemingly incompatible laws of physics – classical and quantum physics. MIT physicists have now observed the moment atoms switch from one to the other, as they form intriguing “quantum tornadoes.” -
CERN experiments investigate whether antimatter falls up or down
January 05, 2022Physicists at CERN have discovered that antimatter falls down. It sounds obvious, but scientists hadn’t yet been able to confirm that it responds to gravity in the same way as regular matter does. A new experiment provides the best answer so far. -
Is the universe's dark matter hiding in primordial black holes?
January 04, 2022A new model by a team of scientists led by Yale University suggests that the ever elusive dark matter that has so far escaped the detection of scientists may be trapped inside primordial black holes left over after the Big Bang. -
Harvard scientists observe new state of matter, a quantum spin liquid
December 05, 2021An exotic state of matter originally hypothesized almost 50 years ago has been observed for the first time. Created by Harvard researchers, this material called quantum spin liquid could eventually help improve quantum computers. -
Lifetime of Higgs boson measured to within septillionths of a second
December 02, 2021CERN physicists have measured the life of the Higgs boson with greater accuracy than ever before. Since the legendary particle only lives for a tiny fraction a second, the scientists came up with a creative workaround to calculate the new figure. -
Gravitational waves could reveal dark matter clouds around black holes
December 01, 2021A huge range of dark matter suspects are being investigated. In a new study, astronomers have searched for clouds of hypothetical ultralight particles that could congregate around black holes, and reveal themselves by sending out gravitational waves. -
Time crystals created in Google's quantum processor
November 30, 2021Time crystals sound like something a video game character would be trying to collect, but this bizarre phase of matter is very real – and now one of them has been created in Google’s quantum processor, Sycamore. -
"Ghost particles" detected in the Large Hadron Collider for first time
November 25, 2021Physicists have detected “ghost particles” in the Large Hadron Collider for the first time. An experiment called FASER picked up signals of neutrinos being produced in particle collisions, which can help scientists better understand key physics. -
How the universe's expansion may have stopped dark matter taking over
November 08, 2021How did the universe end up with exactly the amount of dark matter needed? A new model suggests dark matter particles in the early universe converted regular matter into dark matter exponentially, before being slowed by the expansion of the universe. -
"Electron family" state of matter hints at new type of superconductivity
November 07, 2021Superconductivity occurs when electrons in a metal pair up. Scientists in Germany have now discovered that electrons can also group together into families of four, creating a new state of matter and potentially a new type of superconductivity.
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