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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Molecules wrangled into single quantum state in breakthrough experiment
Quantum technology is bursting with potential, but controlling atoms and molecules keeps proving tricky. In a breakthrough new study, physicists have successfully wrangled thousands of molecules into a single unified quantum state for the first time. -
Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it's there and will we find it?
There’s invisible, undetectable stuff all around us, and we call it dark matter. There’s plenty of evidence that this stuff is very real, but what exactly is dark matter? How do we know it’s there? And how are scientists looking for it? -
Physicists hunt for dark matter dragging on black holes
With elusive dark matter continuing to evade detection, scientists are having to search in stranger and stranger places. In a new study, physicists at MIT have studied the spins of black holes for signs of drag from dark matter slowing them down. -
Quantum bits recruited to detect dark matter turning into light
Dark matter makes up the majority of matter in the universe, but it’s strangely shy about making its presence known. Now physicists have designed a new test to search for signs of two candidate particles, using the quirky world of quantum technology. -
Tailor-made light passes through opaque obstacles like they're not there
Clouds or sugar cubes block light because they’re disordered media that scatter light waves. Now scientists have found a way to manipulate light waves to pass through, projecting an image on the other side as clearly as if the obstacle wasn’t there. -
"Magnetic" dark matter may be accelerating the universe's expansion
The expansion of the universe is accelerating, and current models call the driving force dark energy. But perhaps this placeholder doesn’t exist – a new study has found that dark matter could produce the same effect if it had some form of magnetism. -
Scientists pinpoint source of "impossible" EmDrive's thrust
The secrets of the mysterious EmDrive thruster – which stumped both NASA and Chinese research teams by delivering measurable thrust without a propellant – have finally been unlocked. The thrust comes from ... drum roll ... repeated experimental error. -
CERN scientists cool antimatter with lasers for the first time
Scientists at CERN have used lasers to cool down antimatter for the first time. The milestone could help unlock some of the secrets of this weird substance, including why it didn’t annihilate the universe soon after the Big Bang. -
CERN anomaly hints at new particle physics Standard Model can't explain
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider probes the fringes of known physics, and now the facility has found particles not behaving as predicted. While it’s early days, the discovery hints at the existence of new particles or forces beyond the Standard Model. -
Dark matter or cooling "primordial soup" could create gravitational waves
In January scientists reported the detection of very low-frequency gravitational waves. Now astrophysicists have investigated two possible sources – the universe cooling down after the Big Bang, and a field of particles that could be dark matter. -
Physicists measure the gravitational pull of a ladybug
Perhaps surprisingly, gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental forces and the hardest to measure here on Earth. Now, physicists in Austria have made the smallest measurement of gravity so far, equivalent to the gravitational pull of a ladybug. -
New theoretical warp drive design clears "negative energy" barrier
Faster-than-light “warp drives” may be theoretically possible, but they usually involve exotic physics well out of our reach. Now an astrophysicist has outlined a hypothetical design that could allow FTL travel using conventional physics.
