What's up in

Physics

Latest Articles

Q&A

In an Age of AI, a Physicist Seeks What Endures

September 3, 2026

Sarah Demers, chair of the physics department at Yale University, sees the potential for large language models to both help and harm her field.

In Hilbert Space, All Things Are Quantumly Possible

August 26, 2026

To explore quantum phenomena, we must leave the familiar world and enter the abstract realm of Hilbert space.

Building a Quantum Computer, One Fragile Qubit at a Time

August 19, 2026

No one yet knows which technology will power the quantum computers of the future, but the race to create them has already produced some of science’s most intricate machinery.

Theory of Fluids Enters the 21st Century

August 17, 2026

From the 1800s to the early 2000s, physicists used the same theory to understand the behavior of fluids. Now, using a modern insight, they have redefined fluids from the bottom up.

The interior of a spherical particle detector is lined with photomultipliers that resemble large, gold-tinted lightbulbs.

Neutrinos From Deep Inside Earth Provide a New Picture of the Mantle

A global constellation of neutrino detectors is creating a never-before-seen view of the radioactive elements that power Earth’s tectonic heat engine.

Physicists Solve a Big Quantum Mystery. Now, Old Results Don’t Add Up.

July 29, 2026

New calculations seem to have put a 25-year-old particle physics puzzle to rest. But they’ve also created a clash with other experimental results.

How Fast Is the Universe Really Expanding?

July 23, 2026

One of the most contested issues in astrophysics is our understanding of the Universe’s expansion. Adam Riess discusses why there is disagreement and what might resolve it.

Thermodynamic Computers Go With the (Energy) Flow

July 15, 2026

Today’s computers need safeguards against random energy fluctuations. Thermodynamic computers would put those fluctuations to use.

We Know Simple Fluids Can Flow. Turns Out, Some Can Fracture.

July 10, 2026

Researchers thought that what enabled complex fluids to break apart was their elasticity. But a crack in a nonelastic simple fluid has them questioning that idea.