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Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water
We describe electricity as a flow, but that’s not what happens in a typical wire. Physicists have begun to induce electrons to act like fluids, an effort that could illuminate new ways of thinking about quantum systems.
How Modern and Antique Technologies Reveal a Dynamic Cosmos
Today’s observatories document every pulse and flash in the sky each night. To understand how the cosmos has changed over longer periods, scientists rely on a more tactile technology.
Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard?
Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.
Monster Neutrino Could Be a Messenger of Ancient Black Holes
Primordial black holes could rewrite our understanding of dark matter and the early universe. A record-breaking detection at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea has some physicists wondering if we just spotted one.
String Theory Can Now Describe a Universe That Has Dark Energy
In an unprecedented step, researchers crafted a detailed model compatible with the universe’s accelerated expansion.
In Quantum Mechanics, Nothingness Is the Potential To Be Anything
Try as they might, scientists can’t truly rid a space or an object of its energy. But what “zero-point energy” really means is up for interpretation.
The Year in Physics
Physicists spotted a “terribly exciting” new black hole, doubled down on weakening dark energy, and debated the meaning of quantum mechanics.
Why Is Ice Slippery? A New Hypothesis Slides Into the Chat.
A newly proposed explanation for the slipperiness of ice has revived a centuries-long debate.
Particle Physicists Detect ‘Magic’ at the Large Hadron Collider
The supercollider is now being used to explore quantum phenomena, including a “magic” form of quantum entanglement.