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Orange hills (polaritons) against a black background. Below each hill, an arrow points to an angular position on a circle.
explainers

The Near-Magical Mystery of Quasiparticles

By Thomas Lewton
March 24, 2021
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The zoo of spontaneously emerging particlelike entities known as quasiparticles has grown quickly and become more and more exotic. Here are a few of the most curious and potentially useful examples.

Graphic of swirling vortex-like patterns called skyrmions.
condensed matter physics

A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets

By Charlie Wood
March 16, 2021
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An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect.

An illustration of an airplane with its contrails coming out in front of it.
quantum gravity

Quantum Mischief Rewrites the Laws of Cause and Effect

By Natalie Wolchover
March 11, 2021
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Spurred on by quantum experiments that scramble the ordering of causes and their effects, some physicists are figuring out how to abandon causality altogether.

An illustration of a bright blue flash in space.
astrophysics

New Kind of Space Explosion Reveals the Birth of a Black Hole

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
March 10, 2021
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A supernova-like explosion dubbed the Camel appears to be the result of a newborn black hole eating a star from the inside out.

Quantized Columns

Isadore Singer Transcended Mathematical Boundaries

By Daniel S. Freed
March 4, 2021
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A former graduate student reflects on how Isadore Singer, who died on February 11, brought together mathematicians, physicists and anyone else interested in the deeper connections between diverse fields.

A house of cards propped up by a letter i, the unit of imaginary numbers.
quantum physics

Imaginary Numbers May Be Essential for Describing Reality

By Charlie Wood
March 3, 2021
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A new thought experiment indicates that quantum mechanics doesn’t work without strange numbers that turn negative when squared.

An illustration showing Steven Strogatz at a microphone, surrounded by a swirl of icons representing different subjects.
The Joy of x

New Season of The Joy of x Podcast Explores Scientists’ Inner Lives

By Ellen Horne
March 2, 2021
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In a second season of enlightened conversations, Steven Strogatz and leading researchers nourish our pandemic-starved minds.

A video in which a proton seems to be composed of three particles, but on zooming in, it turns out to be a swirling miasma.
quantum physics

Decades-Long Quest Reveals Details of the Proton’s Inner Antimatter

By Natalie Wolchover
February 24, 2021
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Twenty years ago, physicists set out to investigate a mysterious asymmetry in the proton’s interior. Their results, published today, show how antimatter helps stabilize every atom’s core.

Photograph showing cirrus clouds in a blue sky above an expanse of flat, snow-covered ice.
Abstractions blog

Cloud-Making Aerosol Could Devastate Polar Sea Ice

By Max Kozlov
February 23, 2021
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An overlooked but powerful driver of cloud formation could accelerate the loss of polar sea ice.


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