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atomic physics
Abstractions blog
Physicists Nail Down the ‘Magic Number’ That Shapes the Universe
A team in Paris has made the most precise measurement yet of the fine-structure constant, killing hopes for a new force of nature.
experimental physics
Ultra-Accurate Clocks Lead Search for New Laws of Physics
Atomic clocks are letting physicists tighten the lasso around elusive phenomena such as dark matter.
experimental physics
Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries
The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum lie tabletop experiments — small-scale probes of hidden dimensions, dark matter and dark energy.