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physics

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An illustration of a chaotic scene of spheres representing quarks and gluons.
Abstractions blog

Physicists Finally Nail the Proton’s Size, and Hope Dies

By Natalie Wolchover
September 11, 2019
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A new measurement appears to have eliminated an anomaly that had captivated physicists for nearly a decade.

An illustration of a pink hand reaching for quantum dice.
Quantized Columns

Where Quantum Probability Comes From

By Sean Carroll
September 9, 2019
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There are many different ways to think about probability. Quantum mechanics embodies them all.

Craig Callender holding a paddleboard at the beach.
Q&A

Are We All Wrong About Black Holes?

By Brendan Z. Foster
September 5, 2019
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Since the 1970s, physicists have described black holes using borrowed versions of the laws of thermodynamics. But are black holes really thermodynamic systems? Craig Callender worries that the analogy has been stretched too far.

A view of nanoparticles in a crystalline pattern.
Abstractions blog

Strange Metal-like Bonds Discovered in Customized Crystals

By Erika K. Carlson
September 3, 2019
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While studying materials made from DNA-coated nanoparticles, researchers found a new form of this matter: lattices in which smaller particles roam like electrons in metallic bonds.

An illustration of an extra-large black hole.
Abstractions blog

A Black Hole So Big It ‘Should Not Exist’

By Natalie Wolchover
August 28, 2019
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Researchers have confirmed rumors of a black hole collision that challenges our ideas about how black holes form.

Nelson, wearing hiking gear, smiles at the camera at the top of a rocky outcrop.
Quantized Columns

Ann Nelson Took On the Biggest Problems in Physics

By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
August 22, 2019
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The theoretical particle physicist Ann Nelson, who died on August 4 at age 61, was a font of brilliant ideas and a champion of ending discrimination in the field.

An illustration of a sunset beach scene turned into a puzzle.
Insights puzzle

The Puzzling Search for Perfect Randomness

By Pradeep Mutalik
August 20, 2019
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Does objective, perfect randomness exist, or is randomness merely a product of our ignorance?

Illustration of three black holes on a starry background
Abstractions blog

To Make Two Black Holes Collide, Try Three

By Erika K. Carlson
August 15, 2019
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How do black holes merge and make gravitational waves? Maybe with a little help from their friends.

An illustration of the cosmologists Wendy Freedman and Adam Riess debating the expansion rate of the universe at a recent meeting at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California.
cosmology

Cosmologists Debate How Fast the Universe Is Expanding

By Natalie Wolchover
August 8, 2019
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New measurements could upend the standard theory of the cosmos that has reigned since the discovery of dark energy 21 years ago.


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