Physics news — particle physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, and theoretical breakthroughs.
The shape behind the Einstein problem just revealed strange new physics
# Mathematical Shape Reveals Unexpected Light-Twisting Properties Researchers have discovered that an aperiodic tiling pattern long studied for its m…
We’ve long thought that time has only one dimension. What if we’re wrong?
# A Second Dimension of Time? Physics Takes a Speculative Turn Physicists exploring the intersection of black hole thermodynamics and quantum mechani…
Physicists discover a hidden “curveball” in quantum light
Physicists at the University of Science and Technology of China have discovered an unexpected phenomenon in how tightly focused laser beams interact w…
Physicists can’t agree on how the Universe works
# Physicists Deeply Divided on Fundamental Universe Questions, Survey Finds A comprehensive worldwide survey of physicists has exposed stark division…
Gravitational-wave analysis narrows the search for black hole impostors
# Gravitational-wave analysis narrows the search for black hole impostors Gravitational-wave detectors are becoming powerful tools for distinguishing…
CERN finds gluons behaving strangely deep inside atomic nuclei
# CERN Physicists Uncover Unexpected Gluon Behavior Inside Atomic Nuclei Physicists working at CERN have detected anomalous gluon behavior deep withi…
Tiny sound waves could help solve a major quantum computing problem
# Microscopic Sound Waves Offer New Shield for Fragile Quantum Information Researchers at Harvard University have found a way to dramatically extend …
Physicists just found a tiny glitch in time itself
Physicists have detected evidence suggesting time itself contains fundamental uncertainty at the quantum level, a finding that could reshape how scien…
An important step towards detecting fractons in quantum spin liquids
Researchers have identified theoretical evidence that fractons, exotic quasiparticles with unusual mobility constraints, could exist in real quantum s…
Dark energy debunked? Cosmic acceleration may be an illusion
Researchers analyzing over 1,700 supernovae have challenged the foundation of modern cosmology: the existence of dark energy. Their work suggests the …
Unexpected hints of dark matter should breathe life into particle physics
# Dark Matter Anomalies Reignite Search for Physics Beyond the Standard Model Particle physics has faced a crisis of confidence since the 2012 discov…
Scientists observe Einstein’s gravity in the quantum world for the first time
Physicists have directly observed quantum effects of gravity for the first time, testing a prediction that has sat at the intersection of Einstein's g…
We’re on the verge of seeing the quantum vacuum for the first time
# Quantum Physicists Close In on Direct Detection of the Quantum Vacuum The vacuum of space is not empty. Quantum mechanics predicts that it seethes …
Small molecular substitutions reshape energy pathways behind aggregation-induced emission
# Small Molecular Substitutions Reshape Energy Pathways Behind Aggregation-Induced Emission Researchers have identified how minor chemical changes to…
AI can now control fusion plasma faster than humans can react
Princeton University researchers have demonstrated that artificial intelligence can monitor and adjust fusion plasma in real time, responding to dange…
A mysterious signal around Earth could be dark matter
# Earth Itself Becomes a Dark Matter Detector in Novel Search Scientists have repurposed Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere into a planet-sized in…
Quantum oscillations defy expectations in this exotic material
Researchers studying zirconium pentatelluride have discovered electron behavior that violates established quantum mechanical predictions, opening new …
A black hole as light as 40 tons can exist inside a star if dark matter helps
# Black Holes Lighter Than Mountains Could Hide Inside Stars With Dark Matter's Help Stephen Hawking's 1974 discovery that black holes emit radiation…
Dark matter detector finds a strange signal scientists can’t yet explain
# Dark Matter Detector Records Cryptic Signal in Hunt for Universe's Hidden Mass The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment, one of the world's most sensitive dark ma…
Scientists just overturned a century-old physics assumption
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have upended a century-old principle of magnetism and electricity by demonstrating that the Hall effect oper…
A search for one exotic particle uncovered two strange new structures
# Search for Exotic Particle Reveals Two Unexpected Subatomic Structures Physicists hunting for one exotic particle have stumbled upon evidence for t…
Are you made of real-world quarks or virtual-world qubits?
# Are We Living in a Simulation? An Astronomer Runs the Numbers Catherine Heymans, Scotland's Astronomer Royal and a cosmologist at the University of…
The first signs of dark matter particles may finally have been spotted
# Physicists Report First Direct Detection of Dark Matter Particles Physicists may have finally detected dark matter particles directly, breaking a d…
Scientists discover diamonds can generate electricity
Researchers have demonstrated that diamond, long considered unable to generate electricity through mechanical stress, can in fact produce a strong pie…
A “quantum bath” puts quantum entanglement on autopilot
Physicists at the University of Chicago have demonstrated an automated method for creating and maintaining quantum entanglement between distant qubits…
This strange “spacetime crystal” can suddenly become a black hole
Physicists have discovered a mathematical framework describing an exotic "spacetime crystal" capable of undergoing a dramatic phase transition into a …
Australia’s red soil may be hiding a massive clean energy source
# Australia's Iron-Rich Bedrock Could Yield Vast Natural Hydrogen Reserves Western Australia's deep geological formations contain a natural hydrogen …
‘Thinking about the edges of space-time can help build a better world’
# Physics at the Edge of Reality Has Practical Power, Says Cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical physicist at the University of New Ham…
How plastic welds retain a molecular 'memory' of their former surfaces to strengthen pipe joints
# Plastic Welds Retain Molecular Memory of Original Surfaces, Explaining Joint Strength Engineers have long observed that welded joints in polyethyle…
Scientists may have finally caught “empty” space changing light
Researchers analyzing light from an extraordinarily powerful magnetar have detected signatures of a quantum effect that Werner Heisenberg predicted in…
Einstein thought time dilation was both real and not – he was right
# Einstein's Paradox Resolved: Time Dilation Works Both Ways Albert Einstein's theory of relativity delivers a counterintuitive claim: time actually …
Read an extract from Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s The Edge of Space-Time
# Physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Argues Marginalized Perspectives Reshape Our Understanding of the Cosmos Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's new book "Th…
Scientists switch on a strange new form of magnetism in an ultrathin material
# Scientists Activate Rare Magnetism in Ultrathin Ruthenium Dioxide Researchers have discovered a method to induce altermagnetism in ruthenium dioxid…
Huge progress made in attempt to upgrade standard model of particles
# Undergraduate Team Constrains Beyond Standard Model Physics Through Novel Mathematical Analysis A group of undergraduate students has achieved a si…
Richard Feynman’s 80-year-old quantum postulate has now been validated
# Feynman's Quantum Path Integral Finally Measured Directly Richard Feynman's foundational concept in quantum mechanics, the path integral formulatio…
This week’s new questions
# The Hidden Mechanics of Smell and Fluid Dynamics Two distinct scientific puzzles emerged this week, each probing fundamental gaps in how we underst…
Newton’s 300-year-old law just passed its biggest test yet
# Newton's 300-Year-Old Law Just Passed Its Biggest Test Yet Researchers testing gravitational theory across the largest scales of the universe found…
Scientists just imaged the hidden quantum shape of a molecule
# Scientists Create First Complete 3D Image of a Molecule's Quantum Shape Researchers at the University of Göttingen have achieved an unprecedented v…
Why banishing irrational numbers could trigger a revolution in quantum theory
A provocative new perspective challenges whether irrational numbers are truly necessary to describe quantum reality. Researchers argue that removing i…
Physicists create a tiny “Big Bang” with surprisingly small atomic nuclei
# Physicists Create Tiny "Big Bang" with Surprisingly Small Atomic Nuclei Researchers at CERN have recreated conditions from the earliest moments of …
This frozen fiber makes light and sound interact 1,000x more strongly
Researchers have discovered a way to dramatically amplify the interaction between light and sound by freezing the liquid core of an optical fiber, cre…
Scientists catch a hidden electronic state forming in just 30 femtoseconds
Researchers have directly observed an electronic state forming inside a material in just 30 femtoseconds, catching a quantum transition that had previ…
Hidden magnetism inside atoms may explain mysterious gamma rays
Physicists have identified the source of an long-standing puzzle in nuclear physics: mysterious bursts of low-energy gamma rays emerging from certain …
Scientists crushed diamond beyond Neptune-like pressures—and solved a 20-year mystery
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have resolved a 20-year-old puzzle about diamond's behavior under extreme pressure by subjecting…
Century-old physics idea explains why cubic fluid equations work
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) have solved a century-old puzzle in fluid physics by providing …
MIT physicists discover electrons rebuilding like ice inside a quantum material
MIT physicists have discovered that electrons reorganize themselves through two strikingly different pathways within a single quantum material. One el…
Coffee drinkers have less fat, more muscle, and surprising hormone differences
Researchers in Finland have discovered that coffee consumption correlates with favorable body composition and metabolic health markers independent of …
Scientists may have finally proved that “empty” space isn’t really empty
Researchers analyzing radiation from an extremely magnetic neutron star may have detected a quantum effect that challenges our understanding of empty …
The surprising upsides of living in a reality that repeats for eternity
Quantum cosmologist Sean Carroll proposes that our universe may exist in an eternal cycle of repetition, a concept derived from quantum mechanics and …
Laser stability method advances precision control of electrons with light
Researchers at the University of Oldenburg's Institute of Physics have developed a method to stabilize lasers with unprecedented precision, enabling d…
Quantum computing may be facing a replication crisis
Researchers conducting a sweeping review of quantum computing literature have uncovered a troubling reproducibility problem in the field. An analysis …
The glue that binds a proton may be key to its identity
Physicists have discovered that gluons, the particles that bind quarks together inside protons, play a deeper role than previously understood. Beyond …
Strain flips Hall signal in altermagnetic manganese telluride, suggesting a path to practical spintronics
Researchers have discovered time-reversal symmetry breaking in an altermagnetic material called manganese telluride, a finding that reshapes understan…
Ultrafast core-level spectroscopy reveals elusive precursors of exciton condensation in quantum materials
Researchers have detected early warning signs of exciton condensation in quantum materials using ultrafast core-level spectroscopy, capturing the micr…
Early-universe plasma may have stopped dark photons from heating cosmos
# Early-Universe Plasma Halted Dark Photons from Overheating the Cosmos Researchers have identified a previously overlooked mechanism that would have…
World’s first superconducting quantum heat engine could help unlock massive quantum computers
A team of researchers has successfully demonstrated the world's first superconducting quantum heat engine, a breakthrough that converts thermal energy…
Scientists detect a nuclear reactor’s ghostly afterglow for the first time
# Researchers Detect "Ghostly Afterglow" from Shutdown Nuclear Reactors Using Antineutrinos Scientists have detected antineutrinos emitted from a nuc…