All Stories by Andrew Grant
- Physics
Year in review: Big stride for superconductivity
Compelling but not quite confirmed research in 2015 suggested that hydrogen sulfide is a superconductor at temperatures as high as 203 kelvins.
- Particle Physics
Year in review: Collider creates pentaquarks
Two particles discovered in 2015 are each composed of five quarks.
- Math
Year in review: New algorithm quickly spots identical networks
In what may be a once-in-a-decade advance, a computer scientist claimed to have devised an algorithm that efficiently solves the notorious graph isomorphism problem.
- Cosmology
Debate grows over whether X-rays are a sign of dark matter
The dwarf galaxy Draco, which is chock-full of dark matter, doesn’t emit a band of X-rays that researchers hoped were produced by the mysterious invisible stuff.
- Quantum Physics
Google’s quantum computer speeds up, but practical use is unclear
Google’s D-Wave quantum computer is getting faster, but it’s still unclear whether it will ever outperform regular computers at completing useful tasks.
- Physics
There’s no hiding from new camera
A new camera tracks objects hidden around a corner by detecting light echoes, similar to the way bats use sound to find prey.
- Quantum Physics
Spooky quantum connection quantified for multiple particles
Physicists have measured quantum entanglement between several particles rather than just two.
- Physics
Maxwell’s demon faces the heat
A device inspired by an 1867 thought experiment fails to break the second law of thermodynamics, which governs the flow of heat and the drive toward maximum disorder.
- Physics
Final chapter published in decades-long Gravity Probe B project
It took more than 50 years, but an experiment testing general relativity has finally come to a close.
- Life
Microscopes have come a long way since 1665
A 350-year-old drawing in Robert Hooke’s Micrographia and an award-winning photo demonstrate the evolution of the microscope.
- Quantum Physics
More tests confirm quantum spookiness
New experimental results confirm and strengthen evidence for the “spooky” reality of quantum physics.
- Computing
New algorithm cracks graph problem
A new algorithm efficiently solves the graph isomorphism problem, which has puzzled computer scientists for decades.
