Andrew Grant

All Stories by Andrew Grant

  1. 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.

  2. Particle Physics

    Year in review: Collider creates pentaquarks

    Two particles discovered in 2015 are each composed of five quarks.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Quantum Physics

    Spooky quantum connection quantified for multiple particles

    Physicists have measured quantum entanglement between several particles rather than just two.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. Quantum Physics

    More tests confirm quantum spookiness

    New experimental results confirm and strengthen evidence for the “spooky” reality of quantum physics.

  12. Computing

    New algorithm cracks graph problem

    A new algorithm efficiently solves the graph isomorphism problem, which has puzzled computer scientists for decades.