All Stories by Andrew Grant
- Math
Computer program rivals top poker players in complex card game
A computer program held its own against the world’s best heads-up no-limit Texas Hold’em poker players.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum experiment dissects wave-particle mash-up
A modified version of a landmark quantum physics experiment has shown that a single parcel of light can be a particle and a wave simultaneously.
- Computing
Resistors that remember help circuits learn
Electronic components called memristors have enabled a simple computing circuit to learn to perform a task from experience.
- Physics
Explanation for G’s imprecision stumbles
A surprising new result seems to suggest that subtle changes in Earth’s rotation rate could account for physicists’ difficulty in measuring Newton’s gravitational constant. But some confusion with dates appears to derail the finding.
- Earth
Cosmic rays illuminate lightning
Radio waves emitted by particles zipping through thunderstorms allow physicists to probe thunderclouds and, perhaps eventually, learn what triggers lightning strikes.
- Quantum Physics
Atomic clock will keep precise time for 15 billion years
The world’s most precise atomic clock will not lose or gain a second in roughly 15 billion years.
- Physics
An even more precise atomic clock
An atomic clock described April 21 in Nature Communications is about three times as precise as its record-setting predecessor.
- Astronomy
Cosmic rays misbehave in space station experiment
A puzzling feature in a new cosmic ray census may force physicists to rethink which cosmic objects send these speedy particles hurtling across the galaxy.
- Astronomy
Ringing rings reveal Saturn’s innards
Scientists propose that exotic structures are buried within Saturn, based on analyses of subtle vibrations in the planet’s rings.
- Astronomy
Galactic split provides clue to dark matter mystery
An oddly divided galaxy may provide the first evidence that dark matter particles interact through a force other than gravity.
- Astronomy
Map pinpoints location of invisible dark matter
A new map shows that dark matter is concentrated in regions that contain a lot of ordinary matter in the form of galaxy clusters.
- Astronomy
Map pinpoints location of invisible dark matter
Dark matter can’t be seen, but a new map shows where it’s hiding. The map confirms that the mysterious matter is concentrated in regions that contain a lot of ordinary matter in the form of galaxy clusters.
