All Stories by Emily Conover
- Physics
Here’s why icicles made from pure water don’t form ripples
A new study explains why icicles made from pure water have irregular shapes rather than the ripples typical of the salty icicles found in nature.
- Physics
Water is weird. A new type of ice could help us understand why
A newfound type of amorphous ice with a density close to liquid water could help scientists make sense of water’s quirks.
- Particle Physics
How ghostly neutrinos could explain the universe’s matter mystery
If neutrinos behave differently from their antimatter counterparts, it could help explain why our cosmos is full of stuff.
- Physics
Zapping plastic with a laser forged tiny diamonds
The technique could be used to manufacture nanodiamonds for use in quantum devices and other applications.
- Space
Physicists dispute a claim of detecting a black hole’s ‘photon ring’
A thin ring of light around a black hole, which would probe gravity in a new way, has been found, one team claims. Skeptics aren’t convinced.
- Physics
‘Chameleon’ forces remain elusive in a new dark energy experiment
A hypothetical fifth force associated with “chameleon” dark energy and that morphs based on its environment didn’t turn up in a sensitive experiment.
- Particle Physics
Protons contain intrinsic charm quarks, a new study suggests
The massive quarks — counterintuitively heavier than the proton itself — might carry about 0.6 percent of a proton’s momentum.
- Particle Physics
Physicists spotted rare W boson trios at the Large Hadron Collider
By measuring how often triplets of particles called W bosons appear, scientists can check physics’ standard model for any cracks.
- Cosmology
Scientists mapped dark matter around galaxies in the early universe
A technique used to reveal dark matter could also shed light on a disagreement about the clumpiness of matter in the cosmos.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum entanglement makes quantum communication even more secure
Bell tests proved that quantum mechanics really is “spooky.” Now they’ve made quantum communication even more hacker-proof.
- Physics
A new dark matter experiment quashed earlier hints of new particles
Unlike its earlier incarnation, the XENONnT detector found no evidence of extra blips that scientists had hoped indicated new physics.
- Astronomy
A fast radio burst’s rapid, steady beat offers a clue to its cosmic origin
Amped-up neutron stars, pairs of magnetically entangled neutron stars or magnetar quakes could explain a three-second-long train of radio blips.
