All Stories by Emily Conover
- Math
Scientists find a naturally occurring molecule that forms a fractal
The protein assembles itself into a repeating triangle pattern. The fractal seems to be an accident of evolution, scientists say.
- Space
50 years ago, scientists found a lunar rock nearly as old as the moon
Studies of such rocks continue to reveal secrets about the moon’s history.
- Cosmology
The largest 3-D map of the universe reveals hints of dark energy’s secrets
A year of data from DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, suggests that, contrary to expectations, dark energy might vary over time.
- Physics
Physicists take a major step toward making a nuclear clock
By tweaking the energy of a thorium nucleus with a laser, scientists demonstrated a key step to building clocks based on the physics of atomic nuclei.
- Particle Physics
Forests might serve as enormous neutrino detectors
Trees could act as antennas that pick up radio waves of ultra-high energy neutrinos interactions, one physicist proposes.
- Physics
‘Countdown’ takes stock of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
Physicists grapple with their role as stewards of the United States’ aging nuclear weapons in the new book by Sarah Scoles.
- Physics
Here’s how scientists reached nuclear fusion ‘ignition’ for the first time
The first fusion experiment to produce an energy excess required meticulous planning and also revealed a long-predicted heating phenomenon.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI chatbots can be tricked into misbehaving. Can scientists stop it?
To develop better safeguards, computer scientists are studying how people have manipulated generative AI chatbots into answering harmful questions.
- Physics
A pivotal quantum theory holds up even in extreme electric fields
Quantum electrodynamics, which describes how charged particles and light interact, works in the strong fields around highly ionized uranium atoms.
- Physics
A predicted quasicrystal is based on the ‘einstein’ tile known as the hat
The einstein tile can cover an infinite plane only with a nonrepeating pattern. A material based on it has features of both crystals and quasicrystals.
- Physics
What happens when lawn sprinklers suck in water? Physicists answer that quirky question
Experiments with a floating sprinkler and laser-illuminated microparticles revealed the surprisingly complex physics behind a simple question.
- Materials Science
Artificial intelligence helped scientists create a new type of battery
It took just 80 hours, rather than decades, to identify a potential new solid electrolyte using a combination of supercomputing and AI.
