Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
The physics of fluids explains how crowds of marathon runners move
A new liquid-inspired theory can predict the movements of marathoners lining up for a race.
- Astronomy
These 2018 findings could be big news — if they turn out to be true
Discoveries about fossils, the Big Bang and more could shake up the scientific world – if they turn out to be true.
- Physics
These sound waves can levitate and move particles in new ways
A new machine that levitates objects using sound waves can manipulate several particles at once.
- Particle Physics
Neutrino discovery launched a new type of astronomy
Particles associated with a blazar kick-start the field of neutrino astronomy.
- Cosmology
Voyager 2 spacecraft enters interstellar space
Voyager 2 just became the second probe ever to enter interstellar space, and the first with a working plasma instrument.
- Physics
A satellite screw-up reaffirms Einstein’s theory of gravity
Two spacecraft confirm that time passes more slowly closer to Earth’s surface.
- Materials Science
Magnets make a new soft metamaterial stiffen up in a flash
Scientists can dial the stiffness of a bizarre new type of synthetic material up or down using magnets.
- Particle Physics
A controversial sighting of dark matter is looking even shakier
Two dark matter experiments disagree despite using the same type of detector material.
- Physics
Readers inquire about a Neptune-sized moon, nuclear pasta and more
Readers had questions about a Neptune-sized moon, nuclear pasta and the search for extraterrestrial life.
- Physics
Scientists’ collection of gravitational waves just got a lot bigger
The biggest black hole merger yet seen created one set of the spacetime ripples.
- Particle Physics
The Large Hadron Collider is shutting down for 2 years
The world’s largest particle accelerator will restart in 2021 at higher energy.
- Particle Physics
Physicists finally calculated where the proton’s mass comes from
New study indicates that the proton is much more than just the sum of its parts.
