Particle Physics
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics
In the last century, physicists learned to split atomic nuclei and revealed a complex world of fundamental particles.
Physics
More Stories in Physics
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Materials ScienceMicroscopic images reveal the science and beauty of face masks
Important insights into the particle-filtering properties of different fabrics also offer a sense of the unseen, textured world of face masks.
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PhysicsUranium ‘snowflakes’ could set off thermonuclear explosions of dead stars
Uranium crystals that settle in the cores of white dwarfs could trigger nuclear chain reactions that blow the dead stars apart, a new study suggests.
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PhysicsAtomic clocks take a step toward redefining the second
Measurements of the clocks’ frequencies provide the most precise clock comparisons yet, with uncertainties less than a quadrillionth of a percent.
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PhysicsCan room-temperature superconductors work without extreme pressure?
The next generation of materials that conduct electricity with no resistance could shrug off the need for high pressure and low temperatures.
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PhysicsA tiny gold ball is the smallest object to have its gravity measured
A gold sphere with a mass of about 90 milligrams pulled on another sphere in accordance with Newton’s law of universal gravitation.
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PhysicsA magnetic trap captures elusive ultracold plasma
Pinning plasma within a set of magnetic fields offers physicists a new way to study clean energy, space weather and the inner workings of stars.
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Materials ScienceThis soft robot withstands crushing pressures at the ocean’s greatest depths
An autonomous robot that mimics the adaptations of deep-sea snailfish to extreme conditions was successfully tested at the bottom of the ocean.
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PhysicsBlack hole visionaries push the boundaries of knowledge in a new film
‘Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know’ follows researchers with the Event Horizon Telescope and other physicists working to understand black holes.
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TechA new laser-based random number generator is the fastest of its kind
A new laser’s chaotic light beam lets the device generate multiple number sequences at once, similar to throwing multiple dice at a time.