Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Particle Physics
Physicists have finally figured out how pentaquarks are built
The particles are made of up two smaller particles, stuck together like atoms in a molecule.
- Physics
This tabletop device turns the quantum definition of a kilogram into a real mass
The mini Kibble balance will measure 10 grams to an accuracy of a few ten-thousandths of a percent.
- Physics
In a first, scientists took the temperature of a sonic black hole
A lab-made black hole that traps sound, not light, emits radiation at a certain temperature, as Stephen Hawking first predicted.
- Physics
100 years ago, an eclipse proved Einstein right. Today, black holes do too — for now
In 1919, an eclipse affirmed Einstein’s famous general theory of relativity. Now scientists hope to use black holes to poke holes in that idea.
- Physics
A new optical atomic clock’s heart is as small as a coffee bean
Optical atomic clocks are extremely good at keeping time, and they’re on their way to becoming pocket watches.
- Science & Society
Murray Gell-Mann gave structure to the subatomic world
Best known for his quarks, the preeminent theoretical physicist was also a complexity pioneer
- Physics
Big black holes can settle in the outskirts of small galaxies
Astronomers have found dozens of surprisingly massive black holes far from the centers of their host dwarf galaxies.
- Physics
Spherical flames in space could solve the mystery of soot-free fires
In microgravity, flames are sphere-shaped. Tests of fire on the International Space Station are helping show how gases flow within flames.
- Physics
The kilogram just got a revamp. A unit of time might be next
After years of preparation, new definitions for the basic units of mass, temperature and more have now gone into effect.
- Quantum Physics
An experiment hints at quantum entanglement inside protons
Particles inside protons seem to be linked on a scale smaller than a trillionth of a millimeter.
- Astronomy
Dying stars called collapsars may forge much of the universe’s gold
Spinning stars that collapse into black holes could help explain the origins of heavy elements such as gold and silver.
- Physics
What a nearby kilonova would look like
Physicists imagined what we’d see in the sky if two neutron stars collided just 1,000 light-years from Earth.
