particle physics

One newly discovered, ancient star has a composition unlike any other. Explaining its existence is already blowing astronomers’ minds.

Here in the 21st century, quantum computing is quickly going from a dream to a reality. But what’s hype, and what’s actually true?

Figuring out the answer involved a prism, a pail of water, and a 50 year effort by the most famous father-son astronomer duo ever.

For 550 million years, neutral atoms blocked the light made in stars from traveling freely through the Universe. Here’s how it then changed.

Wolfgang Pauli was a brilliant, well-liked physicist and a scathing critic of balderdash.

Teller and Sagan debated fiercely over nuclear proliferation. But was the conflict as personal as it was intellectual for Teller?

From how life emerged on Earth to why we dream, these unanswered questions continue to perplex scientists.

Physicists have yet to pinpoint the hypothetical matter that keeps galaxies from flying apart. Now they have a new focus.

Misinformation was extremely popular in 2023, as bad science often made global headlines. Learn the truth behind these 10 dubious stories.

In our Universe, matter is made of particles, while antimatter is made of antiparticles. But sometimes, the physical lines get real blurry.

U.S. particle physicists recently recommended a list of major research projects that they hope will receive federal funding.

For generations, physicists have been searching for a quantum theory of gravity. But what if gravity isn’t actually quantum at all?

The first elements in the Universe formed just minutes after the Big Bang, but it took hundreds of thousands of years before atoms formed.

In general relativity, matter and energy curve spacetime, which we experience as gravity. Why can’t there be an “antigravity” force?

In the early stages of the hot Big Bang, there were only free protons and neutrons: no atomic nuclei. How did the first elements form from them?

In the early stages of the hot Big Bang, matter and antimatter were (almost) balanced. After a brief while, matter won out. Here’s how.

The highest-energy particles could be a sign of new, unexpected physics. But the simplest, most mundane explanation is particularly iron-ic.

Roger Babson wanted a “partial insulator, reflector, or absorber of gravity” — something, anything, that would stop or dampen it.

For a substantial fraction of a second after the Big Bang, there was only a quark-gluon plasma. Here’s how protons and neutrons arose.

In the very early Universe, practically all particles were massless. Then the Higgs symmetry broke, and suddenly everything was different.

In the earliest stages of the hot Big Bang, equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have existed. Why aren’t they equal today?

When the hot Big Bang first occurred, the Universe reached a maximum temperature never recreated since. What was it like back then?

Some 13.8 billion years ago, the Universe became hot, dense, and filled with high-energy quanta all at once. Here’s what it was like.

The miniaturization of particle accelerators could disrupt medical science.

Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the Universe is simply that it, and everything in it, exists. But what’s the reason why?

Scientists have been chasing the dream of harnessing the reactions that power the Sun since the dawn of the atomic era. Interest, and investment, in the carbon-free energy source is heating up.

Scientists will be able to make detailed “Claymation-like” movies of chemical reactions.

The term “zero-point energy” has at least two meanings, one that is innocuous and one that is a great deal sexier (and scammier).

In our Universe, all stable atomic nuclei have protons in them; there’s no stable “neutronium” at all. But what’s the reason why?

All matter particles can act as waves, and massless light waves show particle-like behavior. Can gravitational waves also be particle-like?