What happened in the first moments of the universe—before the building blocks of life and the world we know today came into existence? Physicists at the CERN research facility in Switzerland are trying to answer this question ...
General Physics
Aug 20, 2026
3
277
The candela, the international unit of light in use for almost a century, forms the basis of photometry. According to a new study, measurements derived from it systematically misjudge the brightness of colored light sources ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 20, 2026
0
14
For close to a century, physicists have pursued a way to unite gravity with quantum mechanics. Known as quantum gravity, this goal has remained frustratingly out of reach so far. Similarly elusive is the force of dark energy, ...
At the bottom of the ocean, optical fibers transmit telecommunications and internet data around the world. Waveguides make that feat possible by channeling and amplifying the light—and therefore the data within—over enormous ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 19, 2026
0
55
When different materials transition from one phase to another, such as water coming to a boil or a magnet losing its ability to attract metals, something remarkable can happen: They begin to behave identically, following ...
General Physics
Aug 19, 2026
0
813
Quantum computers hold great promise for applications from drug discovery to cybersecurity. Yet figuring out what would give quantum computers their edge over everyday "classical" computers is a subtle problem. A new theoretical ...
Quantum Physics
Aug 19, 2026
1
57
Sand, powders, and other collections of visible-sized grains are found throughout daily life, from food and pharmaceuticals to soils and industrial materials. When grains of similar size are arranged regularly, they can form ...
General Physics
Aug 19, 2026
0
6
In the world of fusion energy, scientists and engineers study the fourth state of matter known as plasma in an effort to design and build a new type of power plant. Relying on the heat produced by two small atoms smashing ...
Plasma Physics
Aug 19, 2026
0
23
Quantum batteries, devices that store energy by exploiting quantum mechanical phenomena, could, in principle, be charged faster and more efficiently than classical ones. Despite their potential, connecting these batteries ...
Despite science's best efforts to classify the vast menagerie of subatomic particles discovered over the past few decades, some exotic varieties defy explanation. Now, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's ...
General Physics
Aug 19, 2026
0
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