Does String Theory Actually Describe the World? AI May Be Able to Tell

Using machine learning, string theorists are finally showing how microscopic configurations of extra dimensions translate into…

The Mysterious ‘Dark’ Energy That Permeates the Universe Is Slowly Eroding

Physicists call the dark energy that drives the universe “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map…

The Quest to Map the Inside of the Proton

Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces, and…

These Rogue Worlds Upend the Theory of How Planets Form

Scientists have recently discovered scores of free-floating planets that defy classification—forcing them to rethink their theories…

An Invisible ‘Demon’ Lurks in an Odd Superconductor

Physicists have long suspected that hunks of metal could vibrate in a peculiar way that would…

The JWST Has Spotted Giant Black Holes All Over the Early Universe

Giant black holes were supposed to be bit players in the early cosmic story. But James…

How These Nobel-Winning Physicists Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time

The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame movement of electrons.

The Quest to Use Quantum Mechanics to Pull Energy out of Nothing

The quantum energy teleportation protocol was proposed in 2008 and largely ignored. Now two independent experiments…

How Reality May Be a Sum of All Possible Realities

Richard Feynman’s path integral is a powerful prediction machine and a philosophy. Physicists still struggle to…

How Quantum Physicists ‘Flipped Time’ (and Didn’t)

In 2022, two teams made photons act as if time were simultaneously flowing in both directions,…