Signals from across the universe point toward a fascinating possibility.
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Some constants, like the speed of light, exist with no underlying explanation. How many "fundamental constants" does our Universe require?
The information we have in the Universe is finite and limited, but our curiosity and wonder is forever insatiable. And always will be.
Does it have a deeper significance — or is it just a number?
Two of the answers add a dimension to physics that doesn’t belong there. Maybe we could call it "astrotheology."
A cute mathematical trick can "rescale" the Universe so that it isn't actually expanding. But can that "trick" survive all our cosmic tests?
Measurements of the acceleration of the universe don’t agree, stumping physicists working to understand the cosmic past and future. A new proposal seeks to better align these estimates — and is likely testable.
For many years, cosmologists have claimed the Universe is 13.8 billion years old. A new paper says no, it's 26.7 billion. How do we decide?
The Universe is expanding, and the Hubble constant tells us how fast. But how can it be a constant if the expansion is accelerating?
Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the Universe is simply that it, and everything in it, exists. But what's the reason why?
Not even Einstein immediately knew the power of the equations he gave us.
When Einstein gave General Relativity to the world, he included an extraneous cosmological constant. How did his 'biggest blunder' occur?
We need a hypothesis that accounts for both the fine-tuning of physics for life but also the arbitrariness and gratuitous suffering we find in the world.
Researchers devise a record-breaking laser transmission that avoids atmospheric interference.
The conservation of energy is one of the most fundamental laws governing our reality. But in the expanding Universe, that's just not true.
Your sexual education was probably inadequate. Here’s the information you always needed.
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Michael Faraday's 1834 law of induction was the key experiment behind the eventual discovery of relativity. Einstein admitted it himself.
There is no such thing as a void in the Universe.
No matter what physical system we consider, nature always obeys the same fundamental laws. Must it be this way, and if so, why?
Analog could serve as "always-on" computing, while digital is turned on only when necessary.
Millennia ago, philosophers like Anaximander grasped that nature is the ultimate recycler.
The "first cause" problem may forever remain unsolved, as it doesn’t fit with the way we do science.
Explanations for the cosmic speed limit often conflate mass with inertia.
There are two methods to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. The results do not agree with each other, and this is a big problem.
When what we predict and what we measure don't add up, that's a sign there's something new to learn. Could it be a new fundamental force?
It may be time for a cosmological paradigm shift.
The multiverse pushes beyond the limits of the scientific method. From our vantage point in the Universe, we cannot know if it's real.
For many years, some cosmologists embraced the idea of an eternal, steady state universe. But science triumphed over philosophical prejudice.
In logic, 'reductio ad absurdum' shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.
How scientists found out that we live in a cosmic aquarium.