Hard Science

We are about to learn a lot more about the most elusive of cosmic particles.

2023 is an exciting time for the study of quark-gluon plasmas.

Everything everywhere all at once.

We bake pies for Pi Day, so why not celebrate other mathematical achievements.

Many impact craters on Earth have been erased thanks to wind, water, and plate tectonics. But scientists have clever ways to find them.

“It can truly allow you to see the physical world in ways that were not possible before.”

Some scientists think brain organoids could develop a form of consciousness. Others say that’s science fiction.

A non-invasive method for looking inside structures is solving mysteries about the ancient pyramid.

Using shaped ultrasound, researchers can 3D print objects in one shot.

The Fermi paradox (along with the subsequent Drake equation) is so difficult that even brilliant thinkers can make little dent in it.

Some of them have survived the wilds of space for billions of years.

We may have discovered alien life already but rejected the evidence too quickly because it seemed false at first glance.

When you combine the Uncertainty Principle with Einstein’s famous equation, you get a mind-blowing result: Particles can come from nothing.

From the Big Bang to dark energy, knowledge of the cosmos has sped up in the past century — but big questions linger.

Recent measurements of subatomic particles don’t match predictions stemming from the Standard Model.

Some microbes can withstand Earth’s most inhospitable corners, hinting that life may be able to survive similarly extreme conditions on other worlds.

The solution involves the infamous Navier-Stokes equations, which are so difficult, there is a $1-million prize for solving them.

What do you call it when the Earth shakes for three decades?

A Fermilab study confirms decades-old measurements regarding the size and structure of protons.

Air currents in our atmosphere limit the resolving power of giant telescopes, but computers and artificial stars can sharpen the blur.

The Universe isn’t as “clumpy” as we think it should be.

Out of sight, but not out of mind.

What we’ve learning from the world’s coldest, most forbidding, and most peaceful continent.

Size matters, but it’s not the only thing.

One study suggested that the “Methuselah Star” is older than the Universe itself.

In just a few seconds, a gamma-ray burst blasts out the same amount of energy that the Sun will radiate throughout its entire life.

A conversation with an advanced alien species is likely to be simple and to take 1,000 years. It might also be dangerous.

If life is common in the Universe, then where is everybody? Known as the Fermi Paradox, a new project may help solve the riddle.

Laser-guided lightning systems could someday offer much greater protection than lightning rods.

On Earth, microbial growth is common in lava tubes no matter the location and climate, whether it’s ice-volcano interactions in Iceland or hot, sand-floored lava tubes in Saudi Arabia.