Ethan Siegel
A theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, host of popular podcast "Starts with a Bang!"
Ethan Siegel is a Ph.D. astrophysicist and author of "Starts with a Bang!" He is a science communicator, who professes physics and astronomy at various colleges. He has won numerous awards for science writing since 2008 for his blog, including the award for best science blog by the Institute of Physics. His two books "Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive" and "Beyond the Galaxy: How humanity looked beyond our Milky Way and discovered the entire Universe" are available for purchase at Amazon. Follow him on Twitter @startswithabang.
Sometimes, designing a careful experiment and measuring absolutely no effect can be the most important result of all. “It appears, from all that precedes, reasonably certain that if there be any […]
Wanting there to be something beyond the standard model may be influencing what we actually investigate. “In recent years several new particles have been discovered which are currently assumed to […]
It’s tempting to add the spins of the quarks together, but that’s not what the experiments agree with! “We must regard it rather as an accident that the Earth (and presumably […]
How humanity discovered where our elements come from. This article was written by physicist Paul Halpern of the University of the Sciences in Pennsylvania. Paul is author of the new book […]
Did you go to one of the 600+ science marches across the globe? Here’s why the cause matters. “We’ve arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on […]
Was it really a low-entropy state? And what does that mean for the second law of thermodynamics? “Entropy shakes its angry fist at you for being clever enough to organize […]
If it weren’t just the three space and one time dimensions, what would be different? “There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a […]
And if you’re experiencing it consistently, you just might be doing it wrong all along. “I do have a blurred memory of sitting on the stairs and trying over and over […]
When we think about a long-term solution to our energy needs, none of today’s options are this good. “I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would […]
There’s really something new there, even if physicists forget. “Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.” –Ludwig Borne In 1998, two teams of scientists announced a shocking […]
From 13.4 billion years ago, the current record-holder is unlikely to fall anytime soon. Why? A combination of science… and luck. “We’ve taken a major step back in time, beyond what […]
There’s a smallest scale and a shortest time at which physics makes any sense. What sets that limit? “There is a limit on how much information you can keep bottled up.” –Dick […]
You lose whether you use protons or electrons in your collider, for different reasons. Could the unstable muon solve both problems? “It does not matter how slowly you go as […]
Alpha Centauri A and B are just 4.37 light years away. Do they have planets around them? And possibly life? We just might find out! “Resources exist to be consumed. And […]
Its 18 large, segmented golden mirrors aren’t even the whole story. But how much gold is really in there? “Hey, if our eyes could access the infrared part of the light […]
With liquid water, an energy source, and the perfect raw ingredients, Enceladus might be the holy grail we’ve been seeking. This article is written by contributing author Jesse Shanahan. Jesse is […]
We’ve never seen an event horizon, nor directly imaged a black hole. Thanks to a worldwide effort, victory may at last be in sight. “Never look down to test the ground […]
If you think that spin-1/2 and spin-1 aren’t that different, the actual science may shock you. “The layman always means, when he says “reality” that he is speaking of something self-evidently […]
But that’s okay; the most likely world for life may not be like Earth, after all. “You can spend too much time wondering which of identical twins is the more alike.” […]
Science may be one of the most complex human endeavors, but the lessons it teaches can be applied far outside of science. “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single […]
If it’s the anti-version of normal matter, could it possibly fall “up”? This article was written by Sabine Hossenfelder of Backreaction. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity and […]
And how if you try this with someone shorter than you are, you’ll find it extra convincing! “I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it’s flat to […]
If you thought our galaxy was just the luminous matter within it, think again. “Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that […]
What would energy without a particle to attach itself to even look like? “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on […]
Everything in the Universe today was compressed into a tiny volume. But how small was it? “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play […]
If you think federal funding for science is expensive, wait until you see the cost of not funding it. “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as […]
It might be the nearest supernova humanity will ever see. What will happen when it goes off? “Without these supernova explosions, there are no mist-covered swamps, computer chips, trilobites, Mozart or […]
The answer lies billions of years in the past. “Dark matter or invisible element?You decide.” –Toba Beta When we look out at the luminous matter in the Universe — stars, galaxies, clusters of […]
What Hubble sees at its best is only a tease for what James Webb will deliver. “With the Hubble telescope and all the other things that are out there, I believe […]
If it was good enough for more than 75 years, why not once again? “The cosmic game changed forever in 1992. Before then, logic told us that there had to be […]