Einstein’s theory of general relativity introduced the concept of space having a shape. So, what is the shape of space?
Search Results
You searched for: light
Hubble showed us what our modern day Universe looks like. JWST’s big goal was to teach us how the Universe grew up. Here’s where we are now.
Although we still don’t know the question, we know that the answer to life, the Universe, and everything is 42. Here are 5 possibilities.
Some authors never saw their books score widespread acclaim—or even get published at all.
Each of our three nearest stars might have an Earth-like planet in orbit around it. Here’s what we’ll learn when we finally observe it.
Most of us only ever see a fraction of a full rainbow: an arc. But optically, a full rainbow makes a complete circle. Physics explains why.
The Big Bang’s hot glow faded away after only a few million years, leaving the Universe dark until the first stars formed. Oh, the changes!
We normally think of dark matter as the “glue” that holds galaxies and larger structures together. But it’s so much more than that.
Almost all of the stars, planets, and interesting physics happens in the inner portions of galaxies. Is that conventional wisdom all wrong?
How do normal matter and dark matter separate by so much when galaxy clusters collide? Astronomers find the surprising, unexpected answer.
JWST has puzzled astronomers by revealing large, bright, massive early galaxies. But the littlest ones pack the greatest cosmic punch.
On the largest cosmic scales, galaxies line up along filaments, with great clusters forming at their intersection. Here’s how it took shape.
New research from Big Think+ sheds light on why employees can find the act of providing feedback to be intimidating, and how L&D can ease this fear by elevating feedback beyond pure evaluation.
Headlines have blared that quasar ticking confirms that time passed more slowly in the early Universe. That’s not how any of this works.
Three fundamental forces matter inside an atom, but gravity is mind-bogglingly weak on those scales. Could extra dimensions explain why?
“To take this in, you need to ride inside the mathematical symbols.”
The center of the galaxy doesn’t just host stars and a black hole, but an enormous set of rich gassy and dusty features. Find out more!
A recent paper in the journal Physical Review Letters claims to prove that a “kugelblitz” is not possible.
Einstein’s most famous equation is E = mc², which describes the rest mass energy inherent to particles. But motion matters for energy, too.
A researcher explains a little-known niche within modern physics: animal collective behavior.
Our intuitive understanding of time is very different from a physicist’s understanding of time. How do we reconcile these views?
2023’s Nobel Prize was awarded for studying physics on tiny, attosecond-level timescales. Too bad that particle physics happens even faster.
The concept of the warp drive is currently at odds with everything we know to be true about physics.
Contrary to common experience, not everything needs a medium to travel through. Overcoming that assumption removes the need for an aether.
All of the matter and radiation we measure today originated in a hot Big Bang long ago. The Universe was never empty, not even before that.
Here on Earth, the Sun is our primary source of light, heat, and energy. But it also poses a grave threat to human civilization.
Beyond the planets, stars, and Milky Way lie ultra-distant objects: galaxies and quasars. Here’s how far back we’ve seen throughout history.
Atomic nuclei form in minutes. Atoms form in hundreds of thousands of years. But the “dark ages” rule thereafter, until stars finally form.
From the present day all the way to less than 400 million years after the Big Bang, we’re seeing how the Universe grew up like never before.
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?