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For generations, physicists have been searching for a quantum theory of gravity. But what if gravity isn’t actually quantum at all?

One of the fundamental constants of nature, the fine-structure constant, determines so much about our Universe. Here’s why it matters.

In the year 2000, physicists created a list of the ten most important unsolved problems in their field. 25 years later, here’s where we are.

Under extreme conditions, matter takes on properties that lead to remarkable, novel possibilities. Topological superconductors included.

Black holes encode information on their surfaces, but evaporate away into Hawking radiation. Is that information preserved, and if so, how?

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Within our observable Universe, there’s only one Earth and one “you.” But in a vast multiverse, so much more becomes possible.

From the explosions themselves to their unique and vibrant colors, the fireworks displays we adore require quantum physics.

When theory and experiment disagree, it could mean new physics. This time, they solved the muon g-2 puzzle, and saved the Standard Model.

“You’re not meant to understand what I just said, because I don’t understand what I just said…” Physicist Brian Cox on one of the most complex theories in space science.

The Kalam cosmological argument asserts that everything that exists must have a cause, and the “first” cause must be God. Is that valid?

The perfectly accessible, perfectly knowable Universe of classical physics is gone forever, no matter what interpretation you choose.

Can quantum computers do things that standard, classical computers can’t? No. But if they can calculate faster, that’s quantum supremacy.

In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?

50 years ago, Stephen Hawking showed that black holes emit radiation and eventually decay away. That fate may now apply to everything.

A longstanding mismatch between theory and experiment motivated an exquisite muon measurement. At last, a theoretical solution has arrived.

Don’t fall into the determinism trap. Everything is, in fact, random, says chemist Lee Cronin:

A relatively new interpretation of quantum mechanics asks us to reimagine the process of science itself.

Almost 100 years ago, an asymmetric pathology led Dirac to postulate the positron. A similar pathology could lead us to supersymmetry.

Nature may not allow us full access to the weirdness of quantum mechanics.

“It’s a very, very beautiful calculation, but it’s the best example I know of the relationship between these rather abstract quantities perhaps and something that you can look at in a telescope.”

There’s no upper limit to how massive galaxies or black holes can be, but the most massive known star is only ~260 solar masses. Here’s why.

The combined intellectual heft of multiple “big thinkers” delivered arguably the most successful scientific theory in history.

One of the 20th century’s most famous, influential, and successful physicists is lauded the world over. But Feynman is no hero to me.

Theoretical physics professor Michio Kaku outlines the evolution of computers from analog to digital and introduces quantum computers as the next frontier.

Many, from neuroscientists to philosophers to anesthesiologists, have claimed to understand consciousness. Do physicists? Does anyone?

In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?

Physicists just can’t leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.

Quantum wormholes are mathematically possible — but might also be physically impossible. Physicist Janna Levin explains Hawking’s famous information paradox.

There’s a quantum limit to how precisely anything can be measured. By squeezing light, LIGO has now surpassed all previous limitations.