The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it.
Our mission: to answer, scientifically, the biggest questions of all.
- What is our Universe made of?
- How did it become the way it is today?
- Where did everything come from?
- What is the ultimate fate of the cosmos?
For countless generations, these were questions without resolutions. Now, for the first time in history, we have scientific answers. Starts With A Bang, written by Dr. Ethan Siegel, brings these stories — of what we know and how we know it — directly to you.
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Featured
Why power generated through nuclear fusion will be the future, but not the present, solution to humanity’s energy needs.
It’s a strange idea to consider: that a tiny building block of matter, the atomic nucleus, holds the greatest potential for energy release.
And yet, it’s true; while electron transitions in atoms or molecules typically release energy on the order of ~1 electron-Volt, nuclear transitions between different configurations release energies a million times as great, on the order of ~1 Mega-electron-Volt.
Popular
From before the Big Bang to the present day, the Universe goes through many eras. Dark energy heralds the final one.
A wild, compelling idea without a direct, practical test, the Multiverse is highly controversial. But its supporting pillars sure are stable.
The surface and atmosphere is colored by ferric oxides. Beneath a very thin layer, mere millimeters deep in places, it’s not red anymore.
The first supernova ever discovered through its X-rays has an enormously powerful engine at its core. It’s unlike anything ever seen.
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see 46.1 billion light-years away in all directions. Doesn’t that violate…something?
All Stories
Forwards? Absolutely. Backwards? Perhaps. Becoming your own grandpa? Only if you’re Philip J. Fry… “One of the great things about music is that it has the capability of time travel — you smell […]
With off-the-shelf materials and a little dry ice, you can discover particles that wouldn’t exist unless relativity were real. “The experiments that we will do with the LHC [Large Hadron Collider] […]
No, you are most definitely not entitled to your own facts. In fact, you’re required to disclose what evidence would change your mind! “You must remember, my dear lady, the most […]
From inhospitable volcanoes to life so unique we discovered evolution there, the Galapagos is an incredible scientific story. “I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters [a […]
You might think Jupiter is large, but you’ll be surprised at what happens if you try and make it larger! “A few centuries ago, the pioneer navigators learnt the size and […]
Is time travel possible? Of course it’s inevitable in some sense, as we always move through the Universe at the “boring” rate of one second per second. But what about […]
You might think that it should be all black, but then how would we see it? “It is conceptually interesting, if not astrophysically very important, to calculate the precise apparent shape […]
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 […]