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Dark Energy
There are many arguments over what makes a theory beautiful, elegant, or compelling. But in the face of data, predictive power is everything. When you look at any phenomenon in […]
If you want to know how we get something from nothing, you’d better understand what we mean! When we look around at our world and Universe today, we talk and think […]
Plus, how the mycelium network’s destruction could, physically, actually end life in the Universe. Imagine taking a seemingly impossible journey: traveling to another Universe on a network of biological spores […]
What do our future missions in physics, astronomy, astrophysics and more hold? If you went back in time just 30 years, the world as we it was a completely different place. […]
A cosmic controversy is back, and at least one camp — perhaps both — is making an unidentified error. Ever since Hubble first discovered the relationship between a galaxy’s distance and its motion away […]
Out of five vital questions, which one should we most desire the answer to? Despite all we’ve learned about physics, science, and the Universe before us, there are still some incredibly […]
As wonderful as the evidence that supports or invalidates a theory is, it can never truly kill the ones that don’t work out. When it comes to science, we like to […]
Don’t believe in dark matter or dark energy? Your view of the Universe just got a lot more difficult. If you ask an astrophysicist what’s the greatest puzzle in the […]
Very sure. Here’s how we know. You’ve no doubt heard that the Universe itself has been around for 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang, and that scientists are extremely confident […]
Finding a warm-hot intergalactic plasma is amazing! But we still need dark matter just as much as ever. “There are stars leaving the Milky Way, and immense gas clouds falling […]
It’s a fascinating idea, but how does it fare as a scientific theory? “Something is happening here and this is going to have an impact.” –Robert Dijkgraaf, on Verlinde’s work The […]
From what it’s expanding into to whether things are moving faster-than-light, this clears up some of our greatest misconceptions. “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders […]
Something’s got to be wrong. But is it what we think about the star, the Universe, or something else? “The older you get, the more you realize that the way […]
From a Universe that went no bigger than our Milky Way to the trillions of galaxies in our expanding Universe, our knowledge increased one step at a time. “Gamow was fantastic […]
Why does the Universe have the properties it has? There may be no natural reason at all. “When you listen to a lecture, you should not have any idea of yourself. […]
‘Let there be light’ isn’t just biblical. It’s science. “By its very nature science knows no boundaries. Walling off any group, for any reason, from full participation damages the entire enterprise […]
How the Universe’s expansion rate continues to baffle us. “In expanding the field of knowledge we but increase the horizon of ignorance.” –Henry Miller It’s the most fundamental law of special […]
Every star must eventually run out of fuel and die… but did you know the galaxy itself will come to an end someday? “Unless one says goodbye to what one loves, […]
Constant? Not-a-constant? Or is there a fundamental flaw in the way we’re doing business? This article was written by Sabine Hossenfelder. Sabine is a theoretical physicist specialized in quantum gravity […]
There’s a point beyond which we cannot go, there are things beyond that we cannot know. But here’s what we expect. “The Edge… there is no honest way to explain it […]
The 20th century held some incredible advances across all the science. But astrophysics’ best days are yet to come. “When we have found how the nucleus of atoms is built up […]
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 […]
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 […]
Space is getting bigger, but atoms, humans, Earth and our Milky Way stay the same size. How is this possible? “The Universe is expanding the way your mind is expanding. […]
A live-blog event of an incredible public lecture by a scientist on the inside of James Webb’s team. “The [James Webb] telescope is basically designed to answer the big questions in […]
You may have heard of Laniakea, but don’t count on it being real. “It’s the gravity that shapes the large scale structure of the universe, even though it is the weakest […]
We haven’t found the truly “first” ones yet, but we’re not just on our way; we’re almost there. “For the first time we can learn about individual stars from near the […]
How a little knowledge can bring about some huge misconceptions… and how to fix it. “Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover […]
Could the Nobel Prize of 2011 have been awarded without cause? “Even if I stumble on to the absolute truth of any aspect of the universe, I will not realise my […]
“Eureka!” is not always as powerful as “that’s what I thought!” “Reality is what kicks back when you kick it. This is just what physicists do with their particle accelerators. […]