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Science and Tech
When you don't have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.
10 years ago, LIGO saw its first gravitational wave. After 218 detections, our view of black holes has changed forever. Can this era endure?
In this excerpt from "Tales of Militant Chemistry," Alice Lovejoy exposes how the need for uranium during WWII led the Allied governments to turn a blind eye to colonial exploitation.
The latest "Superman" film sets Metropolis in the First State.
Designed to map galaxies, the SPHEREx mission's first science result is instead about interstellar interloper 3I/ATLAS. No, it's not aliens.
In our own Milky Way, a recently deceased star creates a ghostly, hand-like shape in X-rays some 150 light-years wide. Here's how it's made.
Throughout history, "free energy" has been a scammer's game, such as perpetual motion. But with zero-point energy, is it actually possible?
In “The Secret History of Denisovans,” Silvana Condemi and François Savatier trace the story of our mysterious hominin ancestor.
There could be variables beyond the ones we've identified and know how to measure. But they can't get rid of quantum weirdness.
A conversation with neuroscientist Erik Hoel about the future of consciousness research.
A conversation with Annaka Harris on shared perception, experimental science, and why our intuition about consciousness is wrong.
5-MeO-DMT may offer a practical way to access and study consciousness in its most basic form.
A conversation about intelligence and consciousness with philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith.
NASA's 1958 charter's top priority was, "the expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space." Is this how it ends?
For many of us, our imperfect vision compels us to wear corrective lenses to see properly. Here's what everyone should know about LASIK.
Across planet Earth, dark and pristine night skies are an increasingly rare resource. These photos showcase the best of what we still have.
Nuclear chemist Tim Gregory joins Big Think to make the case that nuclear energy can still transform the world for the better.
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?
Einstein is credited with saying, "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." What he actually said has a very different meaning.
Our Earthbound definitions of life could leave us blind to the Universe’s strangest forms.
At the center of Hubble's famous "cosmic horseshoe," a very heavy supermassive black hole has been robustly measured. How is it possible?
In the post-AI startup landscape, the role of the entrepreneur will evolve from operator to orchestrator. Are you ready?
A next-generation collider is required for studying particle physics at the frontiers. Here's the fastest, cheapest way to get it done.
Parallel universes are among the most profound notions in all of quantum physics. It's a compelling and fascinating idea, but is it true?
Amplifying the energy within a laser, over and over, won't get you an infinite amount of energy. There's a fundamental limit due to physics.
There are real concerns with long-term power generation on the Moon; nuclear could be the answer. But for NASA, will the cost be too high?
From Einstein to Twain, Garson O’Toole investigates the truth behind your favorite — and often misattributed — quotes.
Are you ready for the “cybernetic corporation”? Amir Husain “profiles” the hottest company of 2035 — and makes a telling comparison with Nvidia.
At the end of July, hundreds of scientists convened to plan NASA's upcoming astrophysics flagship mission. Will the US allow it to happen?