Physics

This image was taken inside the Large Hadron Collider just a few months before its launch in 2008.

Inside the Atom Smasher at CERN

What you can see on a tour of the largest particle collider in the world

An illustration of how gravitational waves ripple through the fabric of space-time.

Five Things to Know About Gravitational Waves

The internet is abuzz with rumors of a big announcement—here are a few things you should know to decipher the news

Technicians hard at work are dwarfed by the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator

A New Experimental Fusion Reactor Powers Up in Germany

The reactor's first test was brief but successful

The moon rises over the Sahara Desert. New research links a rising moon to lower humidity and a decreased chance of rain.

The Moon's Tidal Forces May Affect How Much It Rains

The higher the moon, the lower the chance of rain

Adam Steltzner celebrates the successful landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars on August 5, 2012.

What Landing a Rover on Mars Teaches You About Leadership and Teamwork

In his new book, NASA engineer Adam Steltzner shares his insights on how to inspire people to make the impossible possible

The first hydrogen bomb was detonated by the United States in a test over the Marshall Islands in 1952.

What’s the Difference Between an A-Bomb and an H-Bomb?

Why North Korea’s alleged nuclear test is drawing skepticism and fear alike

Deep Earth creepy crawlies, mushrooms making rain, and a Maya city buried in ash are just a few highlights from this year's collection of science stories.

Cool Science Stories You May Have Missed in 2015

Quantum spookiness, a Maya city buried in ash and more in this year’s surprising science

The LISA Pathfinder probe on display in September, 2015.

A Space-Based Physics Lab Could Help Scientists Study How Gravity Warps Spacetime

The LISA Pathfinder Probe could help reveal the ripples caused by black holes and supernovae

Happy Birthday to Schrödinger’s Cat

In the 80 years since Erwin Schrödinger first outlined a quantum mechanics thought experiment involving a cat, the feline’s popularity has only grown

Study co-author Adam Townsend examines his research subject.

Chocolate Fountains are Great for Physics Lessons

Delicious, delicious physics

These galaxies are smiling at you thanks to general relativity.

Seven Simple Ways We Know Einstein Was Right (For Now)

For the past 100 years, these experiments have offered continued evidence that general relativity is our best description of gravity

Singing sand dunes in the Gobi Desert

Why the Sands of Many Dunes Sing, Boom, and Even Burp

Contrary to Marco Polo's tales, it's not because they're full of mysterious spirits

An artist's rendering shows an acoustic hologram trapping a particle over a levitation device.

This Acoustic Tractor Beam Can Levitate Small Objects With Sound

The device allows researchers to float and manipulate targets with just a single array of ultrasound emitters

The IceCube Lab with a picture of neutrino data superimposed

The Search For Elusive Neutrinos in Antarctica Generates Massive Amounts of Data

The IceCube observatory at the South Pole collects roughly 36 terabytes of data a year in the search for 'special' neutrinos

A person stands in front of a fault in Utah. Better understanding how rocks behave under stress and along faults like this could help geologists more accurately identify places at risk of earthquakes.

Big Quakes Can Trigger Other Shakes Thousands of Miles Away

According to new research, when a big one strikes, more than aftershocks can follow

Learn Physics From Nobel Prizewinner Richard Feynman for Free

The physicist’s legendary lectures are now available online

A map of antineutrinos leaving Earth, where blue is less activity and red more

Here is a Map of Earth’s Antineutrinos

Antineutrinos are the antimatter siblings of the elusive particles called neutrinos and show up where radioactive materials decay

The Theory of Relativity, Then and Now

Albert Einstein's breakthrough from a century ago was out of this world. Now it seems surprisingly down-to-earth

This layered metal sphere is a wormhole for magnets.

Physicists Built a Wormhole for Magnets

The metal sphere lets one magnetic field pass through another undetected, which could lead to improvements in medical imaging

Dense smoke rises as fire engines arrive at the blast site after the deadly explosions in Binhai New Area in Tianjin, China.

It's Strangely Difficult to Measure Big Explosions

But is it time for a makeover?

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