Physics

Thermodynamics holds the answers to your wildest campfire dreams.

The Scientific Quest For the Perfect S’more

A trial by fire

Researchers Find More Evidence for the Higgs Boson

Analysis of years of data from the Large Hadron Collider shows evidence the particle decays into bottom quarks

Contrary to popular beliefs, Neanderthals lived in complex societies and hunted prey cooperatively.

Neanderthals Hunted in Groups, One More Strike Against the Dumb Brute Myth

The skeletons of deer killed 120,000 years ago offer more evidence of cooperative behavior and risk-taking among our hominin relatives

The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’

Microphones and high-speed cameras show that what happens when a water droplet hits water is surprisingly complicated

Prototype of one of the magnets that will be used in the upgraded Large Hadron Collider.

The Large Hadron Collider Is Getting A Huge Power Boost

A multi-year upgrade will lead to up to 10 times the collisions, and perhaps the discovery of mysterious new particles

Stephen Hawking's memorial stone in Westminster Abbey.

A Message From Stephen Hawking Is On Its Way to a Black Hole

After his ashes were interred at Westminster Abbey, a musical composition and "message of hope" were broadcast toward 1A 0620-00, the nearest black hole

The goal, Ruth Jarman says, is to “transcend the data so that it becomes something else"

'HALO' Makes Art Out of Subatomic Particle Collisions at Art Basel

The site-specific installation by British artist duo Semiconductor revisits the universe’s first moments

Saturated invites visitors to contemplate the essence of color, and the fascinating ways in which different hues interact.

How Newton, Goethe, an Ornithologist and a Board Game Designer Helped Us Understand Color

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum explores the kaleidoscope of figures who shaped color theory

Joe, the "fat boy" from the Pickwick Papers.

The Case for Charles Dickens, the Science Communicator

A new exhibition dives into the Victorian novelist's passion for science

Albert and Elsa Einstein in Japan

When Albert Einstein Visited Japan

As he traveled through Asia, including a trip to Palestine, the brilliant scientist discovered much he didn’t understand

If a Cosmic Bubble Destroys the Universe, Scientists Now Know When It'll Happen

Don't panic yet; the end won't be for at least 10 octodecillion years, if it happens at all

The Center of the Milky Way May Be Chock-Full of Black Holes

Researchers spotted about a dozen black holes lurking at our galactic center—and there may be up to 10,000 more

Diffuse galaxy NGC1052-DF2

Scientists Thought All Galaxies Had Dark Matter, but They Just Found One Without It

The find defies the assumption that the mysterious matter is necessary for galaxy formation

Small differences account for a shooter’s consistency.

The Math Behind the Perfect Free Throw

A basketball computer program simulates millions of trajectories in search of the ideal shot

How It All Began: A Colleague Reflects On the Remarkable Life of Stephen Hawking

The physicist probed the mysteries of black holes, expanded our understanding of the universe and captured the world's imagination, says Martin Rees

How a city is arranged can influence whether it heats up in comparison to surrounding areas

Order Makes Cities Easy to Navigate—It May Also Make Them Hotter

Physics and statistics can describe how building patterns relate to cities' tendency to hold heat

This graphene-filled tube is sensitive to the slightest movements.

This Low-Cost, Graphene Device Could Help Monitor a Baby's Health

Physicists have developed a graphene-based liquid that can sense tiny changes in breathing and heart rate

An abstract image because it's hard to see three individual photons.

Scientists Create a New Form of Light by Linking Photons

Photons typically don't interact, but physicists bound three together in the lab

Single Atom in Ion Trap

Breathtaking Bubbles, Butterfly Wings, and a Glowing Atom Take Top Prizes in Science Photo Contest

The images celebrate the depth and beauty of the physical sciences

Every dazzling jump on the ice—like Yuzuru Hanyu's quadruple Lutz at the 2017 Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Moscow, Russia—requires a mastery of balance, rotational speed and angular momentum.

How Physics Keeps Figure Skaters Gracefully Aloft

Every twist, turn and jump relies on a mastery of complex physical forces

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