Physics & Chemistry

80-Year Quest to Create Metallic Hydrogen May Finally Be Complete

Physicist Eugene Paul Wigner predicted more than 80 years ago that hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, could turn into an electricity-conducting solid metal at the right temperature and pressure. Scientists have spent decades since attempting to synthesize this material—and may have finally done so. A team of researchers in France has posted…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Scientists in Florida Make the World’s Strongest Magnet

Scientists have broken the record for the strongest continuous magnetic field, according to a new research paper. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, or MagLab, at Florida State University runs the world’s strongest continuous magnet for use by scientists, at 45 tesla—around 10 times stronger than a hospital MRI machine. Now, researchers at the lab…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

This Compact System Lets Scientists See Biological Molecules in a Whole New Way

Researchers have combined laser techniques and an ingenious detection scheme in order to create a powerful new molecule-imaging system—a quicker, easier way to determine the identity of microscopic molecules. Basically, it’s an advanced yet surprisingly simple microscope. Shining mid-infrared light on complex molecules like proteins and observing how they react can provide detailed information on their…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Large Hadron Collider Experiment Reveals Alien Structure of a ‘Pentaquark’

New results from the world’s largest particle accelerator illuminate the structure of the pentaquark, an exotic particle consisting of five quarks bound together. Quarks, the subatomic particles that make up protons and neutrons, usually bind together in pairs or triplets to form classes of particles called mesons and baryons, respectively. But recent analyses of data…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Why Is NASA Sending an Atomic Clock Into Space?

On June 22, NASA will send an atomic clock the size of a football (though much heavier) to space onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This clock isn’t for telling time—it’s a technology demonstration for a clock that might be used for future space exploration, both to navigate and to make gravitational measurements. If successful,…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Laboratory Black Hole Shows Stephen Hawking Was Right, Obviously

Physicists have confirmed predictions of Stephen Hawking’s namesake theory of black holes using a black hole they constructed in their lab, according to a new paper. This black hole isn’t like the black holes out in space, where gravity creates a region of spacetime so warped that light can’t escape. Instead, the researchers built a…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Murray Gell-Mann, the Physicist Who Came Up With Quarks, Has Died

Pioneering physicist Murray Gell-Mann has passed away at the age of 89. Among his many scientific contributions, the Nobel laureate will be remembered for bringing order to the chaotic field of particle physics, and for coining the term “quark”—a fundamental building block of matter. Physicist Murray Gell-Mann died “peacefully” on Friday, May 24 at his…

Physics & Chemistry George Dvorsky

New Paper Confirms Near-Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Wild, Hydrogen-Rich Material

A team of physicists has published peer-reviewed results documenting near-room-temperature superconductivity in the hydrogen-rich compound lanthanum hydride. Researchers around the world are racing to produce a material that, at room temperature, conducts electricity without losing energy to resistance. (You can read about this fascinating effort and its history here.) Most recently, scientists have focused their…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Scientists Recreate Hallmark Quantum Physics Experiment Using Antimatter

Scientists recreated one of the most important experiments in the history of physics—but this time, they used antimatter instead of regular matter. All matter particles have a corresponding antimatter particle, which shares most of the same properties but is a mirror image of the particle and has the opposite charge. Decades ago, scientists determined that…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Image: Millot, Coppari, Hamel, Krauss (LLNL

Powerful Lasers Produce Wild New Kind of Ice Thought to Exist Inside Uranus

Scientists used high-energy lasers to create a new phase of ice unlike any seen on Earth before—but which might exist deep within Neptune and Uranus. Water’s structure allows it to freeze into many different crystalline forms (including ice-IX, which does not share the same properties as the Ice-IX from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle). Perhaps one…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Gravitational Wave Detectors May Have Spotted a Neutron Star Colliding With a Black Hole

A pair of objects, each more massive than the Sun but only as wide as a city, have once again produced ripples in spacetime that were picked up by sensitive gravitational wave detectors on Earth. But this time, scientists think they may have measured something even weirder the usual. After booting up a month ago…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

How Physicists Measured the Rarest Event Ever Directly Observed

This past week, scientists announced that they’d made an incredible physics observation using a vat of liquid xenon. It’s officially the rarest nuclear decay—and really, the rarest event of any kind—ever directly measured. How rare? As I wrote in my previous article about the result, “The average amount of time it would take half of…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Dark Matter Detector Makes Incredible Neutrino Observation

A detector designed to hunt for dark matter has made a particle physics observation that will hopefully help physicists establish important truths about our Universe. No, it didn’t spot dark matter, but the new result proves that these ultra-sensitive detectors are valuable to scientists for multiple reasons. Gravity-wise, the Universe behaves as if it contains…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

These Are Bubbles Made of Sand

Engineers observed bubbles of sand moving within other sand, like oil droplets through water, in a first-of-its-kind observation. It’s difficult for scientists to understand the behavior of countless small moving particles, and we’re still learning new things about materials like sand, as some of our past stories show. In a new experiment, scientists observed two…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A Modified 747 Helped Spot Evidence of the Universe’s First Atomic Bond

Scientists have spotted evidence of the earliest chemistry in the Universe, thanks to measurements taken from a telescope aboard a modified Boeing 747. After the Big Bang, the Universe began cooling, and atoms like hydrogen, helium, and lithium began forming out of the free particles. When the whole Universe reached a temperature of a few…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

The Quest for the Most Elusive Material in Physics

Zack Geballe spent months screwing together pairs of polished diamonds at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Geophysical Laboratory. Theory predicted that squeezed between the diamonds’ tips could be one of the most miraculous substances of modern physics—a material that, at near room temperature, could transport electricity without losing power. He just needed to get the…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Gravitational Wave Detectors Spot Two Potential Black Hole Collisions in a Week

Less than two weeks after the gravitational wave detectors turned back on, they’ve already seen evidence of two pairs of colliding black holes. Scientists are no longer hoping just to discover gravitational waves, the ripples through space first predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Since they first detected the waves in 2015, they’ve…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

What We Learned From the First Black Hole Image

Today, scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope released a picture that will go down in scientific history: the first-ever image of a black hole. But there’s more to science than pretty pictures. Alongside the release, scientists dropped six papers documenting how they created the image and what they’ve already learned about the black hole at…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

The Gravitational Wave Detectors Are Turning Back On and We’re Psyched

The LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors are set to resume their hunt for gravitational waves on April 1. This go-around, they’ll be even more sensitive thanks to a set of upgrades to their lasers, mirrors, and other components. This next run will be a big deal—for different reasons than the first two observation sessions.…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Why Twisted Graphene Is One of the Most Exciting Physics Stories of the Year

Just a year ago, scientists presented results that seemed almost too good to be true: Carbon sheets only a single atom thick, called graphene, took on a pair of important physical properties when they were twisted at just the right “magic” angle relative to one another. If the atmosphere this month at the world’s largest…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

80-Year Quest to Create Metallic Hydrogen May Finally Be Complete

Scientists in Florida Make the World’s Strongest Magnet

This Compact System Lets Scientists See Biological Molecules in a Whole New Way

Large Hadron Collider Experiment Reveals Alien Structure of a ‘Pentaquark’

Why Is NASA Sending an Atomic Clock Into Space?

Laboratory Black Hole Shows Stephen Hawking Was Right, Obviously

Murray Gell-Mann, the Physicist Who Came Up With Quarks, Has Died

New Paper Confirms Near-Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Wild, Hydrogen-Rich Material

Scientists Recreate Hallmark Quantum Physics Experiment Using Antimatter

Powerful Lasers Produce Wild New Kind of Ice Thought to Exist Inside Uranus

Gravitational Wave Detectors May Have Spotted a Neutron Star Colliding With a Black Hole

How Physicists Measured the Rarest Event Ever Directly Observed

Dark Matter Detector Makes Incredible Neutrino Observation

These Are Bubbles Made of Sand

A Modified 747 Helped Spot Evidence of the Universe’s First Atomic Bond

The Quest for the Most Elusive Material in Physics

Gravitational Wave Detectors Spot Two Potential Black Hole Collisions in a Week

What We Learned From the First Black Hole Image

The Gravitational Wave Detectors Are Turning Back On and We’re Psyched

Why Twisted Graphene Is One of the Most Exciting Physics Stories of the Year

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

Artemis 2 Day 3: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Researchers Discover How to Add Psilocybin, DMT, and Other Psychedelics to Tobacco

Fake Videos Are Already Spreading After Two US Air Force Planes Go Down Near Iran

We’re Obsessed With the Meta Fits on These New Star Wars Toys

Behold These Breathtaking Views of Earth Captured by the Artemis 2 Astronauts

‘Chainsaw Man’ Briefly Returns in ‘Dandadan’

Meta Smart Glasses Can Now Track All the Food You Put Into Your Mouth

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Let us help find what you are looking for...