Physics

Let there be light, sound, fluids and quantum weirdness

We love physics in all its forms, from new research on mind-bending concepts like quantum weirdness and spooky action at a distance to the science of sounds and fluids to all the forces that push, pull, stick and slip. Here we tackle the macroscopic, the subatomic, the strange, the cool, the groundbreaking and the obscure.

Meteorologists, oceanographers and snipers have to account for this deformation.
Will Sullivan, Staff Writer
Two scientists share the prize for modeling Earth's climate, while a third is honored for discovering hidden patterns in the behavior of disordered complex materials.
Catherine Meyers, Editor
Noisy measurements of gravitational waves may illuminate what links gravity to other fundamental forces.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor
The properties of friction change from one situation to the next, so a universal explanation doesn't exist.
Yuen Yiu, Staff Writer
The shock of the blast created the right conditions for the elusive structures.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor
Scientists have crushed the quest for room temperature superconductors, but only at ridiculously high pressures.
Yuen Yiu, Staff Writer
New research reveals how that familiar click of two things locking together works.
Katharine Gammon, Contributor
The surprise finding was observed when the fluids moved through specially treated tiny tubes.
Peter Gwynne, Contributor
The hydrogen compound requires extremely high pressure to maintain its extraordinary properties.
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor
This year’s prize highlights "the darkest secrets of the universe."
Yuen Yiu, Staff Writer
Here's how researchers are working to harvest energy from unconventional sources such as falling droplets of water -- and the math behind it.
Yuen Yiu, Staff Writer
The merger occurred when the universe was half its current age, and it may have produced the first known black hole of intermediate size
Charles Q. Choi, Contributor