Natalie Wolchover
Astronomers Get Their Wish, and a Cosmic Crisis Gets Worse
We don’t know why the universe appears to be expanding faster than it should. New ultra-precise distance measurements have only intensified the problem.
Physics Nobel Awarded for Black Hole Breakthroughs
Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies of black holes.
How Gödel’s Proof Works
His incompleteness theorems destroyed the search for a mathematical theory of everything. Nearly a century later, we’re still coming to grips with the consequences.
Dark Matter Experiment Finds Unexplained Signal
Researchers say there are three possible explanations for the anomalous data. One is mundane. Two would revolutionize physics.
Why Gravity Is Not Like the Other Forces
We asked four physicists why gravity stands out among the forces of nature. We got four different answers.
Neutrino Asymmetry Passes Critical Threshold
The first official evidence of a key imbalance between neutrinos and antineutrinos provides one of the best clues for why the universe contains something rather than nothing.
To Make the Perfect Mirror, Physicists Confront the Mystery of Glass
Sometimes a mirror that reflects 99.9999% of light isn’t good enough.
Axions Would Solve Another Major Problem in Physics
In a new paper, physicists argue that hypothetical particles called axions could explain why the universe isn’t empty.
New Wrinkle Added to Cosmology’s Hubble Crisis
Two independent measurements of the universe’s expansion give incompatible answers. Now a third method, advanced by an astronomy pioneer, appears to bridge the divide.
No Dark Energy? No Chance, Cosmologists Contend
A study challenged the evidence for the mysterious antigravitational force known as dark energy. Then cosmologists shot back.
