Physics
What Shape Is the Universe? A New Study Suggests We’ve Got It All Wrong
When researchers reanalyzed the gold-standard data set of the early universe, they concluded that the cosmos must be “closed,” or curled up like a ball. Most others remain unconvinced.
The Most-Magnetic Objects in the Universe Attract New Controversy
How do magnetars get so magnetic? A study of stellar explosions shows that the long-accepted theory might be wrong.
Physicists Finally Nail the Proton’s Size, and Hope Dies
A new measurement appears to have eliminated an anomaly that had captivated physicists for nearly a decade.
Strange Metal-like Bonds Discovered in Customized Crystals
lattices in which smaller particles roam like electrons in metallic bonds.
A Hologram Shows How Space Could Pop Into Existence
The holographic principle—with a real hologram.
To Make Two Black Holes Collide, Try Three
How do black holes merge and make gravitational waves? Maybe with a little help from their friends.
A Novelist Teaches Herself Physics
To explore loss and mystery, Nell Freudenberger journeyed into the atomic world.
