physics

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'Groundbreaking' Quantum Science Work Earns a Nobel

Scientists Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, Anton Zeilinger split 2022's physics prize

(Newser) - This year's Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to Alain Aspect of France, John F. Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria for their work on quantum information science. Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the winners Tuesday at the...

Physicists Float a Surprise Theory About Fate of Universe

Princeton scientists say it may stop expanding and start contracting in 100M years

(Newser) - Physicists agree that the universe is not only expanding, but that this expansion is accelerating. But for how long? A new study by three Princeton scientists floats the provocative idea that expansion could end "surprisingly soon," as lead author Paul Steinhardt writes in the Proceedings of the National...

He's 13, Going for His Doctorate in Physics

Minnesota's Elliott Tanner is OK with the 'Young Sheldon' comparisons

(Newser) - Elliott Tanner's parents enrolled him in kindergarten at age 5, but it wasn't long before educators realized he wasn't kindergarten material—he was just too smart. "He was talking about particle accelerators when he was 5 years old, when other kids were pretending to be Superman...

New Finding Baffles Physicists
'Something Fundamental'
May Be Off in Physics
NEW study
Apr 7, 2022 4:41 PM CDT

'Something Fundamental' May Be Off in Physics

New finding about key particle baffles Fermi scientists

(Newser) - The grand explanation physicists use to describe how the universe works may have some major new flaws to patch after a fundamental particle was found to have more mass than scientists thought. “It’s not just something is wrong,” said Dave Toback, a particle physicist at Texas A&...

Mystery Donor Sends $180K in Cash to Physics Department

Cardboard box at City College New York wasn't opened for more than 10 months

(Newser) - A plain cardboard box around the size of a toaster addressed to "Chairman, Physics Department" at City College of New York held a mysterious $180,000 cash donation—but it wasn't opened for more than 10 months. The department's chair, physics professor Vinod Menon, says he didn'...

At 89, He Achieved His Dream of Becoming a Physicist

Rhode Island's Manfred Steiner got Ph.D in physics after retiring from medicine

(Newser) - A 89-year-old Rhode Island man has achieved a goal he spent two decades working toward and nearly a lifetime thinking about—earning his Ph.D. and becoming a physicist. Manfred Steiner recently defended his dissertation successfully at Brown University in Providence. Steiner cherishes this degree because it's what he...

Nobel Winner 'Gobsmacked': 'I'm Just a Climate Scientist!'

Syukuro Manabe of US/Japan shares grand prize in physics with researchers from Germany, Italy

(Newser) - Day two of the Nobels is underway, with a second prize awarded for the week in science. This time around, the Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to scientists from the US/Japan, Germany, and Italy, for their "groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems," per...

Experiment Results Upend Known Laws of Physics

Researchers say the Standard Model doesn't explain what's happening with muons

(Newser) - Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled. The tiniest particles aren't quite doing what is expected of them when spun around two different long-running...

Physicists May Have Glimpsed 'New Force in Nature'
CERN Results Have
Physicists 'Shaking'
new study
Mar 23, 2021 2:03 PM CDT

CERN Results Have Physicists 'Shaking'

They may have glimpsed a 'new force in nature,' according to new study

(Newser) - Something strange is happening in the world of physics that might herald what scientists describe in the Conversation as a "brand new force of nature." The excitement stems from the CERN research facility in Switzerland, where physicists have been smashing particles together in the Large Hadron Collider and...

An Ancient Light Could Undermine Physics
An Ancient Light Could
Undermine Physics
new study
Nov 29, 2020 3:25 PM CST

An Ancient Light Could Undermine Physics

'If it were real, it's big'

(Newser) - There's an ancient light drifting across the universe that might just undermine particle physics as we know it, Science Alert reports. Scientists analyzing the cosmic microwave background—a faint remnant of the Big Bang—say they've spotted a twist in its light that could force a rethink beyond...

'The Big Bang Never Happened'
'The Big Bang Never Happened'
scientific theory
Nov 14, 2020 12:30 PM CST

'The Big Bang Never Happened'

Science writer Eric Lerner argues against the cosmological theory

(Newser) - Boom! The universe burst into existence about 14 billion years ago. So argue proponents of the Big Bang, a widely accepted theory that the universe expanded from a very hot and dense state into, well, everything. But not everyone agrees: "Saying that the Big Bang theory is a well-confirmed...

Fastest Event Ever Recorded Took 247 'Zeptoseconds'

Scientists clocked a photon moving across a molecule

(Newser) - It's shorter than a millisecond, shorter than a nanosecond, and even shorter than summers seem when you're a kid—it's the zeptosecond, the unit scientists used to measure the shortest interval of time ever recorded. A zeptosecond is a trillionth of a billionth of a second, or...

'Warm' Spots in Space Might Blow Your Mind
'The Big Bang Was
Not the Beginning'
in case you missed it
Oct 11, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

'The Big Bang Was Not the Beginning'

Roger Penrose says he's spotted signs from a previous universe

(Newser) - Look carefully into outer space and you might spot the remnants of a previous universe. So argues Roger Penrose, a pioneer in the study of black holes and one of three recipients of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics. "The Big Bang was not the beginning," he...

Among Nobel Winners: Guy Who Proved Einstein Wrong

Physics honor will be split between 3 scientists for their work on black holes

(Newser) - Three physicists have won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for black hole discoveries and will split the $1.1 million award. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Tuesday that Briton Roger Penrose will receive half of this year's prize "for the discovery that black hole...

Mathematician Snags Richest Prize for His 'Alien' Equations

Martin Hairer among those to get $3M a 'Breakthrough' award

(Newser) - A researcher once said that a theory related to a branch of math dealing with random processes was so impressive, it must have come from aliens . It was actually the work of Martin Hairer, who has now been awarded the richest prize in academia, reports the Guardian . Hairer was named...

This Is Actually a Map —the Biggest One Ever
This Is Actually a Map
—the Biggest One Ever
new study
Jul 22, 2020 3:14 PM CDT

This Is Actually a Map —the Biggest One Ever

This view of the universe also looks incredible

(Newser) - Want to get away? Now you can see how far "away" really is. Drawing on 20 years of research, scientists have created a 3D map of the universe that spans 11 billion years and covers more than 2 million quasars and galaxies—while shedding light on a couple of...

For Nobel Prize in Physics, a 3-Way Triumph

The work revolves around discovery of an exoplanet, 'discoveries in physical cosmology'

(Newser) - Three scientists have won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for their contribution to the understanding of the evolution of the universe and "Earth's place in the cosmos," a day after two Americans and one British scientist were bestowed the award for physiology or medicine . One half...

Black Holes Aren't All What We Thought
Black Holes Contain
a Mysterious Force
new study
Oct 5, 2019 1:30 PM CDT

Black Holes Contain a Mysterious Force

Some of them are helping the universe expand, study says

(Newser) - Black holes are dense singularities that suck up matter, right? Not always, according to two scientists who say some black holes are likely objects filled with a mysterious energy. In Astrophysical Journal , Kevin Croker and Joel Weiner argue that the expansion of the universe—which is accelerating, apparently due to...

Planet 9 Might Be a Black Hole
Planet 9 Might Not Be a Planet
new study
Sep 28, 2019 11:30 AM CDT

Planet 9 Might Not Be a Planet

Two young PhDs offer a bold new theory

(Newser) - "What if Planet 9 is a Primordial Black Hole?" That's the title of a new paper about the mysterious gravity source at the edge of our solar system, Business Insider reports. Posted Tuesday on arXiv , the paper suggests that the still-unseen source—which some call Planet Nine, or...

Unusual Stephen Hawking Memorabilia Up for Auction

His wheelchair can be yours

(Newser) - Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration, and a global celebrity. His unique status is reflected in an upcoming auction of some of the late physicist's possessions: It includes complex scientific papers, one of the world's most iconic wheelchairs, and a script from one of...

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