All Stories by Emily Conover
- Particle Physics
The neutrino’s quantum fuzziness is beginning to come into focus
An experiment studying the neutrino’s “wave packet” sets a limit on the uncertainty of the subatomic particle’s position.
- Cosmology
The universe may have a complex geometry — like a doughnut
Physicists haven’t yet ruled out the possibility that the universe has a complicated topology in which space loops back around on itself.
- Physics
Newfound ‘altermagnets’ shatter the magnetic status quo
The newly discovered type of magnetic material could improve existing tech, including making better and faster hard drives.
- Chemistry
A new method of making diamonds doesn’t require extreme pressure
Lab-grown diamonds can form at atmospheric pressure in a liquid of gallium, iron, nickel and silicon.
- Physics
Separating science fact from fiction in Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’
Real science underpins much of the action in the show — along with a hefty dose of artistic liberty.
- Math
Scientists find a naturally occurring molecule that forms a fractal
The protein assembles itself into a repeating triangle pattern. The fractal seems to be an accident of evolution, scientists say.
- Space
50 years ago, scientists found a lunar rock nearly as old as the moon
Studies of such rocks continue to reveal secrets about the moon’s history.
- Cosmology
The largest 3-D map of the universe reveals hints of dark energy’s secrets
A year of data from DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, suggests that, contrary to expectations, dark energy might vary over time.
- Physics
Physicists take a major step toward making a nuclear clock
By tweaking the energy of a thorium nucleus with a laser, scientists demonstrated a key step to building clocks based on the physics of atomic nuclei.
- Particle Physics
Forests might serve as enormous neutrino detectors
Trees could act as antennas that pick up radio waves of ultra-high energy neutrinos interactions, one physicist proposes.
- Physics
‘Countdown’ takes stock of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
Physicists grapple with their role as stewards of the United States’ aging nuclear weapons in the new book by Sarah Scoles.
- Physics
Here’s how scientists reached nuclear fusion ‘ignition’ for the first time
The first fusion experiment to produce an energy excess required meticulous planning and also revealed a long-predicted heating phenomenon.
