The Mystery of How Quasicrystals Form
New studies of the “platypus of materials” help explain how their atoms arrange themselves into orderly, but nonrepeating, patterns.
5 More Physics Equations Everyone Should Know
These five equations should be part of your mental toolkit. They might even improve your bowling score.
How Energy-Generating Sidewalks Work
These innovative pavings convert the kinetic energy of footsteps into clean electric energy.
This Giant Subterranean Neutrino Detector Is Taking On the Mysteries of Physics
Located in China, Juno is a 17-country collaboration that will try to detect neutrinos and antineutrinos to learn more about their mass.
The Quest to Find the Longest-Running Simple Computer Program
The Busy Beaver Challenge, a notoriously difficult question in theoretical computer science, is now producing answers so large they're impossible to write out using standard mathematical notation.
The New Math of Quantum Cryptography
In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how.
These Newly Discovered Cells Breathe in Two Ways
In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.
What Is the Magnetic Constant and Why Does It Matter?
This persnickety number determines the strength of magnetic fields. It figures in everything from motors and generators to audio speakers. Oh, and without it we’d live in eternal darkness.
What Is the Electric Constant and Why Should You Care?
The force between electrical charges is kind of a big deal—without it, the universe would be a primordial soup and you would not exist. That force is determined by the electric constant.
AI Is Designing Bizarre New Physics Experiments That Actually Work
Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.”