‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work
What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.
Solar Sails and Comet Tails: How Sunlight Pushes Stuff Around
It seems crazy, but light actually exerts a physical force on objects. It could power a new generation of spacecraft for deep-space missions.
New Evidence Shows Heat Destroys Quantum Entanglement
While devising a new quantum algorithm, four researchers accidentally established a hard limit on the “spooky” phenomenon.
Unlock the Secret of a Gravity-Defying Parkour Stunt—With Physics!
Yes, you really can climb a building by jumping back and forth between two opposing walls. Thank you, Isaac Newton.
The Problem With Spinning Spacecraft
To send astronauts on long-term space missions, it’ll take rotating habitats to produce artificial gravity. But that’s trickier than you might think.
The Fibonacci Numbers Hiding in Strange Spaces
Recent explorations of unique geometric worlds reveal perplexing patterns, including the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio.
A Father-Son Team Solves a Geometry Problem With Infinite Folds
The result could help researchers answer a larger question about flattening objects from the fourth dimension to the third dimension.
How to Make a Microphone … From a Face Mask
The results won’t be high fidelity, but you can definitely turn sound into electric signals using an N95 and some physics knowledge.
A Puzzling Quantum Scenario Appears to Violate a Law of Physics
By resolving a paradox about light in a box, researchers hope to clarify the concept of energy in quantum theory.
How the Physics of Resonance Shapes Reality
The same phenomenon by which an opera singer can shatter a wineglass also underlies the very existence of subatomic particles.