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Entropy
Known as the "past hypothesis" problem, the Universe's initially low entropy has long puzzled scientists. Now, cosmic inflation solves it.
Nothing lives forever, at least, not in the known Universe. But relativity allows us to get closer than ever: from a physics perspective.
A new framework suggests that bursts of neural chaos could be the fingerprints of a conscious mind at work.
Quantum entanglement links information between particles across space and time. So what happens when one of them falls into a black hole?
Many reactions emit energy, often in large amounts, but cosmic efficiency is another metric altogether. Here's how to maximize your output.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
The overlooked reason why "AI consciousness" isn't coming anytime soon.
Black holes encode information on their surfaces, but evaporate away into Hawking radiation. Is that information preserved, and if so, how?
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
The passage of time is something we all experience, as it takes us from one moment to the next. But could it all just be an illusion?
Our thermodynamic arrow of time explains why the entropy of any isolated system always increases. But it can't explain what we perceive.
The future belongs to complexity.
The expanding Universe, in many ways, is the ultimate out-of-equilibrium system. After enough time passes, will we eventually get there?
The most common element in the Universe, vital for forming new stars, is hydrogen. But there's a finite amount of it; what if we run out?
A recent study suggests that exposure to visual stimuli can diminish the effects of psychedelic drugs.
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
The second law of thermodynamics tells us that entropy always increases. But that doesn't mean it was zero at the start of the Big Bang.
The second law of thermodynamics is an inviolable law of reality. Here's what everyone should know about closed, open, and isolated systems.
The matter that creates black holes won't be what comes out when they evaporate. Will the black hole information paradox ever be solved?
When it comes to predicting the energy of empty space, the two leading theories disagree by a factor of 100 googol quintillion.
Probability, lacking solid theoretical foundations and burdened with paradoxes, was jokingly called the “theory of misfortune.”
Sun-like stars live for around 10 billion years, but our Universe is only 13.8 billion years old. So what's the maximum lifetime for a star?
How do physicists solve a problem like entropy?
Epigenetic entropy shows that you can’t fully understand cancer without mathematics.
The most common element in the Universe, vital for forming new stars, is hydrogen. But there's a finite amount of it; what if we run out?
The answer to this question is key to understanding why anything exists.
Ever since the start of the hot Big Bang, time ticks forward as the Universe expands. But could time ever run backward, instead?
Modern cosmology conjectures different possible fates for the Universe and thus for the end of time. Details depend on which model is right.
We take for granted that time is real. But what if it's only an illusion, and a relative illusion at that? Does time even exist?
The ten greatest ideas in science form the bedrock of modern biology, chemistry, and physics. Everyone should be familiar with them.