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Fundamental Forces
"Color" with respect to the strong force is just an analogy. Here's how to understand it without colors, group theory, or any advanced math.
We have two descriptions of the Universe that work perfectly well: general relativity and quantum physics. Too bad they don't work together.
The combination of charge conjugation, parity, and time-reversal symmetry is known as CPT. And it must never be broken. Ever.
Before we formed stars, atoms, elements, or even got rid of our antimatter, the Big Bang made neutrinos. And we finally found them.
In general relativity, matter and energy curve spacetime, which we experience as gravity. Why can't there be an "antigravity" force?
We first measured G, the gravitational constant, back in the 18th century. As the least well-known fundamental constant, can it be improved?
The whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts; that's a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.
Realizing that matter and energy are quantized is important, but quantum particles aren't the full story; quantum fields are needed, too.
No matter what it is that we discover about reality, the fact that reality itself can be understood remains the most amazing fact of all.
Can the top quark, the shortest-lived particle of all, bind with anything else? Yes it can! New results at the LHC demonstrate toponium exists.
11mins
"We are all in orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy. How big is this collection of stars? Somewhere between 200 and 400 billion suns in the Milky Way galaxy, about 100,000 light years across."
It took nearly 400,000 years, after the Big Bang, to first form neutral atoms. The imprints from that early time can now be seen everywhere.
There are limits to where physics makes meaningful predictions: beyond the Planck length, time, or energy. Here's why we can't go further.
There are some 26 fundamental constants in nature, and their values enable our Universe to exist as it does. But where do they come from?
From the tiniest subatomic scales to the grandest cosmic structures of all, everything that exists depends on two things: charge and mass.
When we divide matter into its fundamental, indivisible components, are those particles truly point-like, or is there a finite minimum size?
Despite no experimental evidence showing that gravitons exist, they remain a respectable concept in the world of professional physicists.
Matt Strassler's journey into fundamental physics culminates in a brilliant explanation of the Higgs field. Enjoy this exclusive interview.
We have very specific predictions for how particles ought to decay. When we look at B-mesons all together, something vital doesn't add up.
One of the fundamental constants of nature, the fine-structure constant, determines so much about our Universe. Here's why it matters.
All the stars, stellar corpses, planets, and other large, massive objects take on spherical or spheroidal shapes. Why is that universal?
CERN scientists achieved record-breaking accuracy in mapping the mass of a key particle in the Standard Model.
Most fundamental constants could be a little larger or smaller, and our Universe would still be similar. But not the mass of the electron.
No matter how good our measurement devices get, certain quantum properties always possess an inherent uncertainty. Can we figure out why?
3mins
What drives the universe's expansion? Chemist Lee Cronin explains the theories linking time, space, and selection, providing a fresh perspective on this cosmic mystery.
For centuries, Newton's inverse square law of gravity worked beautifully, but no one knew why. Here's how Einstein finally explained it.
It's 2024, and we still only know of the fundamental particles of the Standard Model: nothing more. But these 8 unanswered questions remain.
With new W-boson, top quark, and Higgs boson measurements, the LHC contradicts earlier Fermilab results. The Standard Model still holds.
At a fundamental level, only a few particles and forces govern all of reality. How do their combinations create human consciousness?
If the electromagnetic and weak forces unify to make the electroweak force, maybe, at higher energies, something even grander happens?