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Fundamental Forces
For years and over three separate experiments, "lepton universality" appeared to violate the Standard Model. LHCb at last proved otherwise.
Every proton contains three quarks: two up and one down. But charm quarks, heavier than the proton itself, have been found inside. How?
We'll never be able to extract any information about what's inside a black hole's event horizon. Here's why a singularity is inevitable.
There's the textbook answer, then there's the real answer.
Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?
From the tiniest subatomic scales to the grandest cosmic ones, solving any of these puzzles could unlock our understanding of the Universe.
No matter how good our measurement devices get, certain quantum properties always possess an inherent uncertainty. Can we figure out why?
At a fundamental level, only a few particles and forces govern all of reality. How do their combinations create human consciousness?
Magnetic monopoles began as a mere theoretical curiosity. They might hold the key to understanding so much more.
Scientists have found three new examples of a very exotic form of matter made of quarks. They can yield insights into the early Universe.
Giant particle accelerators aren't a waste of money. They are essential for understanding the Universe.
Drop sodium in water, and a violent, even explosive reaction will occur. But quantum physics is needed to explain why.
For some reason, the charges on the electron and proton are equal and opposite, and their numbers are equal, too. But why?
Fermilab's TeVatron just released the best mass measurement of the W-boson, ever. Here's what doesn't add up.
To study the origin of the Universe, we could build a constellation of six expensive spacecraft — or we could just use the Moon.
The Universe has asymmetries, but that's a good thing. Imperfections are essential for the existence of stars and even life itself.
At a fundamental level, nobody knows whether gravity is truly quantum in nature. A novel experiment strongly hints that it is.
New technology is helping physicists move forward in the search for the Theory of Everything.
No matter how hard we try, we will never reach a final theory that unifies scientific knowledge. The very nature of science doesn't allow it.
Why are the rest masses of fundamental particles related like this? When it comes to the nature of matter in the Universe, the Standard Model describes the known elementary particles perfectly […]
Once merely a theoretical curiosity, they might be the key to understanding so much more. Out of all of the known particles — both fundamental and composite — there are a whole slew of properties […]
Going to smaller and smaller distance scales reveals more fundamental views of nature, which means if we can understand and describe the smallest scales, we can build our way to […]
The mismatch between theory and experiment is anything but certain. The most exciting moments in a scientist’s life occur when you get a result that defies your expectations. Whether you’re a […]
Is a proton fundamentally more ‘quarky’ or ‘gluey’ in nature? One question that every curious child winds up asking at some point or other is, “what are things made of?” Every […]
Using atoms to probe the Universe reveals the complete Standard Model. If you wanted to uncover the secrets of the Universe for yourself, all you’d have to do is interrogate […]
If you think it’s just three quarks held together by gluons, you’ll want to read this. At a fundamental level, the Universe is composed of indivisible particles. From macroscopic scales down […]
Of all the injustices in Nobel Prize history, her 1957 Nobel snub is the most egregious. One of the biggest scientific revolutions of the 20th century was the discovery of […]
With three colors and three anticolors, there aren’t actually nine gluons; only eight. One of the most puzzling features of the Universe is the strong nuclear force. Inside every proton or […]
Why does dark matter, if it doesn’t dissipate energy, become gravitationally bound at all? One of the most puzzling components of the Universe has to be dark matter. Although we have […]
If we waited long enough, would even protons themselves decay? There are certain things in the Universe that, if you leave them alone for long enough, they’ll eventually decay away. […]