All Stories by Emily Conover
- Astronomy
Neutron stars may not be as squishy as some scientists thought
NASA’s NICER X-ray telescope finds that the most massive known neutron star has an unexpectedly large diameter.
- Particle Physics
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics
In the last century, physicists learned to split atomic nuclei and revealed a complex world of fundamental particles.
- Particle Physics
Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model
After two decades, a new measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly reinforces earlier hints that its value disagrees with standard physics.
- Physics
Uranium ‘snowflakes’ could set off thermonuclear explosions of dead stars
Uranium crystals that settle in the cores of white dwarfs could trigger nuclear chain reactions that blow the dead stars apart, a new study suggests.
- Astronomy
Here’s why humans chose particular groups of stars as constellations
Distances between stars, their brightnesses and patterns of human eye movement explain why particular sets of stars tend to be grouped together.
- Physics
Atomic clocks take a step toward redefining the second
Measurements of the clocks’ frequencies provide the most precise clock comparisons yet, with uncertainties less than a quadrillionth of a percent.
- Physics
Can room-temperature superconductors work without extreme pressure?
The next generation of materials that conduct electricity with no resistance could shrug off the need for high pressure and low temperatures.
- Physics
A tiny gold ball is the smallest object to have its gravity measured
A gold sphere with a mass of about 90 milligrams pulled on another sphere in accordance with Newton’s law of universal gravitation.
- Physics
Black hole visionaries push the boundaries of knowledge in a new film
‘Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know’ follows researchers with the Event Horizon Telescope and other physicists working to understand black holes.
- Particle Physics
Protons’ antimatter is even more lopsided than we thought
The SeaQuest experiment finds that down antiquarks within the proton are more prevalent than up antiquarks.
- Physics
Tiny, sunlight-powered aircraft could soar beyond airplanes’ reach
Microfliers levitate when hit with light, in conditions like those high in Earth’s atmosphere.
- Quantum Physics
‘Designer molecules’ could create tailor-made quantum devices
Scientists are making molecules suited to a variety of quantum tasks by building them up, atom by atom.
