All Stories by Emily Conover
- Physics
A stop-motion experiment reveals supercooled water’s dual nature
Scientists found signs that water cooled well below freezing consists of two different arrangements of molecules.
- Physics
Record-breaking gravitational waves reveal that midsize black holes do exist
The biggest merger of two black holes so far raises questions about how the pair of objects came to be.
- Quantum Physics
A measurement of positronium’s energy levels confounds scientists
A gap in the energy levels of positronium seems to be substantially larger than predicted, and physicists don’t know why.
- Physics
Four types of flames join forces to make this eerie ‘blue whirl’
Pinning down the structure of the “amazingly complex” blaze could help scientists control it.
- Cosmology
Scientists can’t agree on how clumpy the universe is
A measurement of 21 million galaxies finds a level of clumpiness that disagrees with estimates based on the oldest light in the universe.
- Physics
A new experiment hints at how hot water can freeze faster than cold
A study of tiny glass beads suggests that the Mpemba effect is real.
- Astronomy
50 years ago, Mauna Kea opened for astronomy. Controversy continues
Current plans to build a new telescope on the volcano sparked the latest conflict.
- Cosmology
‘The End of Everything’ explores the ways the universe could perish
As Katie Mack explains in The End of Everything, the universe’s demise could be disastrously violent or deadly calm.
- Physics
The physics of solar flares could help scientists predict imminent outbursts
Physicists aim to improve space weather predictions by studying the physical processes that spark a solar flare.
- Physics
A black hole circling a wormhole would emit weird gravitational waves
A new calculation reveals the strange gravitational waves LIGO and Virgo could see if a black hole were falling into a hypothetical tunnel in spacetime.
- Cosmology
Despite a new measurement, the debate over the universe’s expansion rages on
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope finds the universe is expanding more slowly than supernova observations suggest.
- Physics
The universe might have a fundamental clock that ticks very, very fast
A theoretical study could help physicists searching for a theory of quantum gravity.
