All Stories by Emily Conover
- Physics
This heavy element has a football-shaped atomic nucleus
Three nobelium isotopes have oblong nuclei, and some sport a ‘bubble’ center.
- Physics
In her short life, mathematician Emmy Noether changed the face of physics
A century after she published a groundbreaking mathematical theory, Emmy Noether gets her due.
- Astronomy
The sun shrinks a teensy bit when it’s feeling active
The radius of the sun gets slightly smaller during periods of high solar activity, researchers say.
- Particle Physics
If real, dark fusion could help demystify this physics puzzle
Fusing dark matter particles might explain why galaxy cores have evenly distributed dark matter.
- Particle Physics
Mysterious neutrino surplus hints at the existence of new particles
Neutrinos show up in greater numbers than expected in an experiment, possibly bolstering the idea of a fourth type of the particle.
- Particle Physics
Dark matter particles elude scientists in the biggest search of its kind
The XENON1T experiment saw no signs of hypothetical dark matter particles called WIMPs.
- Astronomy
Maverick asteroid might be an immigrant from outside the solar system
A space rock’s backward orbit could be a hint of unusual origins.
- Particle Physics
The inside of a proton endures more pressure than anything else we’ve seen
For the first time, scientists used experimental data to estimate the pressure inside a proton.
- Physics
Despite a new measurement, the neutron’s lifetime is still puzzling
Two techniques for gauging the subatomic particle’s longevity disagree.
- Particle Physics
The proton’s weak side is just as feeble as physicists thought
Scientists make the most precise measurement yet of the proton’s weak charge and find it agrees with predictions.
- Astronomy
Gaia delivers a trove of data revealing secrets of the Milky Way
Astronomers are already using Gaia’s new information to estimate the galaxy’s mass, the diameter of exoplanets and more.
- Math
Real numbers don’t cut it in the real world, this physicist argues
Physicist Nicolas Gisin argues that real numbers don’t properly represent the natural world, which is a good thing for free will.
