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Any Single Galaxy Reveals the Composition of an Entire Universe

January 20, 2022

In computer simulations of possible universes, researchers have discovered that a neural network can infer the amount of matter in a whole universe by studying just one of its galaxies.

Symmetries Reveal Clues About the Holographic Universe

January 12, 2022

Physicists have been busy exploring how our universe might emerge like a hologram out of a two-dimensional sheet. New clues have come from the symmetries found on an infinitely distant “celestial sphere.”

Euler’s 243-Year-Old ‘Impossible’ Puzzle Gets a Quantum Solution

January 10, 2022

A surprising new solution to Leonhard Euler’s famous “36 officers puzzle” offers a novel way of encoding quantum information.

An Injection of Chaos Solves Decades-Old Fluid Mystery

January 4, 2022

In the 1960s, drillers noticed that certain fluids would firm up if they flowed too fast. Researchers have finally explained why.

The Year in Physics

December 22, 2021

Puzzling particles, quirky (and controversial) quantum computers, and one of the most ambitious science experiments in history marked the year’s milestones.

Detailed Footage Finally Reveals What Triggers Lightning

December 20, 2021

Scientists have never been able to adequately explain where lightning comes from. Now the first detailed observations of its emergence inside a cloud have exposed how electric fields grow strong enough to let bolts fly.

Cosmologists Parry Attacks on the Vaunted Cosmological Principle

December 13, 2021

A central pillar of cosmology — the universe is the same everywhere and in all directions — is surviving a storm of possible evidence against it.

Gravitational Waves Should Permanently Distort Space-Time

December 8, 2021

The “gravitational memory effect” predicts that a passing gravitational wave should forever alter the structure of space-time. Physicists have linked the phenomenon to fundamental cosmic symmetries and a potential solution to the black hole information paradox.

The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.

December 3, 2021

The James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it. But first, a lot of things have to work just right.

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