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A Defense of the Reality of Time
Time isn’t just another dimension, argues Tim Maudlin. To make his case, he’s had to reinvent geometry.
Exoplanet Puzzle Cracked by Jazz Musicians
A system of seven Earth-like exoplanets appeared to be unstable. Now their orbits have been rewritten in the music of the spheres.
The Quantum Thermodynamics Revolution
As physicists extend the 19th-century laws of thermodynamics to the quantum realm, they’re rewriting the relationships among energy, entropy and information.
A Cosmic-Ray Hunter Takes to the Sky
Angela Olinto’s new balloon experiment takes her one step closer to the unknown source of the most energetic particles in the universe.
A Cosmic Burst Repeats, Deepening a Mystery
After a surprise discovery, astrophysicists are racing to understand superenergetic flashes of radio waves that sometimes beep out from distant galaxies.
Physicists Attack Math’s $1,000,000 Question
Physicists are attempting to map the distribution of the prime numbers to the energy levels of a particular quantum system.
Quantum Questions Inspire New Math
In order to fully understand the quantum world, we may have to develop a new realm of mathematics.
A New Blast May Have Forged Cosmic Gold
For decades, researchers believed that violent supernovas forged gold and other heavy elements. But many now argue for a different cosmic quarry.
19 Women Leading Math and Physics
Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.