Physics

The 19th-century discovery of numbers called “quaternions” gave mathematicians a way to describe rotations in space, forever changing physics and math.

Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner.

Rosaly Lopes has visited dozens of active volcanoes on Earth and discovered even more elsewhere in the solar system. Her work is helping to establish whether volcanoes on distant moons could create conditions friendly to life.

Computer simulations and custom-built quantum analogues are changing what it means to search for the laws of nature.

Quanta’s In Theory video series returns with an exploration of a mysterious mathematical pattern found throughout nature.

String theorists elide a paradox about black holes by extinguishing the walls of fire feared to surround them.

Studying the structure of existing friendships in your community can help you forge the best connections when forming a new circle of friends.

A controversial new paper argues that universes with dark energy profiles like ours do not exist in the “landscape” of universes allowed by string theory.

Black holes occasionally reveal themselves when passing stars get ripped apart by their gravity. These tidal disruption events have created a new way for astronomers to map the hidden cosmos.