Explainers

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Space-Time: The Biggest Problem in Physics

What is the deepest level of reality? In this Quanta explainer, Vijay Balasubramanian, a physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, takes us on a journey through space-time to investigate what it’s made of, why it’s failing us, and where physics can go next.


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Janet Conrad: On a Hunt for a Ghost of a Particle

December 8, 2016

Janet Conrad explains how sterile neutrinos might help physicists move past the Standard Model.

Erik Verlinde: The Case Against Dark Matter

November 29, 2016

Erik Verlinde describes how emergent gravity and dark energy can explain away dark matter.

Cynthia Dwork: How to Force Our Machines to Play Fair

November 23, 2016

Cynthia Dwork explains how to conduct a survey that asks people if they do embarrassing — or even illicit — things.

Michael Costanzo: Giant Genetic Map Reveals Life’s Hidden Links

October 25, 2016

Michael Costanzo, a biologist at the University of Toronto and a lead author on the new study, explains why it’s important to understand how genes interact.

Helen Quinn: A Wormhole Between Physics and Education

October 18, 2016

Helen Quinn has blazed a singular path from the early days of the Standard Model to the latest overhaul of science education in the United States.

Pencils Down: Mike Zitolo of School of the Future

October 11, 2016

Michael Zitolo is turning the way science is approached in the classroom upside down.

Pencils Down: Soni Midha of East Side Community High School

October 11, 2016

In school or in life, Soni Midha wants her math students to be able to prove why something is correct.

Pencils Down: Channa Comer of Baychester Middle School

October 11, 2016

Channa Comer teaches 6th-grade science. She focuses on engagement so kids will want to keep learning.