Radiation exposure from “dark lightning” quantified
Over the last decade, scientists learnt that thunderstorms are capable of generating brief but powerful bursts of gamma-rays calledterrestrial gamma-ray…
Telling time with matter waves
Berkeley scientists say they have discovered a way to tell time by measuring matter waves, the oscillations of matter whose…
Are we living in a computer simulation? Physicists propose test to find out
In 2003, British philosopher Nick Bostrom (pictured) published a probabilistic analysis examining the possibility that we might all be living…
New experimental findings challenge theory of electromagnetism
A cornerstone of physics may require a rethink if the results from a series of new ion trap (pictured) experiments…
Brain, Universe, Internet governed by same fundamental laws, suggests supercomputer simulation
By performing supercomputer simulations of the Universe, researchers have shown that the causal network representing the large-scale structure of space…
Synthetic magnetism used to control light
The use of magnetic fields to control electrons is a founding principle of electronics and all the consumer electronic devices…
Experiment could reveal mechanism behind quantum entanglement
Physicists have devised an experiment that could reveal the precise workings of Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance.” The results,…
Ball lightning an ion discharge, contends Aussie scientist
No explanation of how ball lightning occurs has been universally accepted by science, but an Australian researcher thinks eye-witness accounts…
New uncertainty over uncertainty principle
One of the fundamental tenets of quantum mechanics, Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, is being challenged by University of Toronto researchers…
Flat lens focuses without distortion
Physicists at Harvard have created an ultrathin, flat lens that focuses light without imparting the distortions that occur with conventional…
Banking regulations could create financial chaos, say physicists
Imposing minimal capital levels for banks in an effort to stabilize the banking sector will not prevent insolvency and may…
New boson could be Higgs particle, say CERN boffins
CERN physicists say they have enough statistical evidence to claim discovery of a new fundamental particle – a boson that…
Atom shadow photographed using traditional microscopy
For the first time, Griffith University (Australia) scientists have managed to photograph the shadow of an atom using only visible…
“Cloaked” buildings could withstand earthquakes, say UK scientists
While much media attention has been paid to the development of an invisibility “cloak” that works with electromagnetic waves such…
Higgs boson: no news is God news
The Higgs boson, the elusive so-called “God particle” that gives other particles mass, is still proving to be elusive, with…
Fine structure constant may vary across universe
Electromagnetism, measured by the so-called fine-structure constant, is one of the four fundamental forces of nature and it underpins Einstein’s…
Unfashionably early neutrinos trigger faster-than-light brouhaha
The physics community is abuzz about a paper to be published on arxiv.org today that indicates neutrinos can travel faster…
Acoustic diode allows one-way sound transmission
Based on a simple assembly of granular crystals that transmit sound vibrations, Caltech researchers have created the first tunable acoustic…
Galactic spin theory neatly explains Charge Parity violation
Experimental observations of sub-atomic particles known as Kaons and B Mesons have revealed significant differences in how their matter and…
Experimental results hint at neutrino flavor change
By shooting a beam of neutrinos through a small slice of the Earth under Japan, physicists say they’ve caught the…
Antimatter bottled-up for 16 minutes
Antimatter remains an enigma, but researchers at CERN may soon be able to ascertain some of its key properties thanks…
Physicists explore negative entropy in computation
The notion that computers generate heat is familiar to everyone, but a group of physicists have discovered that, under certain…
Bicycle design: back to the drawing board
How a bicycle stays upright while moving has always been something of a mystery to science, with a vague cocktail…
Physics community buzzing over possible new particle
Experiments at Fermilab’s soon-to-be-mothballed Tevatron particle accelerator in the United States have produced collision outcomes that indicate the existence of…
Spin sensitivity of DNA surprises researchers
Weizmann Institute researchers investigating quantum interactions in biological molecules have shown that DNA is extremely sensitive to particle “spin.” Their…
LHC may produce time travelling particles
If the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) does produce the elusive Higgs boson, then Vanderbilt University physicists speculate that it will…
First demonstration of coherent control of a quantum multi-resonator architecture
Physicists at the University of California – Santa Barbara have put a new slant on the shell game by demonstrating…
Naturally quantum critical material identified
In what researchers are calling a “dream system,” an exotic new superconductor based on the element ytterbium appears to exist…
Satellite catches thunderstorm producing antimatter bursts
Astronomers using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in orbit above the Earth have detected beams of antimatter produced above terrestrial…