Physics

Nuclear power of the future is going to need fuel. That has governments, energy companies and nuclear engineers clamoring to get their hands on HALEU: high-assay low-enriched uranium. HALEU (pronounced …

4 questions about the uranium needed for next-generation nuclear reactors Read More

Something strange is happening at Earth’s center. Decades of earthquake data show that Earth’s inner core has been rotating slower than its mantle and surface since around 2010, researchers report …

Something weird is happening to Earth’s inner core Read More

Black holes can’t be formed from pure light. Quantum physics would curb their creation under any foreseeable conditions, a new study suggests. Typically, matter is responsible for black holes. They’re …

A black hole made from pure light is impossible, thanks to quantum physics  Read More

To expand the periodic table, it might be time to go titanium.  A new study lays the groundwork to expand the periodic table with a search for element 120, to …

A new element on the periodic table might be within reach  Read More

Brief blasts of light might make some materials into fleeting superconductors. A new study strengthens the case for this controversial claim, first made more than a decade ago. But while …

Can light spark superconductivity? A new study reignites debate Read More

The neutrino “fog” is beginning to materialize. Lightweight subatomic particles called neutrinos have begun elbowing their way into the data of experiments not designed to spot them. Two experiments, built …

Dark matter experiments get a first peek at the ‘neutrino fog’  Read More

Any way you slice it, a paper cut is painful.  Magazines, letters and books harbor a devious potential for minor self-induced agony. But other types of paper — like thin …

Paper cut physics pinpoints the most hazardous types of paper Read More

The rotation of the Earth has been measured many times – but never like this. At first, scientists used entangled quantum particles called photons to detect the speed at which …

Physicists measured the rotation of the Earth using quantum entanglement Read More

Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it …

Zigzag walls can help buildings beat heat Read More