Science

Quantum dialectics

When quantum mechanics posed a threat to the Marxist doctrine of materialism, communist physicists sought to reconcile the two

Jim Baggott

Tiny, entangled universes that form or fizzle out – a theory of the quantum multiverse

11 minutes

We are not empty

The concept of the atomic void is one of the most repeated mistakes in popular science. Molecules are packed with stuff

Mario Barbatti

There’s a striking link between quantum and astronomic scales. What could it mean?

5 minutes

Untangling entanglement

Why does the quantum world behave in that strange, spooky way? Here’s our simple, four-step explanation (no magic needed)

Huw Price & Ken Wharton

All possible worlds

Long a matter of philosophical speculation, the idea of multiple realities has been given new artistic licence by physics

Timothy Andersen

All is One

The ancient philosophy of monism and the physics of quantum entanglement agree: all that exists is one unified whole

Heinrich Päs

Why aren’t our everyday lives as ‘spooky’ as the quantum world?

7 minutes

The tangled tale of how physicists built a groundbreaking wormhole in a lab

17 minutes

Cogitating black holes

The Universe cannot always be understood through observation. Instead, physicists explore by devising thought experiments

Michael Dine

Imaginary numbers are real

These odd values were long dismissed as bookkeeping. Now physicists are proving that they describe the hidden shape of nature

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Quantum Wittgenstein

Metaphysical debates in quantum physics don’t get at ‘truth’ – they’re nothing but a form of ritual, activity and culture

Timothy Andersen

From ‘chandeliers’ to entangled qubits, here’s what happens inside a quantum computer

9 minutes

Mind-bending new quantum experiments are blurring past, present and future

10 minutes

Calculate but don’t shut up

The cliché has it that the Copenhagen interpretation demands adherence without deep enquiry. That does physics a disservice

Jim Baggott

The Standard Model might be the most successful theory in science. But what is it?

16 minutes

The unified Universe

Physics displays an uncanny alignment at its very deepest levels. Is a grand theory of everything finally within reach?

James Wells

Time is fundamental, space is emergent – why physicists are rethinking reality

9 minutes

Quantum music

Physics has long looked to harmony to explain the beauty of the Universe. But what if dissonance yields better insights?

Katie McCormick

‘Moving paintings’ evoke a quantum particle collision at the Large Hadron Collider

4 minutes

Life with purpose

Biologists balk at any talk of ‘goals’ or ‘intentions’ – but a bold new research agenda has put agency back on the table

Philip Ball

From chaos to free will

A crude understanding of physics sees determinism at work in the Universe. Luckily, molecular uncertainty ensures this isn’t so

George Ellis

Quantum entanglement is tough to dumb down, but this analogy can help detangle it

20 minutes