Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Tachyons are hypothetical particles that travel at speeds greater than the speed of light. These superluminal particles are the “enfant terrible” of modern physics. Until recently, they were generally considered as entities that did not fit into special relativity. However, an article recently published in Physical assessment D by physicists from … Read more
The Higgs boson (blue) can be created by the interaction of gluons (yellow) during proton collisions. Protons consist of two up quarks (red) and one down quark (purple), so strongly bound by gluons that in the sea of virtual particles (gray) heavier quarks and antiquarks, for example beautiful quarks, can appear, whose presence also influences … Read more
Scientists have blown up some atoms like balloons to create an extreme version of an ‘impossible’ state of matter. By bombarding rubidium atoms with lasers, physicists have forced them into an airy Rydberg state. This experiment resulted in an exotic state of matter known as a time crystal. According to the team, this opens up … Read more
Quantum transport simulation of CAR in an approximate QAHI thin film. a, Schematic of the transport simulation setup with a magnetic TI (MTI) thin film in the QAHI state. b, The disorder-averaged electron-to-hole conversion probability. c, The components of local current densities transported by electrons and holes, as well as at the top and bottom, … Read more
A team of physicists have created what they claim is the most difficult maze ever created, using a chess pattern to create its structure. To the untrained eye, the maze looks like the most complicated snowflake. But for the puzzle enthusiasts among us, it probably looks like a challenge. The maze is constructed from a … Read more
Michigan State University combined terahertz laser light, shown as a red wavy arrow, with a scanning tunneling microscope, or STM, tip — the dark pyramid shape that exchanges a red electron with a sample shown with a blue surface. Credit: Eve Ammerman One of the challenges of cramming smarter, more powerful electronics into ever-shrinking devices … Read more
Laser light passing through the transparent crystal and exciting the thorium core. Credit: James Terhune, Hudson Group, UCLA For nearly 50 years, physicists have dreamed of unlocking the secrets of increasing the energy state of the nucleus of an atom using a laser. This achievement would make it possible to replace today’s atomic clocks with … Read more
Do you feel dizzy? (Photo: University of Bristol) Who doesn’t love a good puzzle? Well, probably everyone who tries this one, dubbed by the scientists behind it as the “world’s most astonishingly difficult” maze. The maze, an enchanting pattern of curves and points, is inspired by a knight moving across a chessboard – and by … Read more
Daedalus could have learned a thing or two from a team of physicists in the UK and Switzerland. They drew on principles of fractal geometry and strategic chess to create what they call the most difficult maze ever. Led by physicist Felix Flicker of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, the group has … Read more
Major recent developments, driven by support from CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, are providing deeper insights into the fundamental nature of our universe. The ongoing experiments at CERN are aimed at exploring the smallest building blocks of matter and the forces that govern them. By revealing the dynamics of these forces, scientists can … Read more