24 May 2023
Researchers are building models of everything from black holes to the big bang in tanks of liquid. Now some claim these surprisingly simple models are showing us where our theories of space-time are wrong
10 May 2023
Making a wormhole that a human could theoretically travel through would require an upside-down universe and negative energy
10 May 2023
In the search for a theory that unites general relativity and quantum physics, many have tried to rethink space-time. But what if space-time emerges naturally, like a hologram?
5 April 2023
Get to grips with the deepest layer of reality we know of with our inventory of the subatomic realm, from known particles like quarks and the Higgs boson to hypotheticals including the fifth force and strings in 11 dimensions
7 September 2022
By leveraging a bizarre property of quantum mechanics called entanglement, quantum batteries could theoretically recharge in a flash. Now, progress is being made towards making them a reality.
11 August 2021
From time crystals to supersolids, we keep discovering extraordinary new kinds of matter – now the true challenge is being able to predict what we'll find next
23 March 2021
Physicists looking for something to do during lockdown turned to studying garden hoses, and have used their findings to explain how a rare feature of mammalian penises helps them maintain stiff erections
14 October 2020
We only ever experience three spatial dimensions, but quantum lab experiments suggest a whole new side to reality – weird particle apparitions included
8 April 2020
Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down
6 November 2019
Reflected light gets everywhere and even shady spots are full of images we can’t see – not least what’s happening around corners. But new technology is beginning to expose these hidden scenes
