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Quantum superposition or quantum entanglement concept illustration. Superposition is the ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states at the same time until it is measured. Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently.

Rethinking reality: Is the entire universe a single quantum object?

5 July 2023

In the face of new evidence, physicists are starting to view the cosmos not as made up of disparate layers, but as a quantum whole linked by entanglement

2J1JM3H Patterns in a pond. Cropped shot of a finger touching water to form ripples.

Why virtual particles don’t exist but do explain reality – for now

10 May 2023

So-called virtual particles aren't particles at all. Some argue that they are merely mathematical figments, and that we need to find a better way to understand particle interactions

Snowflake on a dark blue background; Shutterstock ID 1006197640; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Why symmetry is so fundamental to our understanding of the universe

10 May 2023

The symmetries of matter are deeper and stranger than they first appear, and they have driven many of the biggest breakthroughs in particle physics. But have we exhausted their usefulness?

The quantum world: A concise guide to the particles that make reality

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

AWAKE helicon plasma cell R&D lab Date: 14-10-2019 Campagne de tests sur la cellule plasma helicon prototype d?AWAKE, en collaboration avec IPP-Greifswald, University of Wisconsin et EPFL-SPC Photograph: Ordan, Julien Marius Keywords: Experiments and Collaborations; AWAKE; Plasma; EPFL; helicon; IPP-Greifswald; University of Wisconsin Note: General Photo Conditions of Use ? 2019-2023 CERN Accessing copyrighted material

The CERN particle accelerator that will breathe new life into physics

21 February 2023

A new breed of collider, called plasma wakefield accelerators, can study fundamental physics in new ways by doing something the Large Hadron Collider cannot do: colliding electrons

Ten years after the Higgs discovery, what now for particle physics?

27 June 2022

After the Higgs, the Large Hadron Collider was expected to find other theorised particles. It didn’t, but particle physicists are optimistic about a new era of experiment-led exploration

Can a new collider reveal the last secrets of the Higgs boson?

30 June 2021

The most famous subatomic particle has revealed nothing we didn’t expect – so far. Now physicists want to build a “Higgs factory” to better interrogate it for signs of new physics

The antimatter factory about to solve the universe's greatest mystery

26 February 2020

Why is there something rather than nothing? We’re finally making enough antimatter to extract an answer – and it might reveal the dark side of the universe too

CERN boss: Big physics may be in a funk, but we need it more than ever

20 November 2019

The particle physics discoveries have dried up but in politically uncertain times CERN's cooperative model is an example to the world, says its chief Fabiola Gianotti

What the quark?! Why matter's most basic building blocks may not exist

2 October 2019

Quarks are the subatomic particles thought to make up nearly everything we can see. Now it turns out they could be an illusion created by quantum trickery