Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 26, 2021

Oddball 'neutral electron' possibly discovered in new state of matter

A previously unknown quantum particle — equivalent to a neutral electron — may have been found in a new state of matter. The chargeless oddball wouldn't be one of the fundamental building blocks of matter, however. Rather, it would be a quasiparticle that emerges from the collective behavior of a...

Feb 8, 2021

Superpowerful 'oscillon' particles could have dominated the infant universe, then vanished

A weird, super-powerful particle that's not truly a particle could have dominated the universe when it was just a second old, releasing a flood of ripples that permeated all of space-time. Called oscillons, they would have been so energetic their ripples could have unleashed so-called gravitational waves — those vibrations...

Feb 11, 2021

Particles zipping around Earth at near light-speed finally explained

In the swirl of a perfect solar storm, electrons can get trapped near Earth, where they can accelerate to nearly the speed of light. These electrons get their zip from surfing on waves of super-heated, charged gas called plasma that gets launched from the sun during solar storms. They accelerate...

Feb 16, 2021

Scientists find first evidence of rare Higgs boson decay

Scientists have found the first evidence for a rare type of Higgs boson decay. (Image credit: CERN)Scientists have spotted the first evidence of a rare Higgs boson decay, expanding our understanding of the strange quantum universe. In 2012, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to a breakthrough finding: the...

Mar 12, 2021

Monster antimatter particle slams into Antarctica

Editor's note: This story was corrected at 6:20 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 18 to reflect that Sheldon Glashow's first name is not Stephen. The most remote particle detector on Earth has detected the most energetic antimatter particle ever: a single ultralight particle that smacked into the Antarctic ice with...

Apr 7, 2021

A tiny, wobbling muon just shook particle physics to its core

The results from one of the most hotly-anticipated experiments in particle physics are in, and they could be about to fulfill every researcher's wildest dreams: They maybe, perhaps, could break physics as we know it. Evidence taken from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago appears to point to a...

Apr 13, 2021

After 48-year search, physicists discover ultra-rare 'triple glueball' particle

A never-before-seen particle has revealed itself in the hot guts of two particle colliders, confirming a half-century-old theory. Scientists predicted the existence of the particle, known as the odderon, in 1973, describing it as a rare, short-lived conjointment of three smaller particles known as gluons. Since then, researchers have suspected...

Jun 11, 2021

Electrons 'surf' across space to create the northern lights, new study finds

Physicists are super stoked to share definitive evidence that the aurora borealis — that colorful sky glow also known as the northern lights — is the result of gnarly electrons surfing across the cosmos on powerful party waves. The team's findings were published June 7 in the totally tubular science...

Jun 23, 2021

This 'charming' particle could have saved the universe

Scientists working at the world’s largest atom smasher have caught a bizarre subatomic particle in the act of changing from matter to antimatter. The discovery could help us understand how the universe was saved from total annihilation soon after it exploded into existence. Using data from the second run of...

Jun 29, 2021

Take a tour of the synchrotron, where electrons reach near light-speed

Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is incredibly useful. It enables us to transmit music wirelessly over large distances, cook food in the microwave and see the world in vivid detail. However, now more than ever, electromagnetic radiation is also crucial in studying the physical, environmental and biological phenomena that are leading to...

Jul 6, 2021

World's thinnest electronic device is 2 atoms thick

Scientists have developed the world’s thinnest piece of technology, a tiny device only two atoms thick that can be used to store electronic information. The device consists of two layers, one made up of boron and the other of nitrogen, arranged in a repeating hexagonal structure. By taking advantage of...

Aug 5, 2021

'Doubly charming' tetraquark is the longest-lived exotic-matter particle ever found

Scientists at the world's largest atom smasher have discovered the longest-lived exotic-matter particle ever observed, and it has twice the charm of anything discovered to date. Physicists have yet to delve into the enigmatic nature of this newfound particle — called a double-charm tetraquark — but it's a truly weird...

Sep 8, 2021

1st sign of elusive 'triangle singularity' shows particles swapping identities in mid-flight

Physicists sifting through old particle accelerator data have found evidence of a highly-elusive, never-before-seen process: a so-called triangle singularity. First envisioned by Russian physicist Lev Landau in the 1950s, a triangle singularity refers to a rare subatomic process where particles exchange identities before flying away from each other. In this...

Sep 14, 2021

1st 'atom tornado' created from swirling vortex of helium atoms

Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood. By sending a straight beam of helium atoms through a grating with teeny slits, scientists were able to use the weird rules of quantum mechanics...

Oct 12, 2021

Scientists capture image of bizarre 'electron ice' for the first time

Physicists have taken the first ever image of a Wigner crystal — a strange honeycomb-pattern material inside another material, made entirely out of electrons. Hungarian physicist Eugene Wigner first theorized this crystal in 1934, but it's taken more than eight decades for scientists to finally get a direct look at...