Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 16, 2023

Elusive Planet Nine could be an alternative form of gravity masquerading as a planet, study claims

The elusive Planet Nine, which is theorized to be lurking somewhere in the outer reaches of the solar system, may not be a planet after all, a new study suggests. Instead, what we assumed to be a massive object could be evidence that gravity doesn't work like we thought it...

Jun 10, 2013

'Dark Matter' of Life: Mysterious Bacteria Captured

The genome of mysterious bacteria that lurk in hospital drains has been sequenced. Low levels of the bacteria, known only as candidate phylum TM6, have been found in water systems around the world, yet because they could not be cultured in the lab, almost nothing was known about them. The...

Jun 10, 2013

New Kind of Dark Matter Could Form 'Dark Atoms'

The mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe could be composed, in part, of invisible and nearly intangible counterparts of atoms, protons and electrons, researchers say. Dark matter is an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the universe. Scientists...

Oct 30, 2013

Dark Matter Eludes Scientists in 1st Results from Super-Sensitive Detector

A new experiment buried deep underground has proven itself to be the most sensitive dark-matter detector ever built. But the first results from the high-tech instrument have turned up empty in its search for elusive dark matter, scientists announced today (Oct. 30). Housed 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) underground in the...

Dec 9, 2013

Elusive Dark Matter May Have Already Been Found

The mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe may already have been detected with superconducting circuits, researchers say. Dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos — an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the...

Jan 22, 2014

Dark Matter Mystery Could Be Solved in Next 10 Years

Updated at 8:54 a.m. ET. Dark matter — the mysterious stuff that is thought to make up most of the matter in the known universe — may reveal itself during the next decade, one prominent scientist predicts. When the moment comes, it will result in a pivotal paradigm shift in...

Jan 30, 2014

To Date, Particle Supercollider Detects No Evidence Of Dark Matter

(ISNS) -- Dark matter is currently one of the greatest mysteries in the universe. Now, scientists reveal that the most powerful particle collider in the world has unearthed no signs of the hypothesized dark matter, placing new limits on what it could be. Dark matter is hypothesized to be an...

Feb 14, 2014

Dark-Matter Detector to Begin Operations Soon in China

China is entering the race to detect mysterious dark matter in a big way, with a huge facility in Sichuan province set to begin collecting data in the coming weeks. The $8 million PandaX (Particle and Astrophysical Xenon) experiment — which lies 7,874 feet (2,400 meters) underground, inside a mountain...

Apr 19, 2014

Searching High and Low for Dark Matter (Q+A)

Bruce Lieberman is a freelance science writer based in San Diego, Calif. He frequently writes about astrophysics for The Kavli Foundation and has also written for Air & Space Magazine, Sky & Telescope, Scientific American and other media outlets. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights...

May 2, 2014

Exotic Particles May Hold Clues to Mysterious Dark Matter

Dark matter makes up about 80 percent of the universe's mass, but scientists still don't know what the strange stuff is. Scientists have proposed a number of particles as candidate components of mysterious dark matter, which is so named because it apparently neither emits nor absorbs light. The hunt is...

May 22, 2014

Report: New Physics Should Hunt Dark Matter & Energy

The U.S. particle physics community should build atom smashers and giant telescopes to further discoveries related to the Higgs boson particle, learn more about the mass of ghostly, chargeless particles known as neutrinos, search for dark matter and dark energy and hunt for new particles, according to a new report....

Sep 19, 2014

Hints of Mysterious Dark Matter Revealed by Cosmic Rays

A particle detector floating 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth has analyzed 41 billion cosmic-ray particles, and the data have revealed new insights into the mysterious and invisible dark matter that physicists believe makes up 27 percent of the universe. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) detector aboard the International Space...

Nov 13, 2014

Not Particles, But Chunks: Dark Matter Gets Stranger

Dark matter may not be made of tiny particles as most scientists believe, but instead may consist of large chunks of strange matter anywhere from the size of an apple to an asteroid, researchers said. Currently one of the greatest mysteries in science, the invisible substance called dark matter is...

Dec 1, 2014

Invisible Dark Matter May Show Up in GPS Signals

GPS satellites are crucial for navigation, but now researchers think this technology could be used for an unexpected purpose: finding traces of enigmatic dark matter that is thought to lurk throughout the universe. Physicists estimate there is nearly six times as much dark matter in the universe as there is...

Apr 14, 2015

Dark Matter Illuminated in New High-Resolution Maps

BALTIMORE — In the universe, dark and light tend to cluster together, according to new maps that chart the location of dark matter over a large portion of the sky. The new maps show that in some places there are large amounts of dark matter, while in others it is...