How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles
Sep 3, 2024 · This notion lies at the heart of what the late British physicist Peter Higgs, namesake of the Higgs field, and his competitors pointed out in the 1960s: that one field can stiffen other fields, thereby permitting their ripples to vibrate in place with a resonant frequency, and thus giving their particles mass.
Science and Math News | Quanta Magazine
Illuminating mathematics, physics, biology and computer science research through public service journalism.
What Is Entropy? A Measure of Just How Little We Really Know.
Dec 13, 2024 · Exactly 200 years ago, a French engineer introduced an idea that would quantify the universe’s inexorable slide into decay. But entropy, as it’s currently understood, is less a fact about the world than a reflection of our growing ignorance. Embracing that truth is leading to a rethink of everything from rational decision-making to the limits of machines.
What Is Quantum Teleportation? - Quanta Magazine
Mar 14, 2024 · Teleporting people through space is still science fiction. But quantum teleportation is dramatically different and entirely real. In this episode, Janna Levin interviews the theoretical physicist John Preskill about teleporting bits and the promise of quantum technology.
New Clues for What Will Happen When the Sun Eats the Earth
Dec 20, 2023 · Earth’s fate rests on a coin flip. In 5 billion years, our sun will balloon into a red giant star. Whether Earth survives is an “open question,” said Melinda Soares-Furtado, an astrophysicist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.Sure, Earth …
Physics News, Interviews and Columns | Quanta Magazine
Dec 19, 2024 · Quanta’s award-winning coverage of astrophysics, cosmology, quantum physics, geophysics, condensed matter, statistical mechanics, chaos theory, climate science and more.
Mathematicians Uncover a New Way to Count Prime Numbers
Dec 11, 2024 · This last constraint has been particularly useful, guiding centuries of mathematical progress. In 1640, Pierre de Fermat conjectured that there are infinitely many primes that can be formulated by squaring two whole numbers and adding them together.
Mathematical Thinking Isn’t What You Think It Is
Nov 18, 2024 · In 2022, he published his answer — a book titled Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity, which he hopes will “explain what’s going on inside the brain of someone who’s doing math,” he said.But more than that, he added, “this is a book about the inner experience of humans.” It was translated from the original French into English earlier this year.
How Is Cell Death Essential to Life? | Quanta Magazine
Dec 5, 2024 · Cells in our bodies are constantly dying — and these countless tiny deaths are essential to human health and multicellular life itself. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with cellular biologist Shai Shaham about what makes a cell “alive” and the latest developments in understanding how and why cells die.
A New Map of All the Particles and Forces | Quanta Magazine
Oct 22, 2020 · This approach doesn’t offer insight into the relationships between the particles. The force-carrying particles (namely the photon, which conveys the electromagnetic force; the W and Z bosons, which convey the weak force; and the gluons, which convey the strong force) are put on the same footing as the matter particles those forces act …