All Stories by Emily Conover
- Physics
Strange X-rays point to possible ‘dark’ matter
Scientists have been looking for “dark” matter. It’s supposed to make up most of the universe — but it’s also invisible. X-rays may now point to where some of this weird stuff is.
- Chemistry
Scientists claim to have turned hydrogen into a metal
Most people know hydrogen as a gas. But under high pressure, scientists now think they’ve converted it into a reflective metal. Not everyone is convinced.
- Chemistry
Here’s how hot water might freeze faster than cold
There’s a new explanation for how hot water freezes faster than cold water. But not everyone agrees it’s right, or that the effect can happen at all.
- Physics
Weird physics warps nearby star’s light
Scientists have observed a bizarre effect of quantum physics in light coming from a nearby neutron star.
- Physics
Math predicts weird materials; leads to 2016 physics Nobel
The 2016 Nobel Prize in physics will go to three researchers that have made discoveries about exotic states of matter.
- Space
Some white dwarf stars point to possible dark matter
Certain white-hot stars are cooling too fast for scientists to explain — unless they consider the presence of “axions.” These never-seen, but suspected particles could be shuttling away the extra energy from these cooling dwarf stars.
- Brain
Our eyes can see single specks of light
The human eye can detect a single photon. This discovery answers questions about how sensitive our eyes are. It hints at the possibility of using our eyes to study issues of quantum-scale physics.
- Physics
Falling through Earth might be a long and fruitless trip
A classic physics problem asks what would happen if you plunged through Earth’s center. A new study contends you could never make it to the other side.
- Physics
Why the knuckleball takes such a knucklehead path
They used to say it was how the seams interacted with the air. The new explanation is different. Scientists say its due to a ”drag crisis.”
- Animals
Snout goo may help sharks sense prey
Scientists may be one step closer to understanding how sharks sense their prey. Pores on their snout and face are lined with a gel that may help relay electrical currents created by prey’s movements.
- Physics
Gravity waves are seen again
Four months after scientists announced the first detection of gravity waves, another set of ripples in spacetime have emerged. The new ones come from the clash of mid-size black holes in the distant universe.
- Physics
Famous physics cat now alive, dead and in two boxes at once
Splitting Erwin Schrödinger’s famous — and fictitious — cat between two boxes brings scientists one step closer to building quantum computers from microwaves.
