Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Physics

New Research

The Speed of Light Can Vary

By manipulating the structure of light pulses, scientists managed to slow down some photons and challenge textbook wisdom

An atomic clock at the Physical Technical Federal Institution in Braunschweig, Germany.

Trending Today

2015 Will Be One Second Longer Than 2014

Because the Earth is rotating more slowly than the tick of our atomic clocks, says the International Earth Rotation Service

As you pour your Champagne to celebrate the New Year, remember that the physics behind those bubbles has some real-world applications.

The Physics of Champagne Bubbles Could Help Power the Future

Studying the principles that govern bubble formation in sparkling wine could improve power plant boilers

Cool Finds

Snowflakes All Fall In One of 35 Different Shapes

The latest categorization of solid precipitation types inspired a cool graphic

Arachnophobia, coral reefs, artificial cells and strange amphibians starred in some of this year's science finds you might have missed.

Ten Cool Science Stories You May Have Missed in 2014

ICYMI, there’s a newfound coral reef in Iraq, the smallest force has been detected and more in this year’s surprising science

New Research

Blind People Can Echolocate

Echolocation acts as such a close a proxy for vision that it falls victim to the same shortcomings

Both the Hubble Space Telescope (blue) and the ALMA Observatory contribute to this image of the Boomerang Nebula

Cool Finds

This Dying Star Is the Coldest Place We’ve Found in the Universe

The Boomerang Nebula is just one degree above absolute zero

Think Big

Why String Theory Still Offers Hope We Can Unify Physics

Evidence that the universe is made of strings has been elusive for 30 years, but the theory’s mathematical insights continue to have an alluring pull

What Does ‘Happy New Year’ Even Really Mean?

Physicists engage in a strange debate about whether time really passes

Trending Today

Creep Through Albert Einstein’s Love Letters

The Digital Einstein archive offers a look into the great physicist’s writings

Thanks to millions of microscopic hair-like structures, a gecko's foot can resist pulling forces up to 20 times the lizard's own weight.

New Research

Geckos Have a Surprisingly Strong Death Grip

Gecko toes remain firmly stuck in place even after the animal dies, implying that the lizards do not actively control their clinginess

A full-size Boeing 757 tail equipped with sweeping jets was tested in a wind tunnel at the Ames Research Center.

Designing a Smaller, Lighter Airplane Tail

With engineers from Caltech, Boeing and NASA, Israel Wygnanski is ushering in a new era of fuel-efficient airplane design

The quantum realm can seem to defy common sense.

Five Practical Uses for “Spooky” Quantum Mechanics

Fifty years after Bell’s Theorem, tools that harness the weird properties of quantum mechanics are at work all around you

Jura 103

Art Meets Science

The Physics of Whisky’s Aesthetically Pleasing Residue

A photographer teamed up with scientists to figure out the fluid dynamics behind patterns left in whisky glasses

None

New Research

Physicists Explain Why Coffee Is More Prone to Spills Than Beer

It all comes down to the foam

Performers in "Multiverse" during the opening of a 2010 art festival in Kiev

New Research

What If There Are Parallel Universes Jostling Ours?

It could explain a lot of weird, quantum physics

Cool Finds

Rainbows Don’t Include Purple Light, So Why Do They Sometimes Seem To?

Supernumerary rings, supernumerary rings, supernummrings

Cool Finds

Build a Cloud Chamber for Cheap And See Particles From Outer Space

A simple device lets you see cosmic rays’ effects with your own eyes

New Research

Like Ants, Small Backpackers Are Adept at Carrying Proportionally Heavier Loads

The weight a person or animal can carry does not increase uniformly with size

A mass of insects teems around an outdoor lamp in Brazil.

The Potential Dark Side of Nobel-Winning LEDs: Pest Problems

The white lighting is clean and efficient but also a lot more attractive to flying invertebrates

Page 20 of 31