Physics news, articles and features | 51��

The biggest mysteries in physics may have one answer

Emily Bates — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Could our universe have more dimensions than the three of space and one of time that we experience?

Recent results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) have renewed interest in whether our current picture of the universe is complete. Some theories suggest that extra dimensions could help explain three of the greatest mysteries in physics: the nature of dark energy; the invisible influence of dark matter; and why gravity is so much weaker than the other fundamental forces.

From string theory to braneworlds, the search for extra dimensions pushes the boundaries of science and could reveal that the reality we experience isn’t all there is.

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Does dark energy stem from a thermodynamic theory of space-time?

Jupiter’s deepest mysteries were hidden in shadow. Now we can see them

Joshua Howgego — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000

NASA researcher Heidi Becker has photographed sublime sights around Jupiter that have never been seen before, from its ghostly rings to the dark sides of its moons. And she does it all with an instrument that wasn't even designed for photography

51�� recommends Anish Kapoor’s show at the Hayward Gallery

Rowan Hooper — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:43:11 +0000

Viscera, voids and light-gobbling Vantablack conspire to disturb and amaze in Anish Kapoor’s new exhibition, which has heavy nods to the nature of reality, science and religion

We still don’t know how black holes get so big | Becky Smethurst

Emily Bates — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 17:00:00 +0000

In the centre of our galaxy sits a monster 4.3 million times the mass of the sun. But Sagittarius A* is tiny compared with other black holes in the universe, with some reaching up to 40 billion times the mass of the sun. They are the point where our laws of physics break, and how these giants get so big has puzzled scientists for decades.

Becky Smethurst is an astrophysicst at the University of Oxford and her work looks at how these behemoths affect the galaxy around them. 51��‘s digital features editor, Jacklin Kwan, sat down with her to discuss what black holes are, how the supermassive ones get so big and Smethurst’s amazing career.

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Why quantum physics says there’s a multiverse

Strange paraparticles could be reality’s missing ingredient

Miriam Frankel — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Neither matter nor force, paraparticles would be something else entirely. Fresh hints that they exist are raising hopes that they could explain reality at its deepest level

Do we owe our existence to weird ‘virtual’ particles?

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

When considering what makes up a human body, a physicist drills down beyond the atomic level. Columnist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein explores the not-exactly-real particles that allow the stuff we’re made of to hang together

Mathematics of thermodynamics is being rewritten after 200 years

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:00:58 +0000

The laws of physics that concern heat and work could gain a firmer mathematical footing thanks to “gauge theory”, which already helps us understand quantum fields

Does time come from the entire universe running computations?

Leah Crane — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:00:36 +0000

Explaining the passage of time has been a gnarly problem in physics basically forever, but physicist and computer scientist Stephen Wolfram has a radical proposal for where it comes from. He discussed his ideas on time – and what they mean for free will – with reporter Leah Crane

The strange metals forcing us to rethink how electricity really works

Jon Cartwright — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:00:29 +0000

Some 40 years ago, physicists noticed certain metals were conducting electricity in a bizarre way no one could explain. New answers to how and why this happens are forcing us to question how electricity flows

Sean Carroll: uncovering the mysteries of quantum mechanics

Emily Bates — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:00:13 +0000

What really happens in the quantum world? In this conversation, physicist Sean Carroll explores some of the deepest mysteries in quantum mechanics: the famous double-slit experiment, wave function collapse, the Many Worlds interpretation, entropy and the arrow of time. Speaking to 51�� reporter Jacklin Kwan, Carroll discusses why electrons appear to behave like waves, how observation seems to affect reality and whether the universe constantly branches into countless parallel worlds. Carroll also explains the measurement problem, the challenges of interpreting quantum theory and why physicists still debate what quantum mechanics is actually telling us about the nature of reality. Carroll is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author whose work focuses on the foundations of physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology and the nature of time.

Physics news, articles and features | 51����