When you throw a ball into the air, the equations of classical physics tell you exactly what path it will take as it falls, and exactly when and where it will land. However, if you squeeze the same ball down to a subatomic size, it will behave in ways that cannot be predicted by classical … Read more
Black holes don’t just swallow matter. It can also fire powerful jets that shape the space around it. A new study measured the strength of these jets in real time, giving scientists one of the clearest tests yet of long-held ideas about how black holes affect the wider universe. The research was led … Read more
Human society has not simply adapted to the natural world. They steadily learned how to change that. Arlie Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, draws on research in archaeology, ecology, anthropology, and evolutionary theory to explain how cultural practices have evolved to exert extraordinary influence on the … Read more
Gravity is so strange that cosmologists are essentially forced to agree on one of two equally radical conclusions: either dark matter exists or the fundamental rules of gravity require major modifications. To settle the debate, scientists embarked on the largest-ever study of gravity and discovered that old physics wisdom is powerful when it comes to … Read more
NASA’s latest cubesat missionCANVAS began studying how radio waves generated by lightning and man-made transmitters travel from the Earth’s surface to the vast expanse of space. The mission, which launched on April 7, aims to provide critical insights into the space environment that could change the way both space infrastructure and systems on Earth are … Read more
At first glance, the universe seems simple: stars, gas, dust, and gravity holding it all together. Then, when you look more carefully, you realize that nothing could be further from the truth. For decades, standard imagery has told us that most of what is out there is not what we can see. It is a … Read more