Frontier science, explained
Short, plain-language articles on where physics is being pushed right now. Free to read, no account needed.
5 of 5 articles
Fusion ignition: what "gain" really means
The National Ignition Facility has now produced more fusion energy than the laser energy that hit the fuel. Here is what that number counts, and what it leaves out.
fusionenergyplasmalasersQuantum error correction has crossed its most important threshold
Quantum computers make mistakes constantly. In late 2024 a processor showed that adding more qubits to a corrected logical qubit made it better, not worse. That flip is the whole game.
quantum computingqubitserror correctionRoom-temperature superconductors: why the claims keep failing
A material that carries current with zero loss at everyday temperatures would change the world. Several groups have said they found one. None has survived checking. Here is how the checking works.
superconductivitymaterialscondensed matterreplicationThe hum: a background of gravitational waves across the whole sky
In 2023 several teams reported the first evidence of a low, constant gravitational-wave background. It was found not with a detector, but with dead stars used as clocks.
gravitygravitational wavespulsarsblack holesWebb and the galaxies that seem to have formed too early
The James Webb Space Telescope keeps finding bright, mature-looking galaxies from the universe's first few hundred million years. That is a puzzle, but not a crisis.
astronomycosmologytelescopesgalaxies