Quantum Physics104 articles archived since 1845

The Universe Is Not Locally Real, and the Physics Nobel Prize Winners Proved It

Elegant experiments with entangled light have laid bare a profound mystery at the heart of reality

Explorers of Quantum Entanglement Win 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics

Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work using entangled photons to test the quantum foundations of reality

Quantum Physics Titans Win Breakthrough Prize

This year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics honors some of the pioneers of quantum information science

Readers Respond to the May 2022 Issue

Letters to the editor for the May 2022 issue of Scientific American

Physics Particles Fly as Practical Tools

Protons, muons, neutrinos and other particles are moving beyond the realm of physics to help in a myriad of ways

New Phase of Matter Opens Portal to Extra Time Dimension

Physicists have devised a mind-bending error-correction technique that could dramatically boost the performance of quantum computers

10 Years after the Higgs, Physicists Are Optimistic for More Discoveries

The Large Hadron Collider recently reopened after upgrades and is ready to explore new territory

How the Higgs Boson Ruined Peter Higgs’s Life

A new biography of the physicist and the particle he predicted reveals his disdain for the spotlight

Physicists Link Two Time Crystals in Seemingly Impossible Experiment

A new demonstration of these exotic constructs could help bridge classical and quantum physics

Physicists Find a Shortcut to Seeing an Elusive Quantum Glow

Once considered practically unseeable, a phenomenon called the Unruh effect might soon be revealed in laboratory experiments

Poem: ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’

Science in meter and verse

Math in 3-D: Q&A with Abel Prize Winner Dennis Sullivan

His groundbreaking work combined the mathematical field of topology with string theory

Humans and the Quantum Experience

How Migrating Birds Use Quantum Effects to Navigate

New research hints at the biophysical underpinnings of their ability to use Earth’s magnetic field lines to find their way to their breeding and wintering grounds

Does Quantum Mechanics Rule Out Free Will?

Superdeterminism, a radical quantum hypothesis, says our “choices” are illusory

Time Crystals Made of Light Could Soon Escape the Lab

A new, more robust approach to creating these bizarre constructs brings them one step closer to practical applications

100 Years Ago, a Quantum Experiment Explained Why We Don’t Fall through Our Chairs

The basic concept of quantum spin provides an understanding of a vast range of physical phenomena

The High-Speed Physics of Olympic Sledding, Explained

There is more to the bobsled, luge and skeleton events than merely sliding down steep, icy slopes

Turbulence Equations Discovered after Century-Long Quest

The formulas describe the complex behavior of a liquid when it meets a boundary

Poem: ‘Elective Affinities: Ghazal of the Muon’

Science in meter and verse