quantum mechanics experiments list

Latest News

10 times space missions went very wrong in 2024

Harry Baker published 27 December 24

From astronauts getting stranded on a leaking ISS and faceplanting moon landers to injured Mars robots and a tumbling solar sail, here are 10 of the biggest space exploration mishaps in 2024.

Climate change is the worst. Here's just how bad it got this year.

Hannah Osborne published 27 December 24

The big news in Earth science this year was all about climate change, with extreme weather, flooding and drought attributed to warming. Scientists also warned about much worse to come if we don't rein in carbon emissions.

Tech breakthroughs of 2024: Test yourself on this year's biggest highlights

Keumars Afifi-Sabet published 27 December 24

From Google's AI to quantum computing, how much do you know about the year's biggest breakthroughs in tech?

Parker Solar Probe survives historic closest-ever flyby of the sun, NASA confirms

Sharmila Kuthunur last updated 27 December 24

On Christmas Eve, NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the sun than any human-made object ever — a stunning technological feat that scientists liken to the historic Apollo moon landing in 1969. Now, we know it survived.

Case report quiz: What's the diagnosis? Test your knowledge of medical cases from 2024

Nicoletta Lanese published 27 December 24

Doctors write case reports to call attention to unique, unusual or perplexing medical cases. Do you remember these stand-out cases from 2024?

From orcas with salmon hats to the resurrection of the mammoths — this year in animal news

There were sharks eating sharks, snakes eating snakes, and ants chopping each other's legs off. Here is a roundup of some of the best animal news stories from 2024.

Planet Earth

The oldest rocks on Earth

By James Price published 27 December 24

The world's oldest rocks are spread across the globe and paint a picture of Earth's turbulent early history. Here are some of the most notable and important formations scientists have discovered.

Kawah Ijen: The volcano in Indonesia that holds the world's largest acidic lake at its heart

By Sascha Pare published 27 December 24

Kawah Ijen is an active volcano on the island of Java with an extremely acidic crater lake and gas emissions that produce blue flames upon contact with oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.

• 2 Tech breakthroughs of 2024: Test yourself on this year's biggest highlights
• 3 Hoka Bondi 8 running shoe review
• 4 Opticron Oregon 4 PC Oasis 10x42 monocular review
• 5 Case report quiz: What's the diagnosis? Test your knowledge of medical cases from 2024

The fabric of the universe is 'lopsided', huge gravitational wave mapping study finds

By Matthew Miles, Rowina Nathan published 25 December 24

A new effort to map the rumblings in spacetime caused by enormous black hole collisions paints a surprisingly loud and lopsided picture of the universe.

Astronomers spot an enormous explosion from the 1st black hole ever photographed

By Joanna Thompson published 25 December 24

A massive, energetic jet from Virgo A could help scientists understand how matter behaves around a black hole.

archaeology

Early human ancestor 'lucy' was a bad runner, and this one tendon could explain why.

By Kristina Killgrove published 26 December 24

By digitally modeling muscles and tendons for the skeleton of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), researchers determined that our hominin ancestors could run well but topped out around 11 mph.

From 'the last Neanderthal' to sacrifices in Peru: Our biggest archaeology stories of 2024

By Laura Geggel published 25 December 24

Here are our biggest archeology stories of 2024.

Hoka Bondi 8 running shoe review

By Lou Mudge published 27 December 24

REVIEW Hoka Bondi 8: a reliable everyday runner with great cushioning and bounce.

Expect more pandemics to sweep the globe in the coming decades

By Olga Anikeeva, Jessica Stanhope, Peng Bi, Philip Weinstein published 26 December 24

When human activities disrupt and unbalance ecosystems, such as by way of climate change and biodiversity loss, things go wrong.

Garmin Forerunner 165 review

By Andrew Williams published 26 December 24

Top-quality fitness tracker at a reasonable price.

These endangered whales can live up to 150 years — twice as long as previously thought

By Kristel Tjandra published 25 December 24

Life expectancy prediction using data collected over four decades reveals southern right whales' exceptionally long lives — far longer than scientists previously thought.

These insects keep evolving to look like sticks. Why?

By Patrick Pester published 24 December 24

Researchers have found that stick insects keep evolving the same 20 body plans, from the "tree lobster'" to the "bark hugger" and the "large-headed stick."

Weirdest animal news of 2024: Quiz yourself on this year's most bizarre animals antics

By Hannah Osborne published 24 December 24

From angry dolphins and snakes taking faking their deaths to the next level, to a frog who had just had enough. Take our quiz on the strangest animal news of 2024.

Human Behavior

Middle children are more agreeable, humble and honest than siblings, new study suggests. The baby of the family would like a word.

By Stephanie Pappas published 24 December 24

A new study finds that middle kids and kids from larger families are more agreeable, honest and humble than younger and older kids or kids from smaller families, but the results contradict other research on the topic.

Conspiracy theory quiz: Test your knowledge of unfounded beliefs, from flat Earth to lizard people

By Lydia Smith published 14 December 24

Quiz How much do you know about conspiracy theories? Take our science quiz to find out.

38 best science books for kids and young adults

By Ben Biggs last updated 13 December 24

Looking to inspire the next generation of curious minds? These are our picks of the best popular science books for children of all ages.

Physics & Mathematics

Large Hadron Collider finds 1st evidence of the heaviest antimatter particle yet

By Robert Lea published 19 December 24

Scientists at CERN's ALICE detector are replicating conditions found during the Big Bang, attempting to get to the bottom of how matter came to dominate over antimatter.

Do atoms ever touch?

By Sarah Wells published 16 December 24

Atoms make up everything around us, but do these building blocks of matter ever actually touch?

Could monkeys really type the complete works of Shakespeare?

By Marilyn Perkins published 15 December 24

The infinite monkey theorem is a fun thought experiment, but does it actually apply to our finite world?

Scientists discover revolutionary method that makes fuel from water and sunlight — but it's not finished yet

By Ben Turner published 5 December 24

The hydrogen fuel tank of a Toyota vehicle on display.

Periodic table of elements: How it works and who created it

By Jeanna Bryner, Tim Sharp last updated 21 November 24

The Periodic Table, first created by Dmitri Mendeleev, organizes all of the known elements in an informative array.

What are VOCs? The facts about volatile organic compounds

By Kimberly Hickok last updated 20 November 24

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gaseous chemicals that are emitted by various household items, as well as natural sources.

Opticron Oregon 4 PC Oasis 10x42 monocular review

By Matt Morris published 27 December 24

A rugged and very easy-to-use 10x42 nitrogen-filled monocular.

What is quantum supremacy?

By Edd Gent published 27 December 24

We may be on the cusp of quantum supremacy. But what does that actually mean?

The 7 most disturbing humanoid robots that emerged in 2024

By Tim Danton published 27 December 24

From a disembodied torso to a "friendly" robot with unnervingly human facial expressions, here are seven of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world.