Charlie Wood

Charlie Wood

Charlie Wood is a staff writer at Quanta Magazine, where he covers physics both on and off the planet. In addition to Live Science, his work has also appeared in Popular Science, Scientific American, The Christian Science Monitor, and other publications. Previously, he taught physics and English in Mozambique and Japan, and he holds an undergraduate degree in physics from Brown University. 

Articles by: Charlie Wood

The classic Periodic Table organizes the chemical elements according to the number of protons that each has in its atomic nucleus.

How the Periodic Table of the Elements is arranged

By Charlie Wood, Ben Biggs published

Reference The elements in the periodic table are arranged according to the transition from metal to nonmetal elements.

A white dwarf star hurtling through the Milky Way could have survived a cataclysmic supernova (depicted in this illustration).

Runaway star caught streaking across Milky Way at 2 million mph ... in the wrong direction

By Charlie Wood published

Astronomers say a weird star careening through the Milky Way could have survived the explosive powers of a supernova.

The CHIME radio telescope in British Columbia, Canada has detected more than 1,000 fast radio bursts (FRBs) as of mid-2020.

Mysterious flashes of radio light come in two 'flavors,' new survey finds

By Charlie Wood published

They might provide a new way to see the cosmos.

Physicists take steps toward a quantum internet with a new way to link light particles.

Physicists link 'quantum memories' in early step toward quantum internet

By Charlie Wood published

Two novel demonstrations bring the backbone of the quantum internet, quantum repeaters, a little closer.

Abstract spheres represent the three-body problem in physics.

Physicists get close to taming the chaos of the 'three-body problem'

By Charlie Wood published

The intractable "three-body problem" gets closer to being solved with breakthrough study.

St. Elmo's fire seen at night.

What Is St. Elmo's Fire?

By Charlie Wood published

Reference Article: Facts about St. Elmo's fire.

A bottlenose dolphin and a white shark.

What Is Convergent Evolution?

By Charlie Wood published

Why do dolphins look so much like sharks? Why do pandas have thumbs? Because evolutionarily speaking, sometimes there tends to be one best way to get the job done.

A big bang in space.

The Big Bang Theory: How the Universe Began

By Charlie Wood published

The Big Bang Theory describes the first fraction of a second of the universe's existence.

The universe is full of stars, gas clouds, galaxies, black holes and a whole lot more. Cosmologists ask, "Why?"

Cosmology: Uncovering the Story of the Universe

By Charlie Wood published

Cosmologists ask the big questions. And sometimes, they find big answers.

A blobfish.

What the Heck Is a Blobfish?

By Charlie Wood published

The blobfish may be ugly on land, but it's rather handsome where it belongs — deep under the ocean.

A security check-point at Dulles International Airport July 2, 2007, in Dulles, Virginia.

Mental Bias Puts Airport Security at Risk, and This Tech Could Help

By Charlie Wood published

Remote screening stations at airports could use technology to minimize the effect of a little-known cognitive bias called satisfaction of search.