Physics

From the forces that keep athletes twirling and sliding, to the weird laws governing the world of the very small, to the far-out concepts of time travel and alternate universes, physics covers a lot of interesting territory. Here, Live Science keeps you abreast of all the fascinating physics discoveries.Physics

Related Topics: Elements, Chemical Reactions, Technology

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Caught on high-speed video, lightning streamers of opposite polarity approach and connect in this sequence of video frames, slowed by more than 10,000-fold. The common streamer zone appears in the last two frames before the whiteout of the lightning flash. This lasted about 0.00003 seconds at full speed

Video catches split second before intense lightning strike

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists captured high-speed footage of the moment before lightning strikes.

An illustration shows the Micius satellite and the three ground stations with which it communicates.

Chinese researchers to send an 'uncrackable' quantum message to space

By Rafi Letzter published

It's now possible to send uncrackable quantum messages through thin air, and the people who figured out how to do it are getting ready to send the messages into space.

An artist's concept of the Big Bang.

Mysterious 'kick' just after the Big Bang may have created dark matter

By Paul Sutter published

A mysterious "kick" in the early universe may have produced more matter than antimatter. And that imbalance may have also led to the creation of dark matter, researchers now say.

An abstract model of an atom with electrons swirling around in their shells.

Oddball 'neutral electron' possibly discovered in new state of matter

By Tom Metcalfe published

A black hole as seen from the surface of a planet.

Aliens could be sucking energy from black holes. That may be how we'll find them.

By Tom Metcalfe published

An illustration shows the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Data from TESS has revealed a sextuple star system less than 2,000 light years from Earth.

'Sextuply-eclipsing sextuple star system' discovered whirling through the Milky Way

By Rafi Letzter published

Ever ridden a teacup ride at a state fair? If so, you might have a small taste of life in a whirling, twirling sextuply-eclipsing sextuple star system.

Illustration of a pair of stars about to merge: a neutron star and a white dwarf, whose gravity is severely distorting the larger white dwarf.

Neutrons' 'evil twins' may be crushing stars into black holes

By Paul Sutter published

The universe may be filled with "mirror" particles — and these otherwise-undetectable particles could be shrinking the densest stars in the universe, turning them into black holes.

An artistic rendering of the XMM-Newton (X-ray multi-mirror mission) space telescope. A study of archival data from the XMM-Newton and the Chandra X-ray space telescopes found evidence of high levels of X-ray emission from the nearby Magnificent Seven neutron stars, which may arise from the hypothetical particles known as axions.

Mystery particle may explain extreme X-rays shooting from the 'Magnificent 7' stars

By Stephanie Pappas published

Particles called axions may be the reason the 'Magnificent 7' cluster of neutron stars emits extreme X-rays.

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the universe.

Now-dead radio telescope finds bizarre venomous-spider star

By Rafi Letzter published

Data from the now-destroyed Arecibo radio telescope has revealed a bizarre new type of hybrid venomous-spider star.

NASA's first Space Launch System core booster ignites its four main engines at the Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Jan. 16, 2020. Expected to last 8 minutes, the test lasted just over 1 minute.

Critical engine test for NASA's Space Launch System megarocket shuts down earlier than planned

By Amy Thompson published

NASA fired up the core stage of its massive new megarocket Saturday (Jan. 16) in a critical test that appeared to shut down early.

This image shows liquid hydrogen in the rocket core stage of the Space Launch System as it is safely vented and burned as it naturally warms and boils off during a rehearsal of a countdown to hot fire of the stage’s engines on Dec 20, 2020.

Watch NASA test the world's most powerful rocket ever on Saturday

By Rafi Letzter published

NASA is going to light up the most powerful rocket it's ever built Saturday (Jan. 16), though it won't go anywhere.

An image shows a newly discovered magnetar spinning unbelievably quickly through the Milky Way.

This might be the fastest magnetar in the whole galaxy

By Rafi Letzter published

A rapidly twirling, ultramagnetic 500-year-old infant has been spotted zipping at never-before-seen speeds through the Milky Way. It belongs to a super-rare flavor of super-rare star.

Bumblebee gravity could be proven true if scientists find that a black hole’s shadow is smaller than existing physics theories would predict.

'Bumblebee gravity' could explain why the universe is expanding so quickly

By Paul Sutter published

Bumblebee gravity could explain dark energy — if it's proven true.

The Space Launch System sits in the middle of NASA's heavy-duty B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

NASA will soon fire up the most powerful rocket ever built

By Rafi Letzter published

NASA plans to ignite an absolutely mammoth rocket on Jan. 17, the largest it's built since the Apollo program

An image shows a water droplet hanging from a fern frond. Hydrogen bonds bind water molecules to each other, giving the droplet its characteristic shape. But they're easily broken. Researchers recently discovered a form of hydrogen bond so strong it's comparable to the covalent bonds binding hydrogen and oxygen together into water molecules within the droplet.

New type of ultra-strong chemical bond discovered

By Rafi Letzter published

Similar to the bonds found in water, but way more powerful, this new bond could offer deep insight into the true workings of chemical reactions.

The earth

9 epic space discoveries you may have missed in 2020

By Rafi Letzter published

Medical discoveries dominated the news in 2020, but even under pandemic conditions, astronomers discovered amazing things in space in 2020.

Cosmic strings, string theory, abstract background.

The 10 biggest physics stories of 2020

By Jeanna Bryner published

From a colossal explosion to mystery burps deciphered, here were some of the top stories in physics in 2020.

The galaxy DF4 (center). was originally a big problem for dark matter researchers, having little dark matter at all. But in 2020 astronomers cracked its mystery.

6 ways the hunt for dark matter changed in 2020

By Rafi Letzter published

This year saw a possible first detection of solar axions, and the possible death of the sterile neutrino.

The strange bright spots of Occator Crater on the dwarf planet Ceres are unmistakable in this spectacular photo by NASA's Dawn spacecraft taken on Oct. 17, 2016 and released on Nov. 18 as Dawn moves into a higher orbit.

Mysterious asteroid the size of a dwarf planet is lurking in our solar system

By Rafi Letzter published

There's a giant asteroid somewhere out there in the solar system, and it hurled a big rock at Earth that left behind meteorites unlike any scientists had ever seen.

An image shows Jupiter and Saturn in the sky on Dec. 21 during the "Great Conjunction" event.

Stunning telescope image of Jupiter and Saturn's Great Conjunction will amaze you

By Rafi Letzter published

A telescope close-up reveals the strange beauty of the Great Conjunction.