Physicists are quietly rewriting the rulebook for how we might cross the gulf between stars, not by bolting bigger rockets to ...

Their work introduces a new concept called q-desics, short for quantum-corrected paths through space–time. These paths generalize the familiar trajectories predicted by Einstein’s general theory of ...

A team of physicists has created a cloud of ultracold atoms that stubbornly resists the most basic rule of everyday ...

Using ultracold atoms and laser light, researchers recreated the behavior of a Josephson junction—an essential component of ...

Ultracold atoms have successfully mimicked a fundamental quantum effect normally found in electronic circuits.

An experiment with ultracold atoms reveals that a strongly driven quantum system doesn’t always heat up as expected. In daily ...

Physicists have transformed a decades-old technique for simplifying quantum equations into a reusable, user-friendly "conversion table" that works on a laptop and returns results within hours. When ...

More than 200 years ago, Count Rumford showed that heat isn’t a mysterious substance but something you can generate endlessly ...

Chinese team is first outside the US to cross key threshold that determines whether practical quantum computers can work ...

Physicists have struggled to understand the nature of time since the field began. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Time may not be ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. This year is the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, according to ...