Virtual particles may not be real, but they help physicists track how forces move, and allow for incredibly precise measurements in particle physics.
Articles on Theoretical physics
Displaying 1 - 20 of 23 articles
Gravitational waves carry information about massive cosmic events and help scientists to ‘listen’ to space.
Sci-fi style spaceships could create gravitational wave bursts within range of future detectors, according to research.
The way particles interacted while the universe was forming seconds after the Big Bang could explain why the universe exists the way it does – a physicist explains matter-antimatter asymmetry.
Good questions guide good science, but that doesn’t mean we know where we’ll end up.
A multitude of experiments have shown the mysterious phenomena of quantum mechanics to be how the universe functions. The scientists behind these experiments won the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics.
Scientifically speaking, for time travel to exist, so must parallel timelines. This theory addresses the paradoxes that arise when studying the possibility of time travel.
A decadelong experiment produced the most accurate measurement yet of the mass of W bosons. These particles are responsible for the weak force, and the result is more evidence for undiscovered physics.
If humanity wants to travel between stars, people are going to need to travel faster than light. New research suggests that it might be possible to build warp drives and beat the galactic speed limit.
Bending space into warp bubbles to travel faster than light may never be a reality, but distorting the flow of time just might be possible.
Field theory describes the universe as energy flowing along unending lines. With this perspective, it is possible to define a new fundamental building block of matter.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom’s theory suggests there’s a one-in-three probability we live in a simulation.
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” To understand the universe, we need more Mad Hatter mathematicians.
Stephen Hawking was a highly creative scientist, pushing past assumptions and playing with “what if” scenarios to take physics to new levels.
Stephen Hawking inspired people with his work on black holes and other mysteries of the universe. Many were quick to pay tribute to the theoretical physicist who died today in the UK, aged 76.
Forget solid, liquid, gas. This research used advanced math to theorize about topological phases of matter. And over the years experiments with matter and cold atoms have been validating the ideas.
Is a novella published 130 years ago our best bet for explaining the worlds of 4D and beyond?
Some of history’s most brilliant scientists have occupied the Lucasian Chair, including Newton, Dirac and Hawking. Others were not so stellar.
It’s a century-old debate: what is the meaning of the wave function, the central object of quantum mechanics? Is Schrödinger’s cat really dead and alive? I was recently involved in an experiment conducted…
Our unfolding understanding of the universe is marked by epic searches and we are now on the brink of discovering something that has escaped detection for many years. The search for gravity waves has been…
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Professor, Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Physics, UNSW
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Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
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PhD Researcher in Theoretical Particle Physics, University of Sussex
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Associate Professor, Griffith University
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Emeritus Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, OzGrav, The University of Western Australia
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Professor of Physics, The University of Melbourne
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PhD student in the history and philosophy of science, UCL
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Particle physicist, University of Cambridge
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Senior Research Associate, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Physics, The Ohio State University
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Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor of Practice, UNSW
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Kevin Orrman-Rossiter is a Friend of The Conversation.
Sterrenkenner, History & Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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President of the Australian Academy of Science and Emeritus Professor of Physics and Electronic Materials Engineering, Australian National University
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University