"Quantum" may seem like a useless buzzword, but quantum computing is a real thing, and it's actually understandable even if ...

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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

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

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In the fall of 2022, a Princeton University graduate student named Carolina Figueiredo stumbled onto a massive coincidence. She ...

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 ...

Scientists have made leaps and bounds in bending atoms to their will, making them into everything from ultraprecise clocks to ...