Physicists have proposed a new model of space-time based on string theory to explain dark energy. Their hypothesis suggests that, at extremely small scales, space and time behave differently from how ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. String theory captured the hearts and minds of many physicists decades ago because of a beautiful simplicity. Zoom in far enough on a ...

Tue, April 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM UTC The centuries-long Copernican journey of slowly displacing humans from the center of everything has provided our species with an unprecedented understanding of our ...

From growing up in a Kolkata shaped by legends like Satyendra Nath Bose to winning the $3 million Breakthrough Prize, physicist Ashoke Sen reflects on the ideas that transformed string theory. In this ...

Some celestial bodies are so cold that methane freezes; others are so hot that nuclear reactions occur. And then there’s Earth, with a benign temperature hovering in the narrow range between freezing ...

In 1980, Stephen Hawking gave his first lecture as Lucasian Professor at the University of Cambridge. The lecture was called “Is the end in sight for theoretical physics?” Hawking, who later became my ...

Dimensions beyond the four we’re familiar with could solve a host of problems in physics and cosmology. Columnist Leah Crane ...

We preselected all newsletters you had before unsubscribing.

But despite its extraordinary popularity among some of the smartest people on the planet, string theory hasn’t been embraced by everyone–and now, nearly 30 years after it made its initial splash, some ...