Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics

DUNE neutrino detectors
Nearly 100 years after being theorized, the strange behavior of the neutrino still mystifies us. They could be even stranger than we know.
Two illustrations: on the left, a ball bounces back after hitting a wall; on the right, inspired by quantum advances, the ball passes through—echoing breakthroughs honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics. A child throws the ball in both scenarios.
Quantum mechanics was first discovered on small, microscopic scales. 2025's Nobel Prize brings the quantum and large-scale worlds together.
A 3D potential energy surface with a central peak and surrounding valley illustrates zero-point energy power; two blue spheres indicate positions atop the peak and within the valley. Axes labeled Re(φ), Im(φ), and V(φ).
Throughout history, "free energy" has been a scammer's game, such as perpetual motion. But with zero-point energy, is it actually possible?
There could be variables beyond the ones we've identified and know how to measure. But they can't get rid of quantum weirdness.
Amplifying the energy within a laser, over and over, won't get you an infinite amount of energy. There's a fundamental limit due to physics.
quantum particles
Realizing that matter and energy are quantized is important, but quantum particles aren't the full story; quantum fields are needed, too.
A visual simulation of two objects orbiting and merging, distorting a red-orange grid representing spacetime—illustrating gravitational waves once thought to be the worst prediction in science.
The measured value of the cosmological constant is 120 orders of magnitude smaller than what's predicted. How can this paradox be resolved?
Two colorful, semi-transparent spheres, one blue and one red, represent a possible top quark bound state, toponium, surrounded by small particles inside a cloudy, circular enclosure.
Can the top quark, the shortest-lived particle of all, bind with anything else? Yes it can! New results at the LHC demonstrate toponium exists.