As of 2025, LUX-ZEPLIN is the world's most sensitive dark matter experiment

Dark matter may be one of many hidden particles that don't interact with light

Theoretical candidates, such as axions and supersymmetric WIMPs, may open the door to a new branch of particle physics that shapes the cosmos through gravity. Some of these particles may constantly pass through us but interact too weakly to be detected.

It may be possible to create dark matter in particle accelerators

In high-energy collisions, exotic forms of matter can be produced by directly converting energy into mass according to *E = mc*². Even though a dark matter particle would not be directly observable, its creation would result in unaccounted-for mass, which can be compared to potential dark matter candidates for indirect detection.

As of 2025, the best cosmological model of the universe includes dark energy

The Lambda cold dark matter model uses the Greek letter to denote the presence of a cosmological constant version of dark energy, alongside slow-moving dark matter and ordinary visible matter. It can account for the observed distribution of galaxies, the structure of the cosmic microwave background, the acceleration of the universe, and the abundance of hydrogen.

The European Space Agency's Euclid telescope maps dark matter

As light rays travel near massive objects in space, their paths can be distorted on their way to Earth, causing objects to appear displaced, magnified, shrunken, or sheared. By simulating these effects for various mass distributions, astronomers can match the distortion to a simulated mass and compare it with the observed visible matter to infer the presence of dark matter.

Dark matter detected in the cosmic web

Researchers from Yonsei University detected dark matter on the cosmic web, a network of filaments that feed gas into galaxies. The detection was made possible by using the general theory of relativity to analyze gravitational microlensing around the Coma Cluster. This article explains the phenomenon and how the detection supports the presence of dark matter throughout the cosmic web.

A facility at CERN is dedicated to creating and analyzing anti-hydrogen

Dubbed the "antimatter factory," the site was built to study the properties of dark matter and identify any inconsistencies with existing particle physics models. Antimatter particles have the same mass as normal matter, but opposite charge and other quantum properties.

Fermilab's ICARUS experiment is searching for hypothetical sterile neutrinos

Neutrinos are a group of three chargeless, lightweight particles that can transform into one another via a quantum mechanical phenomenon called neutrino oscillations. The rate of these oscillations can be determined by measuring the amount of each type at different distances, where data inconsistencies would suggest the existence of new physics.

LIGO can detect changes in spacetime one ten-thousandth the width of a proton

Gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces in nature, meaning the length of objects only changes by minuscule amounts as gravitational waves ripple through space from distant, albeit massive, cosmic events. LIGO's sensitivity can measure an object shifting its position by one seven-hundred-trillionth of the width of a human hair.

The 2011 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for the discovery of dark energy

Through the use of standard candles—objects whose brightness is well-known—astronomers can determine distances by recognizing that the same phenomena will dim in predictable ways with increasing distance. By observing the same type of bright stellar explosion at various locations, Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess identified that the universe's expansion was increasing.

Fritz Zwicky predicted the existence of dark matter and neutron stars

The former resulted from analyzing the motion of galaxies in the Coma Cluster, a subset of the approximately 30,000 galaxies he cataloged during his life. When hypothesizing an origin for observed high-energy particles called cosmic rays, Zwicky and colleague Walter Baade thought they could come from exploding stars, or supernovae—a term he coined—which would leave behind a collapsed star made entirely of neutrons.

Delays in the decay of unstable particles provide evidence for time dilation

Physicists used the muon half-life measured in labs to predict how many should reach detectors on Earth's surface after their production in collisions between atmospheric molecules and cosmic rays. Higher detection rates were consistent with a longer half-life due to slower movement through time.

As of 2023, the world's smallest particle accelerator is smaller than a penny

The prototype is an example of a photonic accelerator, which utilizes tiny lasers to accelerate electrons rather than relying on oscillating electromagnetic fields to move them. It can deliver about 1 electron per second with energies equivalent to those found in cathode-ray tube televisions.

DESI is mapping the universe's expansion over the last 11 billion years

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is conducting a five-year redshift survey of over one-third of the sky, measuring the receding motions and locations of about 35 million galaxies and millions of stars using light captured by 5,000 optical fibers.

Cloud 9 is a dark-matter-dominated failed galaxy

Identified in 2023, the starless, gas-rich object is the first of its kind seen by astronomers and provides a window into the early stages of galactic formation without observations relying on visible matter as a proxy. The existence of such REHLICs, or Reionization-Limited-H I Clouds, was predicted by cold dark matter cosmological models.

Supercollider particles lag behind light by just 10 feet after 14 minutes of travel

The circular shape of the Large Hadron Collider allows particles to be repeatedly accelerated and redirected via electromagnetic fields rather than building equivalent energy in a linear chamber hundreds of miles long. The latter would require 5 trillion D batteries to achieve equivalent near-light speeds.

Particle detection has evolved from cloud and bubble chambers to digital 3D displays

As invisible particles passed through cloud and bubble chambers, they disrupted supersaturated vapor and superheated liquid, respectively, creating trails that served as proxies for cosmic rays. The transition from photographed events to digital sensors enhanced data collection and accuracy.

View the winners of the 2025 Global Physics Photowalk contest

Participants were asked to submit entries showcasing particle physics labs from around the world, including particle accelerators, neutrino detectors, and superconducting experiments. The winning photograph was taken at the CryOgenic Laboratory for Detectors, where scientists hunt for dark matter after cooling materials to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero.

Scientists are experimenting with ways to probe the multiverse theory

Researchers are simulating vacuum bubbles—the theorized starting points of universes—using quantum computers, digital models, and exotic lab setups to study how they form, expand, and possibly collide. One experiment aims to "blow" artificial universe-like bubbles inside ultra-cold quantum gases, potentially capturing real-time glimpses of cosmic birth processes in a lab.

View a timeline of particle discoveries through the Higgs boson in 2012

With few exceptions, the elementary particles that make up the Standard Model were theorized or predicted to exist before their eventual discovery in high-energy environments. These predictions were often the result of inferences drawn from already accepted mathematical models.

Since 2017, Virgo has helped LIGO localize astronomical phenomena

The detector near Pisa, Italy, coordinates its experimental runs with those in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. Scientists can triangulate the locations of celestial events that generate gravitational waves using signal arrival times, just as earthquake locations can be determined from measurements at three seismic stations.

James Webb Space Telescope aims to unlock secrets of the early universe

Decades in the making, JWST is designed to study the universe in infrared light, allowing it to see through cosmic dust and observe ancient galaxies, star formation, and potentially life-supporting exoplanets. The Webb will orbit the sun at a stable point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

Through 2025, two-thirds of known exoplanets have been detected via transits

This technique involves observing periodic, consistent dips in a star's brightness caused by an exoplanet passing in front of it. Observing wobbles in a star as it is pulled by an orbiting exoplanet's gravity has become the second most common detection method, followed by microlensing and direct exoplanet observation.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

The CCZ is believed to harbor trillions of dollars of valuable minerals and thousands of undiscovered species

Located between Hawaii and Mexico and spanning an area larger than the European Union, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone is the world's region with the most contracts awarded to groups seeking to extract valuable metals by collecting polymetallic nodules. Conservative estimates suggest that 21.1 billion tons of polymetallic nodules exist in this abyssal plain, but about 90% of the species in the area are unknown to scientists.

Measurements of an electron’s magnetic moment help test the Standard Model

A particle’s magnetic moment quantifies how it responds to the presence of an external magnetic field. An electron’s value can be measured down to 14 decimal places, with certainties in the first 12 allowing it to be used to assess the accuracy of predictive models.

The double-slit experiment is observational evidence for the wave-particle duality

Light and electrons can behave like particles when observed, but they also exhibit wave-like properties in motion, creating patterns through interference. Even larger objects, such as baseballs, have wavelengths, but they are negligibly small compared to their size.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.