Black HolesFebruary 14, 2023
Has Anyone Created a Black Hole on Earth?
A lab-made black hole is beyond current technology but could be possible one day
String theory
AstronomyNovember 30, 2022
Is Our Universe a Hologram? Physicists Debate Famous Idea on Its 25th Anniversary
The Ads/CFT duality conjecture suggests our universe is a hologram, enabling significant discoveries in the 25 years since it was first proposed
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MathematicsApril 5, 2022
Math in 3-D: Q&A with Abel Prize Winner Dennis Sullivan
His groundbreaking work combined the mathematical field of topology with string theory
AstrophysicsJanuary 10, 2022
ArXiv.org Reaches a Milestone and a Reckoning
Runaway success and underfunding have led to growing pains for the preprint server
The SciencesJanuary 8, 2016
Stephen Hawking's New Black-Hole Paper, Translated: An Interview with Co-Author Andrew Strominger
The Harvard physicist explains the collaboration's long-awaited research on the black-hole information paradox
May 4, 2015
Profile of Steven Weinberg: from The End of Science
In my last post Steven Weinberg, one of history’s greatest physicists, answers questions about progress—or the lack thereof—in particle physics, cosmology and politics.
May 1, 2015
Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg Still Dreams of Final Theory
One might think that success in science requires seeing through your own bullshit as well as the bullshit of others. But in my experience, this quality is quite rare.
The SciencesFebruary 23, 2015
Best Actor Eddie Redmayne on Portraying Stephen Hawking (Q&A)
Last night at the 87th Academy Awards, Eddie Redmayne won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
Space & PhysicsOctober 20, 2014
Surfer-Physicist Offers Alternative to String Theory, Academia
In 2007 Garrett Lisi was a 39-year-old physicist, unaffiliated with any institution, toiling in obscurity on what he called "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything,” which could account for all of nature’s forces.
The SciencesSeptember 22, 2014
Physics Titan Still Thinks String Theory Is "On the Right Track"
At a 1990 conference on cosmology, I asked attendees, who included folks like Stephen Hawking, Michael Turner, James Peebles, Alan Guth and Andrei Linde, to nominate the smartest living physicist.
August 15, 2013
Belief in multiple universes requires exceptional vision. So does belief in telepathy.
I exaggerate with the title of this post, but only slightly. The title is a reaction to a strange article on multiple universes written by Tom Siegfried at Science News.
The SciencesMay 21, 2013
Bad Boy of Physics
Leonard Susskind rebelled as a teen and never stopped. Today he insists that reality may forever be beyond reach of our understanding