Reality Doesn’t Need Complex Numbers, Physicists Prove

Complex numbers are created when you add a real number and an imaginary number (like “i”). These numbers are used throughout math and physics, notably in the Schrödinger equation, which is the key to quantum physics. In 2021, physicists published a paper claiming that you can’t entirely get rid of complex numbers in quantum physics, but two teams of physicists recently published papers disputing that claim. Let’s take a look.

The Big Problem With Solar Power

Solar power is one of the most popular sources of renewable energy, due to both its cost-effectiveness and the fact that solar panels emit zero greenhouse gases. But according to new analyses, solar isn’t as cheap as we’ve been led to believe. Let’s take a look at the real cost of solar power and other problems with the technology.

15 Year-Old Just Finished his PhD in Quantum Physics. I had a look at his thesis.

A 15-year-old Belgian boy just finished his PhD in quantum physics, publishing a thesis focused on Bose-Einstein condensates. First, let’s take a look at his PhD thesis and then discuss the reality of going for a physics PhD in 2025.

Solar System Moves Way Too Fast, Cosmological Theory in Doubt

According to new data analysis, our solar system is traveling through the universe roughly 3 times faster than our current models predict it should be moving. Why is this, and why does it matter? Let’s take a look.

Small Nuclear Reactors are Coming --- Against All Odds

Small modular nuclear reactors are supposed to fix the problem of conventional nuclear reactors being too expensive and time-consuming to build. But we’ve been hearing about how promising they are for 15 years now. So where are they? A report that just appeared sheds light on what happened.

I Worry AI Might Become Conscious – And We Won’t Notice

AI is changing the world – how we work, how we write, and how we consume media. But it doesn’t seem like many people are interested in how AI is learning to think about itself. I am convinced that eventually AI will become conscious and I am beginning to worry that we simply wouldn’t notice because no one is watching out for it.

This is a special time in human history

In today's video I want to talk about why I am optimistic about the future and why I think that some major technological breakthroughs in nuclear fusion, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering are just around to corner.

Scientists may have detected dark matter.

A physicist from Japan claims that he has found the first direct evidence for dark matter in very highly energetic gamma-ray emissions from the centre of our galaxy. Let’s have a look at the paper.

Huge Gravity Anomaly Discovered!

Scientists just found a massive 7,000 kilometer-long gravitational anomaly off the coast of Africa in data from a NASA satellite. The anomaly occurred from 2006 to 2008 and has now disappeared. What caused it? Let’s have a look.

All of Nature Needs only One Constant, Physicists Prove

Physics has 7 base units: seconds, metres, kilograms, amperes, kelvins, moles, and candela. Of those, we technically only need the first three to calculate the latter four. But according to a new paper, we can actually calculate the first three as well – from a single constant. Let’s take a look.

Odds Are The Universe is Full Of Intelligent Life, Mathematician Finds

Why haven’t we heard from aliens? That’s a question that sounds simple but turns into a mess the moment you try to answer it. Recently, a mathematician tried to simplify the equation by trying to calculate the odds that we’re the only intelligent life in the universe – according to his math, we shouldn’t be. Let’s take a look.

It Took Physicists 50 Years To Prove Einstein Right About This

Over a century ago, Einstein wrote his theories of special relativity and general relativity. Within those theories, he predicted that, as an object moves faster, it slightly contracts in length. However, 50 years later Penrose and Terrell predicted that what one would see is instead that the object is rotated. In a recent experiment, physicists proved that this Penrose-Terrell effect is actually real. Let’s take a look.

Is it pointless now to fight climate change?

I’d much rather only bring you good news, but I feel like I can’t just be quiet about this unfolding climate disaster. I no longer believe that we are able to keep the damage manageable by reducing emissions, and so all signs point to geoengineering. Remarkably enough, most climate scientists now think the same. Let’s have a look.

AI Is Suddenly Surprisingly Good At Physics

LLMs aren’t able to actually use logic or reasoning to reach thought-out conclusions. Despite that, several startups plan on using the current systems to do serious physics research. And some physicists, including myself, have used AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude to write papers. The situation is changing incredibly fast. Let’s take a look at how LLMs might be improving at physics, and the current state of AI scientists.

What is going on in Europe

In which I air my frustration about how much Europe has fallen behind.

New Experiment Explains Why We Don't See Quantum Effects Everywhere

We don’t see the effects of quantum physics outside the submicroscopic scale. That’s why your lunchbox can’t be in two places at once and cats aren’t dead and alive at the same time. But why, exactly, is this true? According to physicists who’ve recently published a paper on that question, the theory of Quantum Darwinism can answer it. Let’s take a look.

Are We Causing a Mass Extinction?

You’ve probably heard that human industrialization is actually a mass extinction event that’s killed off hundreds of thousands of different animal species, I certainly did. But is that actually true? Recently, a group of ecologists published a paper comparing human-related extinctions to mass extinction events of the past. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Physicists Prove That Universe is not a Simulation

The Simulation Hypothesis is the idea that our universe is actually an algorithm being run on a mysterious supercomputer. In a recent paper, a group of physicists say they’ve disproved this theory by using Goedel’s theorem. Let’s take a look.

Nobel Prize for Dark Energy Awarded in Error?

The 2011 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. This conclusion rested on data from supernovae. A new analysis now looks at a larger set of supernovae data and finds that the Nobel Prize winning conclusion doesn't hold up.

This Simple Trick Solves Impossible Physics Problems

While physics is the branch of science that seeks to explain how the universe works, our understanding of the universe would be nothing without mathematics. Let’s take a look at one recent paper that caught my attention because it’s a lovely example of this relationship.