CERN scientists design trap to transport antimatter between facilities

Antimatter is a tricky substance to store and transport, mostly because of its habit of annihilating any container you try to put it in. Now, researchers at the BASE collaboration at CERN have outlined a new antimatter trap designed to safely carry the… Continue reading CERN scientists design trap to transport antimatter between facilities

Scientists calculate how much matter there is in the universe

Scientists have now estimated the total amount of matter in the universe, using a new, more precise method. By calculating the mass of hundreds of galaxy clusters, the team found that matter makes up less than a third of the contents of the universe.Co… Continue reading Scientists calculate how much matter there is in the universe

Strange metals: New state of matter shares properties with black holes

“Strange metals” have that name for a reason – these materials exhibit some unusual conductive properties and surprisingly, even have things in common with black holes. Now, a new study has characterized them in more detail, and found that strange meta… Continue reading Strange metals: New state of matter shares properties with black holes

Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it’s there and will we find it?

It sounds like science fiction to say there’s invisible, undetectable stuff all around us, and it doesn’t help that it has the spooky name of dark matter. But there’s plenty of evidence that this material is very real. So what exactly is dark matter? H… Continue reading Dark matter: What is it, how do we know it’s there and will we find it?

Evidence of universe’s oldest state of matter lurking inside neutron stars

Astrophysicists have found evidence of a strange substance called quark matter at the heart of compact stars. Combining recent theoretical calculations with measurements of gravitational waves from neutron star collisions, the researchers found that th… Continue reading Evidence of universe’s oldest state of matter lurking inside neutron stars

Whirling, glassy magnets found to be new state of matter

Most of us are familiar with the four classical states of matter – solid, liquid, gas and plasma – but there’s a whole world of exotic states out there. Now, physicists at Radboud and Uppsala Universities have identified a new one named “self-induced s… Continue reading Whirling, glassy magnets found to be new state of matter

One mystery solves another: Fast radio bursts detect missing matter

Only about five percent of the content of the universe is made up of regular (or baryonic) matter – and we still don’t know where most of that is. Now, an international team of astronomers has developed a creative new method to detect this missing matt… Continue reading One mystery solves another: Fast radio bursts detect missing matter

Higgs boson examined as source of dark matter at the LHC

It’s been calculated that dark matter is around five times more common than regular matter – and yet, we still haven’t directly detected it. Many different types of experiments are trying to find it, and now CERN has joined the hunt, testing whether th… Continue reading Higgs boson examined as source of dark matter at the LHC

Hypothetical particle explains three major mysteries of the universe

The Standard Model of particle physics does a decent enough job of explaining the universe, but it still has some holes in it. Now, a new study outlines how one hypothetical particle, the axion, may be the answer to three separate, massive mysteries of… Continue reading Hypothetical particle explains three major mysteries of the universe

New candidate particle for dark matter is one we’ve already found

Dark matter is believed to outnumber regular matter by a ratio of five-to-one, but so far it’s never been directly detected. Now, nuclear physicists at the University of York have proposed a new candidate particle that might make up the strange stuff –… Continue reading New candidate particle for dark matter is one we’ve already found