tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-229733572026-04-15T15:32:45.269-04:00Can we understand the universe? Read my blog to find out what we know, may one day know, and will probably never know.Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger2862125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-17559331144843831202026-04-15T11:00:00.002-04:002026-04-15T11:00:00.114-04:00

According to the New York Post, the U.S. used a “long-range quantum magnetometer” that can “find the electromagnetic fingerprint of a human heartbeat” in its Easter weekend operation to rescue an F-15 weapons systems officer. But does the U.S. actually have the crazy quantum surveillance capabilities that the Post claims it does? Let's find out.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-19857436079297401642026-04-14T11:00:00.000-04:002026-04-14T11:37:02.017-04:00

MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) is a theory of gravity that explains the physical phenomena we observe in galaxies with surprising accuracy, but it falls apart when it’s applied to galaxy clusters. The widely accepted dark matter theory, meanwhile, can apply to both. But according to new research by astrophysicists, observational data shows that our universe is full of more dead stars than we

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-68799482443583735452026-04-08T11:00:00.001-04:002026-04-08T11:00:00.113-04:00

Progress in quantum computing as an industry has been relatively stagnant for a while now. But over the past few weeks, that’s changed. Multiple groups focused on quantum cryptography (using quantum computers to break previously-unbreakable encryption protocols) published breakthrough papers in their field, raising concerns that quantum computers could break the crypto industry sooner than we

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-44899689106150080762026-04-06T11:00:00.001-04:002026-04-06T11:00:00.125-04:00

String theory has changed the foundations of physics profoundly, and I for one am worried about its legacy.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-21310297027850812552026-04-05T11:00:00.001-04:002026-04-05T11:00:00.112-04:00

Over the years, computer scientists have used cutting-edge processors to simulate the brains of increasingly more complex animals. They’ve already simulated worm and fruit fly brains, and are now working on mice. But according to a new paper, they’ve made a breakthrough that might allow them to simulate human brains, which contain 80 billion neurons compared to a fruit fly’s 140,000. Let’s take

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-41216130714260744482026-04-04T11:00:00.001-04:002026-04-04T11:00:00.119-04:00

The Riemann Hypothesis is an open problem in maths which – if proved correct – would show us a pattern in prime numbers. The zeta function, a central part of the hypothesis, has been linked to quantum mechanics, and recently a group of physicists linked it to gravitational equations associated with black holes. What does this mean, exactly? Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-8534478320552898922026-03-31T11:00:00.001-04:002026-03-31T11:00:00.120-04:00

UFOs are now known as UAPs, which stands for “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” These phenomena are increasingly popping up in headlines as technology advances, but for some reason scientists are still reluctant to research them. Let’s take a look at some recent UAP sightings and why we need to invest more into UAP research.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-42449786849158803932026-03-29T11:00:00.001-04:002026-03-29T11:00:00.111-04:00

The search for life on another planet is one of the most exciting things in astrophysics. As humanity has searched the universe for signs of life, we’ve found a surprising number of clues suggesting that alien life might exist on multiple other planets. Let’s take a look at how this search is developing and what “signs of life” really are.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-57151641797588327622026-03-26T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-26T12:00:00.116-04:00

Recently, Finnish researchers made waves by announcing progress in the field of wireless energy transfer using a combination of sound waves, laser systems, and electromagnetic radiation. While they haven’t miraculously figured out how to beam energy long distances with perfect efficiency, their research – and other projects in the same field – have made some significant progress in wirelessly

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-63644036511539531212026-03-25T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-25T12:00:00.123-04:00

The Boltzmann brain hypothesis states that, between the Big Bang occurring and a fully-formed brain suddenly popping into existence in space, the brain spontaneously appearing is more probable. In a recent paper, a group of physicists have compared the second law of thermodynamics and the Boltzmann brain hypothesis – after analyzing both, they concluded that both are equally legitimate theories

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-31955989709772617882026-03-24T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-24T12:00:00.118-04:00

The current status of academic publishing is miserable, and many people believe that the rise of AI will only make that worse. While they might be right in the short term, I think that in the long run, AI will help science. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-20959077553894608252026-03-22T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-22T12:00:00.115-04:00

In this video I explain why I think it’s wrong to believe that the speed of light is an impossible to overcome limit. I am afraid that this is the biggest mistake that physicists are making, that indeed our entire species is making. And it’s all due to physicists’ misunderstanding quantum mechanics.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-20520787549687475892026-03-19T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-19T12:00:00.132-04:00

Earth’s magnetic north pole is changing rapidly. First, it’s moving around quickly (for a geological feature, at least). Second, it seems to be slowly weakening over time, and also a growing number of anomalies have been detected in the Earth’s magnetic field. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-75227530596740209842026-03-17T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-17T12:00:00.120-04:00

I have been alerted that the energy industry will soon be revolutionized by new technology to extract energy from the vacuum. If that sounds somewhat far-fetched, in a new paper a group of physicists deliver the maths to back up their claim. The wave-functions of quantum physics are really properties of the vacuum, proving that it is a kind of medium. I had a look at the paper.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-67253431518544525912026-03-15T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-15T12:00:00.120-04:00

One of the most perplexing questions in the foundations of physics is how our shared sense of reality emerges out of quantum mechanics. This is because in quantum mechanics, it seems, different observers can arrive at different conclusions about what is real and what not. A group of physicists now used an approach called “Quantum Darwinism” to solve this tricky problem. At least they say they

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-3187261304525862792026-03-14T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-14T12:00:00.121-04:00

Friction affects almost everything around us. It makes cars drive, our muscles contract, and even helps us walk. But in terms of technology, friction often means wasted energy — that’s why material scientists are always looking for ways to minimize it. In a recent paper, researchers say that they’ve found a material that can reduce friction to almost zero. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-30475131366753035062026-03-11T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-11T12:00:00.113-04:00

What is space, really? That’s one of the biggest questions in science. According to a pair of researchers from the Perimeter Institute, the answer to that is: a quasicrystal. What is a quasicrystal, and how is space a quasicrystal? Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-8476070215261872012026-03-10T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-10T12:00:00.122-04:00

There’s no doubt that AI is currently going through a boom cycle. Big tech firms are currently investing billions of dollars into the technology and AI startups are reaching massive valuations faster than you can blink. But is this upswing based in reality, or are we just going through another tech bubble that will inevitably burst? Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-38473879024759565172026-03-08T12:00:00.001-04:002026-03-08T12:00:00.111-04:00

We’ve seen massive leaps in many different areas of tech over the past few years, and the next big revolution could be in data storage. In a recent paper, scientists at Microsoft revealed that they’ve found a way to store data for more than 10000 years by laser-etching pieces of glass. There are also a few other interesting ways that researchers are improving other storage technologies. Let’s

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-51430388095534594992026-03-07T11:00:00.001-05:002026-03-07T11:00:00.113-05:00

Do we live in a computer simulation? So far this question has been pursued mostly by philosophers because it was just too vague to make scientific sense of it. But this situation has changed now. Physicists are beginning to explore the consequences of the simulation hypothesis and a computer scientist has proposed a scientific framework to make sense of it. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-14383922343066800662026-03-03T11:00:00.001-05:002026-03-03T11:00:00.114-05:00

Using our observations and predictions based off of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, physicists are pretty sure that there’s a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. But according to a new paper, that prediction might be incorrect – instead, physicists claim that there’s actually a dense core of dark matter at the center of the galaxy instead. Let’s see if that makes

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-66916519672157614312026-02-28T11:00:00.001-05:002026-02-28T11:00:00.113-05:00

The first ever human spacecraft to land on the moon wasn’t Apollo 11 – it was the Soviet Luna 9 probe, which touched down three years before the Apollo lander. For decades, researchers have for some reason been unable to track down its location … up until now. In a recent paper, researchers wrote that they used a neural network to discover the probe (with 70-80% confidence). Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-46913637892628851152026-02-27T11:00:00.001-05:002026-02-27T11:00:00.118-05:00

We’ve seen massive leaps in many different areas of tech over the past few years, and the next big revolution could be in data storage. In a recent paper, scientists at Microsoft revealed that they’ve found a way to store data permanently by laser-etching pieces of glass. There are also a few other interesting ways that researchers are improving other storage technologies. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-63570088485705870932026-02-26T11:00:00.001-05:002026-02-26T11:00:00.113-05:00

Havana Syndrome is a mysterious ailment that has affected at least 1,500 people – the vast majority of them U.S. diplomats or government officials. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, and blurred vision, all of which are symptoms of being targeted by a directed energy weapon. However, U.S. probes into Havana Syndrome haven’t turned up any meaningful results over the years, at least until now –

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-5684908734523474592026-02-25T11:00:00.001-05:002026-02-25T11:00:00.117-05:00

Fusion reactors, according to a recently published paper, could produce theoretical particles that might make up dark matter. More specifically, physicists predict that they might produce large quantities of axions, low-mass elementary particles that some physicists believe might explain dark matter. Let’s take a look.

Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.com0