A multitude of experiments have shown the mysterious phenomena of quantum mechanics to be how the universe functions. The scientists behind these experiments won the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics.
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Articles on Theoretical Physics
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Scientifically speaking, for time travel to exist, so must parallel timelines. This theory addresses the paradoxes that arise when studying the possibility of time travel.
A decadelong experiment produced the most accurate measurement yet of the mass of W bosons. These particles are responsible for the weak force, and the result is more evidence for undiscovered physics.
If humanity wants to travel between stars, people are going to need to travel faster than light. New research suggests that it might be possible to build warp drives and beat the galactic speed limit.
Bending space into warp bubbles to travel faster than light may never be a reality, but distorting the flow of time just might be possible.
Field theory describes the universe as energy flowing along unending lines. With this perspective, it is possible to define a new fundamental building block of matter.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom’s theory suggests there’s a one-in-three probability we live in a simulation.
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” To understand the universe, we need more Mad Hatter mathematicians.
Stephen Hawking was a highly creative scientist, pushing past assumptions and playing with “what if” scenarios to take physics to new levels.
Stephen Hawking inspired people with his work on black holes and other mysteries of the universe. Many were quick to pay tribute to the theoretical physicist who died today in the UK, aged 76.
Forget solid, liquid, gas. This research used advanced math to theorize about topological phases of matter. And over the years experiments with matter and cold atoms have been validating the ideas.
Is a novella published 130 years ago our best bet for explaining the worlds of 4D and beyond?
Some of history’s most brilliant scientists have occupied the Lucasian Chair, including Newton, Dirac and Hawking. Others were not so stellar.
It’s a century-old debate: what is the meaning of the wave function, the central object of quantum mechanics? Is Schrödinger’s cat really dead and alive? I was recently involved in an experiment conducted…
Our unfolding understanding of the universe is marked by epic searches and we are now on the brink of discovering something that has escaped detection for many years. The search for gravity waves has been…
AUSTRALIA 2025: How will science address the challenges of the future? In collaboration with Australia’s chief scientist Ian Chubb, we’re asking how each science discipline will contribute to Australia…
There are not many professions where people routinely ask you to justify your work, but theoretical physics is one of them. In the wake of the recent Nobel Prize to Peter Higgs and François Englert for…
Five years ago, at breakfast time, the world waited anxiously for news from CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The first nervy bunch of protons were due to be fired around the European…
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, Philosophy of Science, Australian Catholic University
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Sterrenkenner, History & Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
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ARC Laureate Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology
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Emeritus Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, OzGrav, The University of Western Australia
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Professor, The University of Queensland
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Australian Government Women in STEM Ambassador, Professor, UNSW Sydney
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University
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Alan Duffy is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute, Swinburne University of Technology
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PhD student in the history and philosophy of science, UCL
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Particle physicist, University of Cambridge
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Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre de Cosmologie Physique de Paris
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Professor of Physics, UNSW Sydney
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Laureate Fellow and Distinguished Professor, Australian National University
