A crucial number that rules the universe goes big in a strange quantum material. The fine-structure constant is about 10 times its normal value in a type of material called quantum spin ice, ...

Electronics is really an applied branch of physics, so it isn’t surprising that if you are serious about your electronics, you probably know a little physics, too. If you’ve ever heard the term “fine ...

A team of researchers in Austria has recently demonstrated that the world’s first nuclear clock could help answer whether the fine-structure constant changes over time. The scientists from the Vienna ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

As fundamental constants go, the speed of light, c, enjoys all the fame. Yet c’s numerical value says nothing about nature; it differs depending on whether it’s measured in meters per second or miles ...