Can quantum systems become more disordered, as thermodynamics would predict? Yes, they can - if a proper definition of "entropy" is used. It is one of the most important laws of nature that we know: ...

Though a cornerstone of thermodynamics, entropy remains one of the most vexing concepts to teach budding physicists in the classroom. Physics teachers designed a hand-held model to demonstrate the ...

A new theory suggests that gravity could possibly be the result of entropy. If true, this would mean that everything in the universe would fall apart if it all remained unchanged. This theory tries to ...

For more than a century, gravity has been the stubborn outlier in physics, resisting every attempt to merge Einstein’s smooth space-time with the jittery world of quantum mechanics. A new wave of ...

Gravity is supposed to be the most familiar force in nature, yet at the deepest level it remains the least understood. A bold new line of research now argues that gravity is not fundamental at all, ...

The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or two to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe.

Artist’s impression of Earth in the early Archean with a purplish hydrosphere and coastal regions. Even in this early period, life flourished and was gaining complexity. Credit: Oleg Kuznetsov ...