Wave-particle duality is a fundamental fact of the Universe. But we don't see many objects moving around as waves. This is why it hurts when a golf ball hits you on the head: you and the golf ball are ...

For some time, we have known that light is both a particle and a wave. At least, it behaves like a particle and a wave; however, seeing both at the same time is no easy feat. For decades, scientists ...

Now that LIGO has detected their first gravitational wave signal, the part of Einstein's theory that predicts that the fabric of space itself should have ripples and waves in it has been confirmed.

Ever since Democritus – a Greek philosopher who lived between the 5th and 4th century's BCE – argued that all of existence was made up of tiny indivisible atoms, scientists have been speculating as to ...

For over 100 years, quantum physics has taught us that light is both a wave and a particle. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have performed a daring experiment using ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. What gives? Is it really possible for gamma-rays to exceed the speed of ...

Photon duality remains a paradox because the photon is regarded as a simple, unitary object in space. Equally bad, massless radiation is interpreted via concepts drawn from mass-based physics. The ...

Photons are particles of light, or waves, or something like that, right? [Mithuna Yoganathan] explains this conundrum in more detail than you probably got in your high school physics class. While ...

Light-speed travel is a staple of science fiction in space. No "Star Wars" movie seems complete until the Millennium Falcon (or a rival ship) uses its hyperdrive. And many "Star Trek" fans enjoy ...

In a striking display of quantum physics, a team of researchers has recreated one of science’s most legendary experiments—with unprecedented precision. At MIT, scientists cooled thousands of atoms to ...