New Optical Atomic ‘Tweezer Clock’ May Be Most Accurate and Precise Timekeeper Yet
Atomic clocks are used around the world to precisely tell time. Each “tick” of the clock depends on atomic vibrations and their effects on surrounding…
California Institute of Technology
Giant Seismic Network Created With Submarine Cables to Offshore Wind Farms
New technology could open the door to seafloor earthquake monitoring. An international team of geoscientists led by Caltech has used fiber optic communications cables stationed…
Brain Scans Reveal How the Human Brain Compensates When One Hemisphere Is Removed [Video]
Researchers studying six adults who had one of their brain hemispheres removed during childhood to reduce epileptic seizures found that the remaining half of the…
Otherworldly Discovery: Worms With Three Sexes in Mono Lake
Caltech scientists have discovered a new species of worm thriving in the extreme environment of Mono Lake. This new species, temporarily dubbed Auanema sp., has…
Astrophysics Surprise: First Overtones Detected in the Ringing of a Black Hole [Video]
By listening for specific tones in the gravitational waves of black hole mergers, researchers are putting Albert Einstein’s theories to new tests. When two black…
New Discovery Makes Valuable Chemicals Using Excess Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere
Research creates process that advances the field of carbon utilization. In an effort to develop sustainable solutions to humanity’s energy needs, many scientists are studying…
Latest Discoveries From Zwicky Transient Facility, Supernovae, Stars, and More
The results are rolling in from Caltech’s newest state-of-the-art sky-surveying camera, which began operations at the Palomar Observatory in March 2018. Called the Zwicky Transient…
Astronomers Observe a Surprisingly Faint and Rapidly Fading Supernova
A Caltech-led team of researchers has observed the peculiar death of a massive star that exploded in a surprisingly faint and rapidly fading supernova. These…
The Hardest Known Substance in the Universe – Nuclear Pasta
A team of scientists has calculated the strength of the material deep inside the crust of neutron stars and found it to be the strongest…
Biologists Create 3D Maps of DNA Within the Innermost Parts of a Cell
Nestled deep in each of your cells is what seems like a magic trick: Six feet of DNA is packaged into a tiny space 50…
Schrödinger Equation Describes the Evolution of Astronomical Structures
Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics governing the sometimes-strange behavior of the tiny particles that make up our universe. Equations describing the quantum world…
Chandra Discovers Neutron-Star-Powered Ultraluminous X-Ray Source
In the 1980s, researchers began discovering extremely bright sources of X-rays in the outer portions of galaxies, away from the supermassive black holes that dominate…
Critically Important Intercellular Communication System Discovered
Multicellular organisms like ourselves depend on a constant flow of information between cells, coordinating their activities in order to proliferate and differentiate. Deciphering the language…
Caltech Discovery Moves Solar Fuel Production Closer to Reality
Caltech researchers have made a discovery that they say could lead to the economically viable production of solar fuels in the next few years. For…
Quantum Simulator Could Shed Light on a Host of Complex Processes
Programming a computer is generally a fairly arduous process, involving hours of coding, not to mention the laborious work of debugging, testing, and documenting to…
Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Takes Its First Image of the Sky
A new robotic camera with the ability to capture hundreds of thousands of stars and galaxies in a single shot has taken its first image…
Closely Orbiting Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller
New research reveals that two closely orbiting stars may appear in images as a single point of light, making planets appear less dense than previously…
Scientists Measure Temperature Swings of Black Hole Winds for the First Time
A team of scientists has measured rapidly varying temperatures in hot gas emanating from around a black hole for the first time. These ultrafast “winds”…