Space & Physics: A century of quantum weirdness

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September 4 — This week, we're celebrating a century of mind-bending quantum physics, questioning our cosmic knowledge, doing the math on winning the Powerball lottery, and more. Enjoy! —Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics

Quantum Physics Is Bizarre. So Why Have We Loved It for 100 Years? A survey of Scientific American's century of quantum coverage helps explain the enduring popularity of strange physics

Top Stories

A Cosmic Void May Be Skewing Our Understanding of the Universe Our understanding of cosmology hinges on how well we know our own local universe, which remains poorly mapped and poorly understood Paul M. Sutter

This Sneaky Spacecraft Bacteria Can Play Dead to Survive A type of bacteria found in clean rooms has an unexpected method of survival, with implications for planetary protection Stephanie Pappas

How to See Faster-Than-Light Motion Superluminal velocities are common but illusory Phil Plait

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Should You Spend $2 to Win $1.3 Billion? Inside Powerball Math Winning more than $1 billion in Powerball is an exciting possibility, but keeping a cool math mind can help you decide whether that opportunity is worth your $2 bet Mark Fischetti

A Forgotten Math Idea Could Supercharge Quantum Computers Scientists have revived an ignored area of math to envision a path toward stable quantum computing Ananya Palivela

7 Science Book Reviews from Scientific American's Archives with Modern Recommendations A collection of seven book reviews from our archives, each paired with a recently published book we recommend Brianne Kane

What We're Reading

Former NASA chief says U.S. is likely to lose second lunar space race | Ars Technica Historians see autocratic playbook in Trump's attacks on science | New York Times The destruction of NASA would be a blow to our collective imagination | WIRED

From the Archive

Physicists Can't Agree on What Quantum Mechanics Says about Reality A survey of more than 1,000 physicists finds deep disagreements in what quantum theories mean in the real world Elizabeth Gibney, Nature magazine

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