In the literal sense, nothing is simpler than an elementary particle: By definition, a particle is considered to be elementary only if there is no evidence that it is made up of smaller constituents.

Elementary particle physics reflects the human quest to understand the basic building blocks of nature and the rules that govern the physical world. This quest has led not only to critical scientific ...

An international collaboration has shown that additive manufacturing offers a realistic way to build large-scale plastic scintillator detectors for particle physics experiments. In 2024, the T2K ...

Some innovations in physics come from entirely new technologies, others from fresh theoretical insights. Others still take shape by bringing together existing tools in new ways, working out how to ...

New scientific results confirm an anomaly seen in previous experiments, which may point to an as-yet-unconfirmed new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino, or indicate the need for a new ...

Physics has demonstrated that the everyday phenomena we experience are governed by universal principles applying at time and distance scales far beyond normal human experience. Physics has ...

In particle physics, data long outlives the detectors that generate it. A decade ago the 4,100-metric-ton Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) reached the end of its life and was shut down, stripped of ...

"Spooky action at a distance," Einstein's summation of quantum physics, has been a criticism of quantum mechanics since the field emerged. So far, descriptions of entangled particles to explain their ...

Every few years, scientists take a step back to take a broader look at their field and determine what questions are most pressing—and what tools they will need to answer those questions. This year the ...

The device you’re watching this video on is best understood by thinking about positive and negative charges moving around a circuit of diodes and transistors. But the only elementary particle actually ...