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Photons traveling through a cloud of atoms can emerge so early that they appear to have spent a negative amount of time inside. Researchers tested whether this was merely a misleading feature of the light pulse by making extremely weak measurements of the atoms. Surprisingly, the atoms confirmed the same negative dwell time. The finding does not break standard physics, but it reveals that one of quantum mechanics’ strangest effects is physically measurable. ... Our experiment used photons – quantum particles of light – and the against-the-odds journey they must undertake to pass straight through a cloud of rubidium atoms....

Hidden magma chambers, rising heat, and global climate implications are now under intense scrutiny. The stakes go far beyond the American West — and the timeline may be shorter than expected. Massive Volcanic Eruption. Credit: Shutterstock | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel =============================================================================== A detailed geophysical study published in Nature in by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has refined our understanding of the Yellowstone supervolcano, uncovering new insights into its subsurface magma dynamics. Concurrently, climatological assessments by researchers such as Markus Stoffel (University of Geneva) have renewed discourse around the global systemic risks posed by a potential super-eruption —...