The writers behind New Scientist explore the baffling concept of nothingness from the fringes of the universe to our minds' inner workings.It turns out that nothing is as curious or as enlightening as nothingness itself. What is nothing? Where can it be found? The writers of the world's top-selling science magazine investigate—from the big bang, dark energy, and the void, to superconductors, vestigial organs, hypnosis, and the placebo effect. And they disco...

A rogue planet is speeding its way towards the inner solar system, destined to become a hot Jupiter. It is a scenario that has played out countless times throughout the galaxy, and the result is always that the rocky inner planets are flung into the deep freeze of interstellar space, taking their inhabitants with them.The people in the story are compelled by their character, culture, history, and beliefs to choose a particular path and they have little conscious choice in the matte...

Where is the closest livable, rocky planet to earth? One with a similar gravity, climate, atmosphere, water and natural resources, non-hazardous space environment, stable axis, and which is not tidally locked? We currently do not know of such a planet, but if we find one, it will be tens if not hundreds or thousands of light years away.Suppose we were able to send probes to candidate planets. Once a probe arrived, it might take hundreds of years to send data back. If humans were th...

A brilliant scientist has nearly perfected his time machine. His vision is to go back and fix the mistakes of history, eliminating war, hunger, epidemics, and the other scourges of mankind.Naturally, everybody wants to get their hands on the machine and use it to acquire fame, fortune, and power. This includes the current vice president who wants to go back and wipe out everyone who now stands in the way of his path to absolute power.The machine has been tested by sending a...