We can tie knots in three dimensions because one-dimensional ropes “catch on each other”. This is why a long rope wound around itself, if done right, won’t come apart. We trust knots with our lives ...

A pair of identical particles swapping places sounds like a small move. In quantum physics, it is a defining one. In everyday ...

(A) Coil system. (B) Tank and helical microswimmer. (C) Real experimental image. (D) Helical microswimmer with detailed shape parameters. The red dashed line indicates the body axis of the helical ...

In our three-dimensional space, elementary particles neatly filter into either bosons or fermions. But in lower dimensions, that distinction gets a bit murky.

Physicists of the 19th century assumed that space was distinct from time – and two researchers now suspect they were correct to do so. Their conclusion, which comes from considering the behaviour of ...

Ever wondered what four dimensions really mean? Discover why knots can’t exist in 4D space — and how mathematicians use cubes and clever analogies to understand higher dimensions.