FQxI

10/11/2026

Stephen Hawking spent a long time arguing that black holes destroy information, and in 2004 he conceded that they don't. In 2012 Anil Ananthaswamy wrote for us about Steve Giddings, a physicist who agreed with Hawking's concession but thought it left some fairly important stuff unanswered. If the information survives, it has to get out of the black hole somehow, and Giddings argued that our usual picture of spacetime doesn't allow it.

In 2025 Physics Magazine put the same question to 1,675 of its readers and American Physical Society members. What they said is on the last slide.

Carousel by Gabe Fitzpatrick.

10/06/2026

Happy 20th birthday FQxI!

10/06/2026

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Francis Halzen for "decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2026/summary/

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 was awarded to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”

10/02/2026

In 2007, FQxI member Garrett Lisi offered $100 to anyone who could find three sign errors in his online physics notes.

There were no takers until recently, when an AI agent emailed.

09/29/2026

FQxI members Vlatko Vedral and Roger Penrose are among authors of an experiment that has made the first direct measurement of the quantum phase of a freely falling object.

09/26/2026

Harry Kumar, founder of Moth, wants quantum computers in the hands of artists, musicians, filmmakers and game designers. Moth's platform, Atlas, lets you run a real job on a quantum computer with no coding or quantum experience.

We've set a guest challenge at the Moth Hack: make something that teaches a general audience about quantum computing or quantum mechanics, using one of Moth's Atlas Engines. The winner gets a £150 voucher. Entries are open online until 2 October.

09/24/2026

Is gravity quantum? It's one of the big open questions in physics.

The Bose-Marletto-Vedral experiment, proposed by Chiara Marletto, Vlatko Vedral and colleagues, would test whether gravity alone can entangle two tiny masses. In a new paper with David Deutsch, the three FQxI members set out how constructor theory could be put to experimental test.

Walkthrough based on art by the Conjecture Institute.

09/22/2026

You leave a cat alone with physicists for five minutes...

New research puts gravity’s role in quantum decoherence to the test. Full story in the comments.

09/21/2026

Niayesh Afshordi remembers his friend, mentor and collaborator Rafael Sorkin (1945–2026). Read his full essay: https://qspace.fqxi.org/news/165330/remembering-rafael-sorkin

09/18/2026

Is life really quantum? Gerard McCaul pushes back.