Latest press releases
Where is it, the foundation of quantum reality?
11 October 2018
With the aid of simple theoretical models it is possible to build systems operating strictly according to the rules of classical physics, yet faithfully reproducing the predictions of quantum mechanics for single particles – even those that are the most paradoxical! So what is the real hallmark of quantum behaviour?
Bitcoin better than the dollar?
10 October 2018
The name itself, cryptocurrency, does not inspire trust. Clusters of bits, considered by many as money of a doubtful nature. Advanced statistical analysis for the Bitcoin market carried out at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow, however, has not shown any significant differences between its basic statistical parameters and their equivalents for respected financial markets. All indications are that Bitcoin is a better currency than it might seem at first glance.
CREDO's “first light”: The global particle detector begins its collection of scientific data
4 October 2018
Now everyone can become co-creator and co-user of the largest detector of cosmic ray particles in history – as well as a potential co-discoverer. All you need is a smartphone and the CREDO Detector application turned on overnight. Under development for over two years, the CREDO project is entering the era of its maturity. Today, at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow, the “first light” of the detector was presented, that is, the first data of scientific value, collected by the smartphones of project participants from around 20 countries.
HAWC: Microquasar SS 433 reveals the nature of the brightest lanterns of the Universe
3 October 2018
They shine even from billions of light years away. Intriguing and enigmatic, quasars are loath to uncover their secrets. Fortunately, we can find out more about them by looking at their star counterparts – microquasars. Many years of observation of the microquasar SS 433, carried out in the HAWC observatory, have made it possible to identify, for the first time, spectacular details of the processes responsible for the production of high-energy radiation.
The potential harbingers of new physics just don't want to disappear
30 August 2018
For some time now, in the data coming in from the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, several anomalies have been seen in the decays of beauty mesons. Are they more than just statistical fluctuations? The latest analysis, conducted with the participation of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and taking into account so-called long-distance effects in the decays of particles, increases the probability that what is behind the anomalies is more than just another prank played by measuring techniques.