Quanta Magazine Unravels Space and Time in Ambitious New Series

For over a decade, Quanta Magazine has challenged and delighted fans with stories about the most fundamental questions in science. Today, in its most ambitious project to date, the magazine brings its audience into what might be the deepest mystery of all: the nature of reality itself.

Many physicists now believe that space and time are not fundamental features of the universe, but rather properties that emerge as the result of something else going on underneath. Why do physicists believe this? How can we know if it is true? And if space-time isn’t the fabric of reality, what is?

The new series, “The Unraveling of Space-Time,” tangles with those questions. It includes nine new pieces of writing and media, brought together in a rich, interactive experience designed by Quanta and HLabs, an award-winning digital design agency. Senior Editor Natalie Wolchover, who, along with Quanta, was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting, oversaw the project’s development.

“Physicists have made genuine progress recently in studying the underpinnings of space-time,” Wolchover said. “We wanted to be as ambitious in our coverage as the subject deserves, by laying out the history, motivations and context behind the developments with the help of alluring art, animation and infographics, and a beautifully designed hub that brings it all together.”

The series includes:

• Two deep-dive features — one about new progress in understanding space-time as a hologram and another about the geometric underpinnings of quantum physics and space-time
• Two explainers, on the phenomenon of duality and the thermodynamics of black holes
• A dynamic exploration of thought experiments that expose problems with space-time
• A historical essay about physicist John Wheeler by science writer Amanda Gefter
• A video documentary by Senior Producer Emily Buder
• Interviews with physicist Latham Boyle and philosopher of science Karen Crowther
• 30 original visuals from five artists, under the guidance of Art Director Samuel Velasco

“These articles resulted from more than 60 hours of interviews with more than 30 quantum gravity researchers,” said Staff Writer Charlie Wood, author of five of the pieces in the series.  “It’s next to impossible to talk about anything without leaning on the concepts of space and time. And yet many physicists suspect that our current picture is holding us back.”

Conceived by Wood, Wolchover, Executive Editor Michael Moyer, and Samir Patel, Quanta’s new editor-in-chief, “The Unraveling of Space-Time” is the first of several planned editorial projects that will engage some of the biggest questions in basic science and math today.

“Quanta has never shied away from exploring the frontiers of knowledge — however challenging, abstract, or esoteric — with ambitious storytelling and visual panache,” Patel said. “‘The Unraveling of Space-Time’ is an evolutionary step for us, and we can’t wait to do it again.”

“I hope that our audience will enjoy exploring the many facets of this series,” Wolchover added, “and will come away with a far deeper understanding of physicists’ ultimate quest.”

Those who enjoy the series will have an opportunity to put their questions to members of Quanta’s staff. From 1:30–4:30 p.m. ET on Friday, September 27, Wolchover and Wood will answer questions about the series in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” discussion on r/IAmA, a forum for community-driven Q&A discussions with subject experts.

Quanta Magazine is an award-winning, editorially independent online publication of the Simons Foundation.

Patel, Wolchover and Wood are available for media interviews about the series and its contents.

Members of the press can contact Matt Carlstrom at [email protected].