Not every World Cup goal is a classic. Sometimes a half-hearted shot goes in as a result of little more than a goalkeeper’s error. And on those occasions, goalies may be inclined to find an excuse.

The mysterious substance that binds galaxies together could naturally be “in tune” with a hidden fifth dimension, according to a new University of Sheffield theory aiming to shed light on one of science’s biggest enigmas: dark matter.

Recent improvements in our understanding of how the principles of thermodynamics apply in the quantum realm could give a boost to quantum technology, and a clearer picture of quantum thermodynamics could in turn enhance our understanding of classical thermodynamics. Now, Aalto University researchers have demonstrated the first cyclic quantum heat engine inside a superconducting circuit.

More than half a century ago, Sir Roger Penrose envisioned a scenario in which energy could be extracted from a black hole spinning at extreme speeds. He proposed that a particle entering its ergosphere—a region of space dragged around by a rotating black hole—could split into two. One part could fall into the black hole while the other escaped carrying more energy than the original particle. Building on this theory, physicist Yakov Zel’dovich later predicted that a wave interacting with a sufficiently fast, rotating object could extract energy from it and become amplified.