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Matthew R. Francis

Matthew R. Francis is a science journalist, physicist, and wearer of jaunty hats. In today’s chaotic social media landscape, he is most reliably tracked using his website.

Bustling Through the Physics of Crowds

A comic uses fluid dynamics to explain how groups of people move—and how that could help make large gatherings safer.

November 6, 2024

The Inside of a Neutron Star Looks Spookily Familiar

Exotic ultra-compressed matter can look like pasta, among other things.

November 17, 2015

How To Clock a Glacier

Portable slow-light technology could measure the speed of glaciers in real time.

March 4, 2015

What’s 250 Million Light-Years Big, Almost Empty, and Full of Answers?

Astronomers are using new tools in their search for cosmic voids.

July 31, 2014