Astronomers looked into the void of space—and watched light do something unthinkable

Astrophysicists detected light polarization around a distant magnetar. This observation confirms a quantum vacuum hypothesis from nearly ninety years ago. Extreme magnetic fields force the quantum vacuum to act like a physical prism. X-ray photons refract as they pass through invisible subatomic fluctuations. This groundbreaking study provides concrete observational evidence of quantum mechanics.