By "brilliant,†we don´t mean smart. Or at least not just smart. Brilliance is marked by insight, creativity and tenacity. It´s the confidence to eschew established wisdom in order to develop your own. It´s the foolishness needed to set out for the edge of understanding and sail right past it, ignoring the signs reading â€Thar be monsters†(not to mention â€Turn back lest ye never be awarded a decent research grant againâ€).

THE PAPER: A Rotating Black Ring Solution in Five Dimensions


THE JOURNAL: Physical Review Letters, March 11, 2002


THE AUTHORS: Roberto Emparan and Harvey S. Reall


THE GIST: If you know anything about black holes, you probably think their shape can only be spherical. But they might also be shaped like tiny doughnuts. And if that's true, we might be living in a five-dimensional universe.