Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg once wrote: "Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think." Their finding could open a "new cosmic window" in quantum physics and improve understanding of the universe, according to research published in the international journal Nature on Thursday. Known as a physics "cold case", astronomers have long been chasing Heisenberg and his student Hans Euler's theory that seemingly empty space can alter the path of light. Dr Lower said the study put physics to the ultimate test, possibly revealing more about the mysteries of the universe. "Our best theories of quantum electrodynamics and quantum physics all still work when you put them in the most extreme magnetic environment in the universe," he said.