Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Quanta Magazine
It’s “a definitive study for all time, like writing the final book,” says one researcher who’s mapping out new classes of geometric structures.
Even in the age of sun-observing satellites, astronomers like Jay Pasachoff still seek out total solar eclipses for the tales they can tell about our sun.
Two “rare jewels” have illuminated a mysterious multidimensional object that connects a huge variety of mathematical work.
The first major results from the Dark Energy Survey signal the start of a new era of cosmology.
Species gain and shed startling amounts of DNA as they evolve, and even genomes that look stable churn furiously. What does it mean?
Prime numbers are endlessly fascinating to number theorists and math enthusiasts. This month’s puzzle explores primes by cooking up a whimsical dish of grilled snake ribs.
The pot-stirring string theorist and quantum gravity theorist never sits still for long.
The three young friends who devised the “happy ending” problem would become some of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, but were never able to solve their own puzzle. Now it receives its first big breakthrough.
Quanta Magazine is committed to in-depth, accurate journalism that serves the public interest. Each article braids the complexities of science with the malleable art of storytelling and is meticulously reported, edited and fact-checked. Launched and funded by the Simons Foundation, Quanta is editorially independent — our articles do not reflect or represent the views of the foundation.
