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The Search for What Shook the Earth for Nine Days Straight

September 12, 2024

Last year, an immense but brief outburst of seismic energy was soon followed by a long hum that made the world ring. Finding its cause took 68 scientists and an assist by the Danish military.

Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum?

September 12, 2024

The Industrial Revolution brought us the laws of thermodynamics, and new ideas about work, energy and efficiency. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern about what these concepts might mean in the age of quantum mechanics.

Novel Architecture Makes Neural Networks More Understandable

September 11, 2024

By tapping into a decades-old mathematical principle, researchers are hoping that Kolmogorov-Arnold networks will facilitate scientific discovery.

The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea

September 9, 2024

Cell membranes from comb jellies reveal a new kind of adaptation to the deep sea: curvy lipids that conform to an ideal shape under pressure.

‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work.

What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.

The First Nuclear Clock Will Test if Fundamental Constants Change

September 4, 2024

An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe.

How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles

September 3, 2024

In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music.

Q&A

Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time

August 29, 2024

The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of simple-seeming but counterintuitive probability puzzles.

Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?

August 29, 2024

Since Newton had his initial revelation about gravity, our understanding of this fundamental concept has evolved in unexpected ways. In this week’s episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham and co-host Janna Levin discuss the ways our current understanding of gravity needs to continue to evolve.

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