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Solution: ‘Taming Quantum Weirdness’
A simple analogue could offer insights into one of the most astonishing results of quantum mechanics.
19 Women Leading Math and Physics
Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.
‘Digital Alchemist’ Seeks Rules of Emergence
Computational physicist Sharon Glotzer is uncovering the rules by which complex collective phenomena emerge from simple building blocks.
Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View
The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit that comes from seeing through air.
The Almost-Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem
19th-century mathematicians thought the “roots of unity” were the key to solving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Then they discovered a fatal flaw.
New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes
For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.
Inside the Knotty World of ‘Anyon’ Particles
A new class of quantum particle is about to emerge from the tangled considerations of quantum statistics.
Physicists Uncover Geometric ‘Theory Space’
A decades-old method called the “bootstrap” is enabling new discoveries about the geometry underlying all quantum theories.
In Mathematics, ‘You Cannot Be Lied To’
For Sylvia Serfaty, mathematics is all about truth and beauty and building scientific and human connections.