Kevin Hartnett

Kevin Hartnett

Contributing Writer

Latest Articles

Q&A

A Mathematician Whose Only Constant Is Change

June 13, 2019

Amie Wilkinson searches for exotic examples of the mathematical structures that describe change.

Computer Scientists Expand the Frontier of Verifiable Knowledge

May 23, 2019

The universe of problems that a computer can check has grown. The researchers’ secret ingredient? Quantum entanglement.

Universal Pattern Explains Why Materials Conduct

May 6, 2019

Mathematicians have found that materials conduct electricity when electrons follow a universal mathematical pattern.

A New Approach to Multiplication Opens the Door to Better Quantum Computers

April 24, 2019

Quantum computers can’t selectively forget information. A new algorithm for multiplication shows a way around that problem.

Mathematicians Discover the Perfect Way to Multiply

April 11, 2019

By chopping up large numbers into smaller ones, researchers have rewritten a fundamental mathematical speed limit.

Cryptography That Is Provably Secure

April 2, 2019

Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of invincibility as a mathematical proof.

In Quantum Games, There’s No Way to Play the Odds

April 1, 2019

These games combine quantum entanglement, infinity and impossible-to-calculate winning probabilities. But if researchers can crack them, they’ll reveal deep mathematical secrets.

Proof Finds That All Change Is a Mix of Order and Randomness

March 27, 2019

All descriptions of change are a unique blend of chance and determinism, according to the sweeping mathematical proof of the “weak Pinsker conjecture.”

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