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To Move Fast, Quantum Maze Solvers Must Forget the Past

July 20, 2023

Quantum algorithms can find their way out of mazes exponentially faster than classical ones, at the cost of forgetting the path they took. A new result suggests that the trade-off may be inevitable.

How Quantum Physicists Explained Earth’s Oscillating Weather Patterns

July 18, 2023

By treating Earth as a topological insulator — a state of quantum matter — physicists found a powerful explanation for the movements of the planet’s air and seas.

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The Physicist Who’s Challenging the Quantum Orthodoxy

July 10, 2023

For decades, physicists have struggled to develop a quantum theory of gravity. But what if gravity — and space-time — are fundamentally classical?

A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos

June 29, 2023

Physicists finally know where at least some of these high-energy particles come from, which helps make the neutrinos useful for exploring fundamental physics.

An Enormous Gravity ‘Hum’ Moves Through the Universe

June 28, 2023

Astronomers have found a background din of exceptionally long-wavelength gravitational waves pervading the cosmos.

What Can Jellyfish Teach Us About Fluid Dynamics?

June 28, 2023

Jellyfish and other aquatic creatures embody solutions to diverse problems in engineering, medicine and mathematics. John Dabiri, a fluid dynamics expert, talks with Steven Strogatz about what jellyfish can teach us about going with the flow.

The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics

June 21, 2023

By treating molecules as geometric tessellations, scientists devised a new way to forecast how 2D materials might self-assemble.

What Causes Giant Rogue Waves?

June 14, 2023

Wave-science researcher Ton van den Bremer and Steven Strogatz discuss how rogue waves can form in relatively calm seas and whether their threat can be predicted.

A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus

June 12, 2023

By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons.

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