We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy.
  • Physics

  • Mathematics

  • Biology

  • Computer Science

  • Topics

  • Archive

What's up in

explainers

Black and white photo of Claude Shannon in front of a computer
Quantized Columns

How Claude Shannon Invented the Future

By David Tse
December 22, 2020
Read Later

Today’s information age is only possible thanks to the groundbreaking work of a lone genius.

A visualization of the tower formed by the 3-adic numbers
Abstractions blog

An Infinite Universe of Number Systems

By Kelsey Houston-Edwards
October 19, 2020
Read Later

The p-adics form an infinite collection of number systems based on prime numbers. They’re at the heart of modern number theory.

water molecules, droplets and a wave
Abstractions blog

How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics

By Charlie Wood
September 17, 2020
Read Later

Renormalization has become perhaps the single most important advance in theoretical physics in 50 years.

Abstractions blog

How Physics Found a Geometric Structure for Math to Play With

By Kevin Hartnett
July 29, 2020
Read Later

Symplectic geometry is a relatively new field with implications for much of modern mathematics. Here’s what it’s all about.

Visualization of the distribution of prime numbers in the shape of colorful dots in a hexagonal pattern
Abstractions blog

Mathematicians Will Never Stop Proving the Prime Number Theorem

By Susan D'Agostino
July 22, 2020
Read Later

Why do mathematicians enjoy proving the same results in different ways?

An ice sheet stretching into the distance.
Abstractions blog

How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now)

By Howard Lee
July 21, 2020
Read Later

Earth’s climate has fluctuated through deep time, pushed by these 10 different causes. Here’s how each compares with modern climate change.

Gödel’s incompleteness theorems.
Abstractions blog

How Gödel’s Proof Works

By Natalie Wolchover
July 14, 2020
Read Later

His incompleteness theorems destroyed the search for a mathematical theory of everything. Nearly a century later, we’re still coming to grips with the consequences.

Gif of a grid of arrows whose directions flip up and down.
Abstractions blog

The Cartoon Picture of Magnets That Has Transformed Science

By Charlie Wood
June 24, 2020
Read Later

One hundred years after it was proposed, the Ising model is used to understand everything from magnets to brains.

A falling apple.
Abstractions blog

Why Gravity Is Not Like the Other Forces

By Natalie Wolchover
June 15, 2020
Read Later

We asked four physicists why gravity stands out among the forces of nature. We got four different answers.


Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
Next

The Quanta Newsletter

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox

Recent newsletters


  • About Quanta
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Simons Foundation
All Rights Reserved © 2022