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The Hidden Heroines of Chaos
Two women programmers played a pivotal role in the birth of chaos theory. Their previously untold story illustrates the changing status of computation in science.
How Feynman Diagrams Revolutionized Physics
In the late 1940s, Richard Feynman invented a visual tool for simplifying particle calculations that forever changed theoretical physics.
The Strange Numbers That Birthed Modern Algebra
The 19th-century discovery of numbers called “quaternions” gave mathematicians a way to describe rotations in space, forever changing physics and math.
How Einstein Lost His Bearings, and With Them, General Relativity
By 1913, Albert Einstein had nearly completed general relativity. But a simple mistake set him on a tortured, two-year reconsideration of his theory. Today, mathematicians still grapple with the issues he confronted.
How Feynman Diagrams Almost Saved Space
Richard Feynman's famous diagrams weren’t just a way to do calculations. They represented a deep shift in thinking about how the universe is put together.
Deep Secrets and the Thrill of Discovery
The biologist Sean B. Carroll rediscovers the scientific thrill of an unexpected revelation.
Time’s (Almost) Reversible Arrow
The irreversibility of time may be a clue as to what makes up the universe’s dark matter.
Science’s Path From Myth to Multiverse
In his latest book, the Nobel Prize winner Steven Weinberg explores how science made the modern world, and where it might take us from here.