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mathematical physics

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Art for "How Network Math Can Help You Make Friends"
Quantized Columns

The End of Theoretical Physics as We Know It

By Sabine Hossenfelder
August 27, 2018
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Computer simulations and custom-built quantum analogues are changing what it means to search for the laws of nature.

Photo of Cohl Furey
fundamental physics

The Peculiar Math That Could Underlie the Laws of Nature

By Natalie Wolchover
July 20, 2018
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New findings are fueling an old suspicion that fundamental particles and forces spring from strange eight-part numbers called “octonions.”

Photo of Jupiter for "Mathematicians Tame Turbulence in Flattened Fluids"
fluid dynamics

Mathematicians Tame Turbulence in Flattened Fluids

By Joshua Sokol
June 27, 2018
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By squeezing fluids into flat sheets, researchers can get a handle on the strange ways that turbulence feeds energy into a system instead of eating it away.

Illustration of a black hole with a Cauchy horizon
general relativity

Mathematicians Disprove Conjecture Made to Save Black Holes

By Kevin Hartnett
May 17, 2018
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Mathematicians have disproved the strong cosmic censorship conjecture. Their work answers one of the most important questions in the study of general relativity and changes the way we think about space-time.

Photograph of Albert Einstein in his office at the University of Berlin, published in the USA in 1920.
Abstractions blog

How Einstein Lost His Bearings, and With Them, General Relativity

By Kevin Hartnett
March 14, 2018
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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.

Animated illustration of a black hole in a cube of jelly
mathematical physics

To Test Einstein’s Equations, Poke a Black Hole

By Kevin Hartnett
March 8, 2018
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Two teams of researchers have made significant progress toward proving the black hole stability conjecture, a critical mathematical test of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

Photo of smoke
Abstractions blog

What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?

By Kevin Hartnett
January 16, 2018
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The Navier-Stokes equations describe simple, everyday phenomena, like water flowing from a garden hose, yet they provide a million-dollar mathematical challenge.

Simulation of Kelvin-Helmholz Instability
fluid dynamics

Mathematicians Find Wrinkle in Famed Fluid Equations

By Kevin Hartnett
December 21, 2017
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Two mathematicians prove that under certain extreme conditions, the Navier-Stokes equations output nonsense.

Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Quanta Magazine
Abstractions blog

The Math That Promises to Make the World Brighter

By Kevin Hartnett
September 6, 2017
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The color of LED lights is controlled by a clumsy process. A new mathematical discovery may make it easier for us to get the hues we want.


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