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The Trouble With Turbulence

January 28, 2019

Turbulence is everywhere, yet it is one of the most difficult concepts for physicists to understand.

A Traveler Who Finds Stability in the Natural World

August 1, 2018

The mathematician Alessio Figalli is rarely in one place for very long. But his work has established the stability of everything from crystals to weather fronts by using concepts derived from Napoleonic fortifications.

Mathematicians Tame Turbulence in Flattened Fluids

June 27, 2018

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.

Mathematicians Disprove Conjecture Made to Save Black Holes

May 17, 2018

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.

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

March 14, 2018

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.

To Test Einstein’s Equations, Poke a Black Hole

March 8, 2018

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.

What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?

January 16, 2018

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

Mathematicians Find Wrinkle in Famed Fluid Equations

December 21, 2017

Two mathematicians prove that under certain extreme conditions, the Navier-Stokes equations output nonsense.

Yves Meyer, Wavelet Expert, Wins Abel Prize

March 21, 2017

The French mathematician was cited “for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets.”

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