Quanta Magazine – Esoteric news

June 4, 2017

Cosmic Discoveries Fuel a Fight Over the Universe’s Beginnings

A series of observations at the very edge of the universe has reignited a debate over what lifted the primordial cosmic fog. The post Cosmic Discoveries Fuel a Fight Over the Universe’s Beginnings appeared first on WIRED.

May 27, 2017

Ecologists Are Drowning in Sea of Data. These Tools Could Help

To assess the ocean's health, ecology's "rugged individualists" learned to get with the big data program. The post Ecologists Are Drowning in Sea of Data. These Tools Could Help appeared first on WIRED.

May 21, 2017

In Defense of the Reality of Time

Time isn't just another dimension, argues Tim Maudlin. To make his case, he's had to reinvent geometry. The post In Defense of the Reality of Time appeared first on WIRED.

May 13, 2017

Swirling Bacteria Illuminate the Strange Physics of Swarms

The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms. The post Swirling Bacteria Illuminate the Strange Physics of Swarms appeared first on WIRED.

May 6, 2017

What Happens When You Mix Thermodynamics and the Quantum World? A Revolution

As physicists extend the 19th-century laws of thermodynamics to the quantum realm, they're rewriting the relationships among energy, entropy and information. The post What Happens When You Mix Thermodynamics and the Quantum World? A Revolution appeared first on WIRED.

April 30, 2017

A Cosmic-Ray Hunter Closes in on Super-Energetic Particles

Angela Olinto's new balloon experiment takes her one step closer to the unknown source of the most energetic particles in the universe. The post A Cosmic-Ray Hunter Closes in on Super-Energetic Particles appeared first on WIRED.

April 23, 2017

Inside the Hunt for the Source of a Mysterious Cosmic Burst

After a surprise discovery, astrophysicists are racing to understand superenergetic flashes of radio waves that sometimes beep out from distant galaxies. The post Inside the Hunt for the Source of a Mysterious Cosmic Burst appeared first on WIRED.

April 16, 2017

Gerrymandering Is Illegal, But Only Mathematicians Can Prove It

Powerful new quantitative tools are now available to combat partisan bias in the drawing of voting districts. The post Gerrymandering Is Illegal, But Only Mathematicians Can Prove It appeared first on WIRED.

April 2, 2017

A Retiree Discovers an Elusive Math Proof—And Nobody Notices

When a German retiree proved a famous long-standing mathematical conjecture, the response was underwhelming. The post A Retiree Discovers an Elusive Math Proof—And Nobody Notices appeared first on WIRED.

March 26, 2017

Evolution Is Slower Than It Looks and Faster Than You Think

Examine evolution over the course of years or centuries, and you'll find that it progresses much more quickly than it does over geologic time. What gives? The post Evolution Is Slower Than It Looks and Faster Than You Think appeared first on WIRED.