A Math Couple Solves a Major Group Theory Problem—After 20 Years of Work
Britta Späth has dedicated her career to proving a single, central conjecture. She’s finally succeeded, alongside her partner, Marc Cabanes.
Evidence Grows That Dark Energy Changes Over Time
The latest Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument results fall short of the discovery threshold but strengthen evidence for dynamical dark energy.
Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture
A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash tables can be much faster than previously deemed possible.
Can’t Wrap Your Head Around Pi? Here’s a Cool Visual to Help
Pi is an irrational number, and like some irrational people it just goes on and on. What is it with this crazy, crucial number?
New Proofs Expand the Limits of What Cannot Be Known
By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have expanded the realm of mathematical unknowability.
Is It Electric or Magnetic? Depends on Where You Stand
Physics is weird. Especially when you’re dealing with moving reference frames.
The Saw-Toothed Function That Broke Calculus
In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics.
Did a Rock Hit Your Windshield, or Did Your Windshield Hit a Rock?
Either way, it sucks. But at least there’s some fun physics to ponder while you’re sitting in the repair shop.
A ‘Teleportation’ Breakthrough for Quantum Computing Is Here
A team at the University of Oxford succeeded in getting two quantum processors to connect to each other and work together with particle entanglement.
This New Algorithm for Sorting Books or Files Is Close to Perfection
The library sorting problem is used across computer science for organizing far more than just books. A new solution is less than a page-width away from the theoretical ideal.