The New Math of Quantum Cryptography
In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how.
These Newly Discovered Cells Breathe in Two Ways
In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.
What Is the Magnetic Constant and Why Does It Matter?
This persnickety number determines the strength of magnetic fields. It figures in everything from motors and generators to audio speakers. Oh, and without it we’d live in eternal darkness.
What Is the Electric Constant and Why Should You Care?
The force between electrical charges is kind of a big deal—without it, the universe would be a primordial soup and you would not exist. That force is determined by the electric constant.
AI Is Designing Bizarre New Physics Experiments That Actually Work
Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.”
This New Pyramid-Like Shape Always Lands With the Same Side Up
A tetrahedron is the simplest Platonic solid. Mathematicians have now made one that’s stable only on one side, confirming a decades-old conjecture.
Efforts to Ground Physics in Math Are Opening the Secrets of Time
By proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians have illuminated why time can’t flow in reverse.
AC or DC: Which Is Better?
Your gadgets run on direct current, but the electricity in your home is alternating current. What’s up with that?
A ‘Grand Unified Theory’ of Math Just Got a Little Bit Closer
By extending the scope of a key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a unifying theory of mathematics.
The Hunt for a Fundamental Theory of Quantum Gravity
Black hole and Big Bang singularities break our best theory of gravity. A trilogy of theorems hints that physicists must go to the ends of space and time to find a fix.