Archives: Quanta
Mathematicians Coax Fluid Equations Into Nonphysical Solutions
The famed Navier-Stokes equations can lead to cases where more than one result is possible, but only in an extremely narrow set of situations.
Secrets of the Moon’s Permanent Shadows Are Coming to Light
Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds.
Elegant Six-Page Proof Reveals the Emergence of Random Structure
Two young mathematicians have astonished their colleagues with a full proof of the Kahn-Kalai conjecture — a sweeping statement about how structure emerges in random sets and graphs.
Which Computational Universe Do We Live In?
Cryptographers want to know which of five possible worlds we inhabit, which will reveal whether truly secure cryptography is even possible.
Deep Learning Poised to ‘Blow Up’ Famed Fluid Equations
For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is near.
Newly Measured Particle Seems Heavy Enough to Break Known Physics
A new analysis of W bosons suggests these particles are significantly heavier than predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
Beyond the Second Law
Thanks to the power of fluctuation relations, physicists are taking the second law of thermodynamics to settings once thought impossible.
Cells Blaze Their Own Trails to Navigate Through the Body
With self-generated gradients of chemicals and physical tension, cells in the body steer themselves to vital destinations.
Brain Chemical Helps Signal to Neurons When to Start a Movement
Dopamine, a neurochemical often associated with reward behavior, also seems to help organize precisely when the brain initiates movements. It’s the latest revelation about the power of neuromodulators.
An Antimatter Experiment Shows Surprises Near Absolute Zero
An experiment conducted on hybrid matter-antimatter atoms has defied researchers’ expectations.