Like a perpetual motion machine, a time crystal forever cycles between states without consuming energy. Physicists claim to have built this new phase of matter inside a quantum computer. The post Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Quanta Science Podcast

Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real

For 50 years, mathematicians have believed that the total number of real numbers is unknowable. A new proof suggests otherwise. The post How Many Numbers Exist? Infinity Proof Moves Math Closer to an Answer. first appeared on Quanta Magazine

How Many Numbers Exist? Infinity Proof Moves Math Closer to an Answer.

The DNA of some viruses doesn’t use the same four nucleotide bases found in all other life. New work shows how this exception is possible and hints that it could be more common than we think. The post DNA Has Four Bases. Some Viruses Swap in a Fifth. first appeared on Quanta Magazine

DNA Has Four Bases. Some Viruses Swap in a Fifth.

The accelerating effort to understand the mathematics of quantum field theory will have profound consequences for both math and physics. The post The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve

New work suggests that the radiolytic splitting of water supports giant subsurface ecosystems of life on Earth — and could do it elsewhere, too. The post Radioactivity May Fuel Life Deep Underground and Inside Other Worlds first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Radioactivity May Fuel Life Deep Underground and Inside Other Worlds

The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA. The post DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists first appeared on Quanta Magazine

DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists

New data indicating that Earth’s surface broke up about 3.2 billion years ago helps clarify how plate tectonics drove the evolution of complex life. The post Scientists Pin Down When Earth’s Crust Cracked, Then Came to Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Scientists Pin Down When Earth’s Crust Cracked, Then Came to Life

An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect. The post A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets

To the surprise of experts in the field, a postdoctoral statistician has solved one of the most important problems in high-dimensional convex geometry. The post Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades-Old Geometry Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades-Old Geometry Problem

A new proof demonstrates the power of arithmetic dynamics, an emerging discipline that combines insights from number theory and dynamical systems. The post Mathematicians Set Numbers in Motion to Unlock Their Secrets first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Mathematicians Set Numbers in Motion to Unlock Their Secrets

The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn’t work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could. The post Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn

By digging out signals hidden within the brain’s electrical chatter, scientists are getting new insights into sleep, aging and more. The post Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries

Small and cold, Mars has long been considered a dead planet. But a series of recent discoveries has forced scientists to rethink how recently its insides stopped churning — if they ever stopped at all. The post Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows

Long considered solved, David Hilbert’s question about seventh-degree polynomials is leading researchers to a new web of mathematical connections. The post Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’s 13th Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’s 13th Problem

The new volcanic fissures are more otherworldly than they first appear. The post Iceland’s Eruptions Reveal the Hot History of Mars first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Iceland’s Eruptions Reveal the Hot History of Mars

In-depth news about mathematics, physics, biology and computer science. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org.

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Quanta Science Podcast

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