Science and Math News | Quanta Magazine
WEBIlluminating mathematics, physics, biology and computer science research through public service journalism.
A New Map of All the Particles and Forces | Quanta Magazine
WEBOct 22, 2020 · This approach doesn’t offer insight into the relationships between the particles. The force-carrying particles (namely the photon, which conveys the electromagnetic force; the W and Z bosons, which convey the weak force; and the gluons, which convey the strong force) are put on the same footing as the matter particles those forces act between — quarks, electrons and their kin.
The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve
WEBJun 10, 2021 · Over the past century, quantum field theory has proved to be the single most sweeping and successful physical theory ever invented. It is an umbrella term that encompasses many specific quantum field theories — the way “shape” covers specific examples like the square and the circle.
What Is a Particle? - Quanta Magazine
WEBNov 12, 2020 · The picture soon got even stranger. In the 1930s, physicists realized that the wave functions of many individual photons collectively behave like a single wave propagating through conjoined electric and magnetic fields — exactly the classical picture of light discovered in the 19th century by James Clerk Maxwell.
Physics News, Interviews and Columns | Quanta Magazine
WEBQuanta’s award-winning coverage of astrophysics, cosmology, quantum physics, geophysics, condensed matter, statistical mechanics, chaos theory…
Mathematician Proves Huge Result on ‘Dangerous’ Problem
WEBDec 11, 2019 · “You just need to know multiplying by 3 and dividing by 2 and you can start playing around with it right away. It’s very tempting to try,” said Marc Chamberland, a mathematician at Grinnell College who produced a popular YouTube video on the problem called “The Simplest Impossible Problem.”. But legitimate proofs are rare.
How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are …
WEBJul 21, 2020 · Faint Young Sun. Magnitude: No net temperature effect. Time frame: Constant. Though the sun’s brightness fluctuates on shorter timescales, it brightens overall by 0.009% per million years, and it has brightened by 48% since the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.. Scientists reason that the faintness of the young sun should have meant that Earth remained frozen solid for the ...
Topology 101: The Hole Truth - Quanta Magazine
WEBJan 26, 2021 · Around the same time, Bernhard Riemann was studying surfaces that arose in his study of complex numbers. He observed that one way of counting holes was by seeing how many times the object could be cut without producing two pieces.
Why Gravity Is Not Like the Other Forces | Quanta Magazine
WEBJun 15, 2020 · The problem with a quantum version of general relativity is that the calculations that would describe interactions of very energetic gravitons — the quantized units of gravity — would have infinitely many infinite terms.
Inside the Proton, the ‘Most Complicated Thing’ Imaginable
WEBOct 19, 2022 · As the pursuit continues, the proton’s secrets keep tumbling out. Most recently, a monumental data analysis published in August found that the proton contains traces of particles called charm quarks that are heavier than the proton itself.. The proton “has been humbling to humans,” Williams said.