For years, physicists were stuck in trying to explain an important mathematical problem in physics. The right approach ended ...

Breakthroughs in physics sometimes require an assist from the field of mathematics—and vice versa. In 1912, Albert Einstein, then a 33-year-old theoretical physicist at the Eidgenössische Technische ...

This article is the first part of a series about quantum field theory published by Quanta Magazine. Other stories in the series can be found here. Over the past century, quantum field theory has ...

Mathematics is full of weird number systems that most people have never heard of and would have trouble even conceptualizing. But rational numbers are familiar. They’re the counting numbers and the ...

In a recent X exchange, Telegram founder Pavel Durov urged students to study math for its logic and problem-solving power. Elon Musk replied, advocating for physics—with math. Their posts have ...

In 1655 the English mathematician John Wallis published a book in which he derived a formula for pi as the product of an infinite series of ratios. Now researchers from the University of Rochester, in ...

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. Symmetry also has an aesthetic meaning, although this is ...

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Even within concrete sciences like math and physics, there are plenty of discoveries to be made. From ...