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 ...

It has long been a mystery why pure math can reveal so much about the nature of the physical world. Antimatter was discovered in Paul Dirac’s equations before being detected in cosmic rays. Quarks ...

A ripple tells you something happened, but not exactly what. That is the core problem behind a hard class of equations that ...

When you throw a ball in the air, the equations of classical physics will tell you exactly what path the ball will take as it ...

MIP * = RE is not a typo. It is a groundbreaking discovery and the catchy title of a recent paper in the field of quantum complexity theory. Complexity theory is a zoo of “complexity classes” – ...

Last month, six Cornell faculty members received the Simons Fellowship, which provides funding for a research leave. Three received the Theoretical Physics fellowship and three received the ...

Sitting in the front row of a "General Chemistry" class at McCosh last fall, tracking questions and taking notes as earnestly as any undergraduate, Ana Mostafavi was a reassuring fixture in one of the ...

How can we tell good from evil? Is there a way that we should lead our lives? Such inquiries are typically the realm of philosophers, but Steven Landsburg argues that math, economics, and physics can ...

Math, specifically calculus, is a barrier to many natural sciences, technology and engineering fields. Physics, which is math-heavy, often proves similarly challenging to students who wish to pursue ...

When tech founders start weighing in on school subjects, students tend to pay attention. In a recent X exchange that sparked curiosity and classroom debates, Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, shared a ...