My Quantum Leap

I botched my first interview with Chris Fuchs. Fuchs is a physicist at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the leading proponent of QBism, one of the newest and most controversial of quantum theory’s many interpretations. It goes something like this: Quantum mechanics, the theory physicists use to predict the behavior of elementary particles like… Continue reading My Quantum Leap

Science News Briefs from around the World: March 2022

Credit: NASAAdvertisement MEXICO Small freshwater fish called sulfur mollies synchronously splash their tails to create waves, and scientists have now demonstrated that this strategy can deter hungry birds. Researchers triggered the wave-making process using slingshots and found that birds waited twice as long between attacks. CHILE An investigation of sedimentary rock cores revealed that a… Continue reading Science News Briefs from around the World: March 2022

AI Overcomes Stumbling Block on Brain-Inspired Hardware

Today’s most successful artificial intelligence algorithms, artificial neural networks, are loosely based on the intricate webs of real neural networks in our brains. But unlike our highly efficient brains, running these algorithms on computers guzzles shocking amounts of energy: The biggest models consume nearly as much power as five cars over their lifetimes. Enter neuromorphic… Continue reading AI Overcomes Stumbling Block on Brain-Inspired Hardware

ArXiv.org Reaches a Milestone and a Reckoning

What started in 1989 as an e-mail list for a few dozen string theorists has now grown to a collection of more than two million papers—and the central hub for physicists, astronomers, computer scientists, mathematicians and other researchers.On January 3 the preprint server arXiv.org crossed the milestone with a numerical analysis paper entitled “Affine Iterations… Continue reading ArXiv.org Reaches a Milestone and a Reckoning

In Search of Cracks in Albert Einstein’s Theory of Gravity

During a solar eclipse in 1919, Arthur Eddington observed light bending around the sun just as predicted by general relativity, Albert Einstein’s new theory of gravity. Since then, general relativity, which says that massive objects like stars warp the fabric of space-time around them, has passed increasingly precise tests. A year rarely goes by without… Continue reading In Search of Cracks in Albert Einstein’s Theory of Gravity

Most Complete Simulation of a Cell Probes Life’s Hidden Rules

From the bizarre creatures in the depths of the oceans to the bacteria inside our bodies, all life on Earth consists of cells. But we have only a very rough idea of how even the simplest of those cells function. Now, as described recently in Cell, a team at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and… Continue reading Most Complete Simulation of a Cell Probes Life’s Hidden Rules

Cryptographers Achieve Perfect Secrecy With Imperfect Devices

In Ian Fleming’s first novel, James Bond returns from the Royale-les-Eaux casino to his hotel room and inspects it for signs of intrusion. First, he confirms that a hair carefully placed inside his writing desk has not been moved. He then checks that talcum powder on a cupboard handle is free of fingerprints. Lastly, he… Continue reading Cryptographers Achieve Perfect Secrecy With Imperfect Devices

The Surprising Physics of Finger Snapping

Karen Hopkin: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin. Doing science isn’t easy. It takes an enormous amount of time and energy to collect and analyze data. At least, that’s the way it usually works. Saad Bhamla: This is one of those examples that we joke that we can snap our fingers and… Continue reading The Surprising Physics of Finger Snapping