Microsoft’s quantum chip got an upgrade. Critics are still skeptical
Swapping materials in its Majorana 2 chip boosted the effectiveness of quantum bits that rely on the math of topology to reduce errors, Microsoft says.
Author: Emily Conover
The math of choosing a restaurant meal is revealed in Richard Feynman’s notes
Physicist Richard Feynman turned a lunch dilemma into a math problem. Researchers finally cracked his notes and found people approximate his solution on their own.
Here’s how to make an origami torus with the fewest folds possible
A mathematician found the most efficient way to fold paper into a doughnutlike shape.
Physics explains why gold stays pristine
Metals like copper oxidize — reacting with oxygen in the air — but gold doesn’t, thanks to a quick switch in atom arrangement on its
Water drops on soap bubble films act like merging galaxies
Water droplets on soap films orbited and merged like colliding galaxies, a technique that could help scientists study the cosmos.
To get string theory, you need only four physics assumptions
Tenets of quantum mechanics and special relativity, among other theoretical ideas, lead inexorably to string theory.
To understand black holes, physicists turn to a mathematical ‘Rosetta stone’
A link between particle physics and gravity equations, called the double copy, applies to Hawking radiation, creating a new way into black hole puzzles.
A grapefruit-sized quantum device mapped Earth’s magnetic field from space
On the International Space Station, a cube holding a diamond-based sensor revealed the potential for quantum magnetometers.