The Joy of Why – Quanta Magazine https://www.quantamagazine.org Illuminating science Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:10:47 -0400 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum? https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-thermodynamics-go-quantum-20240912/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-thermodynamics-go-quantum-20240912/#respond Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:43:17 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=140647 The post Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> The principles of thermodynamics are cornerstones of our understanding of physics. But they were discovered in the era of steam-driven technology, long before anyone dreamed of quantum mechanics. In this episode, the theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern talks to host Steven Strogatz about how physicists today are reinterpreting concepts such as work, energy and information for a quantum...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-thermodynamics-go-quantum-20240912/feed/ 0 Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity? https://www.quantamagazine.org/do-we-need-a-new-theory-of-gravity-20240829/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/do-we-need-a-new-theory-of-gravity-20240829/#respond Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:35:49 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=140166 The post Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Observations of the cosmos suggest that unseen sources of gravity — dark matter — tug at the stars in galaxies, while another mysterious force — dark energy — drives the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate. The evidence for both of them, however, hinges on assumptions that gravity works the same way at all scales. What if that’s not true? In this episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/do-we-need-a-new-theory-of-gravity-20240829/feed/ 0 Are Robots About to Level Up? https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-robots-about-to-level-up-20240814/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-robots-about-to-level-up-20240814/#respond Wed, 14 Aug 2024 15:49:48 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=139809 The post Are Robots About to Level Up? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Within just a few years, artificial intelligence systems that sometimes seem to display almost human characteristics have gone from science fiction to apps on your phone. But there’s another AI-influenced frontier that is developing rapidly and remains untamed: robotics. Can the technologies that have helped computers get smarter now bring similar improvements to the robots that will work...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-robots-about-to-level-up-20240814/feed/ 0 How Does Math Keep Secrets? https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-math-keep-secrets-20240801/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-math-keep-secrets-20240801/#respond Thu, 01 Aug 2024 13:30:04 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=139467 The post How Does Math Keep Secrets? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Can you keep a secret? Modern techniques for maintaining the confidentiality of information are based on mathematical problems that are inherently too difficult for anyone to solve without the right hints. Yet what does that mean when quantum computers capable of solving many problems astronomically faster are on the horizon? In this episode, host Janna Levin talks with computer scientist Boaz...

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]]> https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-math-keep-secrets-20240801/feed/ 0 Will AI Ever Have Common Sense? https://www.quantamagazine.org/will-ai-ever-have-common-sense-20240718/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/will-ai-ever-have-common-sense-20240718/#respond Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:10:54 +0000 https://www.quantamagazine.org/?p=139141 The post Will AI Ever Have Common Sense? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

]]> Ask a question of ChatGPT and other, similar chatbots and there’s a good chance you’ll be impressed at how adeptly it comes up with a good answer — unless it spits out unrealistic nonsense instead. Part of what’s mystifying about these kinds of machine learning systems is that they are fundamentally black boxes. No one knows precisely how they arrive at the answers that they do. Given that mystery...

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