For every popular list of unsolved problems, there are scholars and students dreaming of -- and working towards -- solving the puzzles they contain. Many search for creative solutions, only to reach ...

In physics, the conundrum known as the 'few-body problem,' how three or more interacting particles behave, has bedeviled scientists for centuries. Equations that describe the physics of few-body ...

Tessellations aren’t just eye-catching patterns—they can be used to crack complex mathematical problems. By repeatedly reflecting shapes to tile a surface, researchers uncovered a method that links ...

A pendulum in motion can either swing from side to side or turn in a continuous circle. The point at which it goes from one type of motion to the other is called the separatrix, and this can be ...

A computer language designed to robustly verify mathematical theorems and expose logical flaws has been turned towards a ...

All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. This article is the ...

At the turn of the 20th century, the renowned mathematician David Hilbert had a grand ambition to bring a more rigorous, mathematical way of thinking into the world of physics. At the time, physicists ...

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 ...