Mathematics and computation

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Artist's impression of the gravitational wave and electromagnetic radiation signals from a distant binary neutron star merger arriving at Earth. The image shows the Earth floating in space with a telescope hovering above it in the bottom left corner, while in the top right corner a pair of bright spots are emitting ghostly blue waves

AI speeds up detection of neutron star mergers

Abstract image of a person holding glowing lightbulb shrouded in particles

AI and the future of physics

How artificial intelligence is accelerating discoveries – and raising profound questions – about the future of physics

Are you better than AI? Try our quiz to find out

Iulia Georgescu and Matin Durrani invite you to test your knowledge of the deep connections between physics, big data and AI

Research headlines

Lost in the mirror: as AI development gathers momentum, will it reflect humanity’s best or worst attributes?

Image showing a sphere made up of slices. The sphere's north pole that pointed towards the camera is located at the leftmost rim. The meridians connecting both poles are visible as brighter dots. Closer inspection shows that the horizontal north-south axis is 11% longer than the vertical (equatorial) diameter. This effect is an artifact caused by the necessary tilt of the Lorentz-contracted sphere relative to the light source to ensure proper illumina- tion. The meridians appear discontinuous because they are almost in line of sight seen from the camera.

Curious consequence of special relativity observed for the first time in the lab

Image illustrating four different stages of turbulent mixing between two fluids. The different fluids are represented by cool and warm colours, and the four stages are set against a background of swirls and bubbles

Quantum-inspired technique simulates turbulence with high speed

‘Sneeze simulator’ could improve predictions of pathogen spread

3D nasal cavity model could also inform the design of masks and ventilation systems

Modelling the motion of confined crowds could help prevent crushing incidents

A new study of how dense human crowds move in confined spaces could help predict potentially life-threatening collective motions

Elastic response explains why cordierite has ultra-low thermal expansion

Interplay between lattice vibrations and elasticity explains anisotropic behaviour

Theorists propose a completely new class of quantum particles

Paraparticles are fundamentally different from bosons and fermions and could be created using ultracold atoms

The physics of George R R Martin’s Wild Card virus revealed

Martin has put his name to a theoretical physics paper

String theory may be inevitable as a unified theory of physics, calculations suggest

Physicists explore particle scattering at tiny length scales

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Opinion and reviews

Defying gravity: insights into hula hoop levitation

Illustration of artificial organ implanted inside a human body

Virtual patient populations enable more inclusive medical device development

Image of a computer circuit board containing glowing orange lights and a chip at the centre with the letters AI written on it in glowing blue letters

Generative AI has an electronic waste problem, researchers warn

Explore more in mathematics and computation

Jogger illustrating the impact of exercise on tumour suppression

Mathematical model sheds light on how exercise suppresses tumour growth

A simple mathematical model examines the intricate relationship between exercise, immune function and cancer

Simulations of a spherical target at NIF, showing the convergent shocks delivered to the fusion plasma

Optimization algorithm gives laser fusion a boost

Simulations suggest that iterative technique could increase the energy output of direct-drive inertial confinement fusion

Diagram showing a grid of squares (representing waveguides) mapped onto images of colourful swirls (representing values calculated using the waveguide system)

Electromagnetic waves solve partial differential equations

New photonic technique could boost analogue alternatives to numerical methods

Collage styled urban graphic for Artificial Intelligence concept. Large robotic figure looms over crowd of silhouetted people

Why AI is a force for good in science communication

Claire Malone looks at the ups and downs of using AI to communicate science

Universe’s lifespan too short for monkeys to type out Shakespeare’s works, finds study

About 200,000 monkeys could type out “I chimp, therefore I am” before the universe ends, however

Photo of a small bonfire at night in a forest clearing with flames rising skywards. A camera on a tripod and other equipment are silhouetted against the flames, and aluminium baking trays can be seen scattered around the forest floor near the fire.

Bursts of embers play outsized role in wildfire spread, say physicists

Experiments on tracking firebrands could improve predictions of spot-fire risks

AI enters the fold with the 2024 Nobel Prize for Physics:

Matin Durrani is pleased that the 2024 Nobel Prize for Physics brings AI under physicists' wing

Aerial photo of a crowd of people in Frankfurt, Germany

Flocking together: the physics of sheep herding and pedestrian flows

Learn how the science of crowd movements can help shepherds and urban designers

Confused by the twin paradox? Maybe philosophy can help

Robert P Crease discusses a puzzle that goes to the heart of science and philosophy

Physics-based model helps pedestrians and cyclists avoid city pollution

New immersive reality method could also inform policymakers and urban planners about risks, say researchers

Deep connections: why two AI pioneers won the Nobel Prize for Physics

Our podcast guest is Anil Ananthaswamy, author of Why Machines Learn

Study finds preschool children form ‘social droplets’ when moving around the classroom

The movement of preschool children results in two distinct phases, find study

Genetically engineered bacteria solve computational problems

A cell-based biocomputer can identify prime numbers, recognize vowels and answer mathematical questions

Field work – the physics of sheep, from phase transitions to collective motion

Physics sheds a new insight on the behaviour of sheep flocks, helping with new tips on shepherding

Close up of the air-powered sensing device

Air-powered computers make a comeback

Novel device contains a pneumatic logic circuit made from 21 microfluidic valves

The simulated Pong game environment, 1000 × 1000 pixels, separated into six regions

Electro-active material ‘learns’ to play Pong

Memory-like behaviour emerges in a polymer gel

Open problem in quantum entanglement theory solved after nearly 25 years

Non-existence of universal maximally entangled isospectral mixed states has implications for research on quantum technologies

Sunflowers ‘dance’ together to share sunlight

Zigzag patterns created by circular motion of growing stems

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