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Amid the chaos of revolutionary France, one man’s mathematical obsession gave way to a calculation that now underpins much of mathematics and physics. The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts. The post What Is the Fourier Transform? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
You’re carrying around in your head a model of how the world works. Will AI systems need to do the same? The post ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback first appeared on Quanta Magazine
An updated evolutionary model shows that living systems evolve in a split-and-hit-the-gas dynamic, where new lineages appear in sudden bursts rather than during a long marathon of gradual changes. The post The Sudden Surges That Forge Evolutionary Trees first appeared on Quanta Magazine
According to Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes have only a small handful of distinguishing characteristics. Quantum theory implies they may have more. Now an experimental search finds that any of this extra ‘hair’ has to be pretty short. The post Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The proof, known to be so hard that a mathematician once offered 10 martinis to whoever could figure it out, connects quantum mechanics to infinitely intricate mathematical structures. The post ‘Ten Martini’ Proof Uses Number Theory to Explain Quantum Fractals first appeared on Quanta Magazine
More in science
Episode two of Hard Drugs explores the world of proteins
So far this year, fires have burned more than 1.5 million acres across northern Portugal and northwest Spain, killing eight people and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. The bulk of the wildfires coincided with a brutal heat wave in August, the most intense on record in Spain, which helped set the stage for the devastating burns, experts say. Read more on E360 →
Researchers have just presented the results of a collaboration among 22 neuroscience labs mapping the activity of the mouse brain down to the individual cell. The goal was to see brain activity during decision-making. Here is a summary of their findings: “Representations of visual stimuli transiently appeared in classical visual areas after stimulus onset and […] The post Charting The Brain’s Decision-Making first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.
Amid the chaos of revolutionary France, one man’s mathematical obsession gave way to a calculation that now underpins much of mathematics and physics. The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts. The post What Is the Fourier Transform? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Even as the U.S. guts support for renewable power, the world is still pushing ahead on the shift to solar energy, with installations up 64 percent in the first half of this year. Read more on E360 →
