Stories by Manon Bischoff

Physicists have described a system that requires an incomputable number to fully understand, another example of the provably unprovable puzzles of mathematics

The unexpected discovery of a geometric phase shows how math and physics are tightly intertwined

When voters decide between two alternatives, as is effectively the case in the U.S. presidential election, it usually comes down to a neck-and-neck race. Researchers can now explain this mathematically

A surprisingly simple concept shook the foundations of mathematics

Physicists showed that photons can seem to exit a material before entering it, revealing observational evidence of negative time

Some researchers dream of solving all mysteries with a common method—but a mathematical paradox may keep such solutions out of reach

The spin of a particle seems to detach and move without a body—a strange experimental observation that’s stirring up debate

Two physicists have come across infinitely many novel equations for pi while trying to develop a unifying theory of the fundamental forces

A barber shaves all men who don’t shave themselves. Does he shave himself? Mathematics offers explanations for this and other curious contradictions

During the 2024 International Mathematical Olympiad, Google DeepMind debuted an AI program that can generate complex mathematical proofs

Controversy surrounds whether the Olympic pool in the Paris La Défense Arena is not deep enough and slows swimmers. Is this contention true?

For thousands of years, scholars pondered the question of how anything can move in our world. The problem seemed to have been solved—until the development of quantum mechanics

The busy beaver function is unpredictable. But now, after more than 40 years, the fifth value of the function has been revealed

Number theorists have been trying to prove a conjecture about the distribution of prime numbers for more than 160 years

Myths and legends surround the origins of these numbers

Experts have only started to crack the tricky twin prime conjecture

The shape of the cosmos could be much more complex than anyone had ever imagined

Despite their performance, current AI models have major weaknesses: they require enormous resources and are indecipherable. Help may be on the way

An infinite number of random events can produce just about anything if you have quintillions of years to wait

String theory could provide a theory of everything for our universe—but it entails 10⁵⁰⁰ (more than a centillion) possible solutions. AI models could help to find the right one

Can you assign a size to every object? The surprising answer is no

The Collatz conjecture has plagued mathematicians for decades—so much so that professors warn their students away from it

In the 1970s mathematicians found a simple way to create all numbers, from the infinitely small to infinitely large

A concept from theoretical physics helped confirm the strange connection between two completely different areas of mathematics