Physics & Math, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 27, 2023

Scientists tried to solve the mystery of the helium nucleus — and ended up more confused than ever

One of nature's simplest elements is giving scientists a big headache after new research shows that protons and neutrons in helium atoms are not behaving as theory suggests they should. The mismatch between theoretical predictions of how these particles behave and what they're actually doing could point to new physics...

Jun 29, 2023

Neutrino map of the galaxy is 1st view of the Milky Way in 'anything other than light'

Scientists have traced the galactic origins of thousands of ghost particles known as neutrinos to create the first-ever portrait of the Milky Way made from matter and not light — and it's given them a brand-new way to study the universe. The groundbreaking image was snapped by capturing the neutrinos...

Aug 31, 2023

What is the strong force?

The strong force or strong nuclear force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, along with gravity, electromagnetism and the weak force. As the name suggests, the strong force is the strongest force of the four. It binds fundamental particles of matter, known as quarks, to form larger...

Oct 25, 2023

World's smallest particle accelerator is 54 million times smaller than the Large Hadron Collider, and it works

Scientists recently fired up the world's smallest particle accelerator for the first time. The tiny technological triumph, which is around the size of a small coin, could open the door to a wide range of applications, including using the teensy particle accelerators inside human patients. The new machine, known as...

Mar 13, 2024

Mysterious 'unparticles' may be pushing the universe apart, new theoretical study suggests

The ever-accelerating expansion of the universe may be driven by a mysterious form of matter called unparticles, which do not obey the Standard Model of particle physics, a new theoretical paper suggests. Scientists widely acknowledge that the universe is expanding, though the cause of that expansion remains elusive. One of...

Apr 30, 2013

Mathematician Who Proved Map-Coloring Theorem Has Died

Kenneth Appel, one of the first mathematicians to solve a famous mathematical proof using a computer, died April 19 at the age of 80. In 1976, Appel helped prove the four-color theorem, which states that any map can be colored in using just four colors, without bordering territories using the...

May 13, 2013

Googol, Googolplex - & Google

A googol equals 1 followed by 100 zeros. Googol is a mathematical term to describe a huge quantity. It is not an incorrect spelling of the search engine giant’s name, Google — actually, it's the other way around. Googol, a quantity that surpasses even the number of hydrogen atoms in...

May 20, 2013

Famous Prime Number Conjecture One Step Closer to Proof

Infinity down, only 69,999,997 to go. New research has proven that prime numbers don't just disappear as numbers get larger — instead, there is an infinite number of prime numbers separated by a distance of at most 70 million. The new proof, accepted this month for publication in the journal...

May 20, 2013

What is a Prime Number?

The first five prime numbers: 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11. A prime number is an integer, or whole number, that has only two factors — 1 and itself. Put another way, a prime number can be divided evenly only by 1 and by itself. Prime numbers also must be...

Jun 3, 2013

No End in Sight: Debating the Existence of Infinity

NEW YORK — Despite being in existence for more than 2,000 years, the concept of infinity has endured as an enigmatic, and oftentimes challenging, idea for mathematicians, physicists and philosophers. Does infinity really exist, or is it just part of the fabric of our imaginations? A panel of scientists and...

Dec 19, 2013

The 12 Days of Pascal's Triangular Christmas (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. One of the most magical aspects of mathematics is the ability for complex and intricate structures to emerge from the simplest of rules. Few mathematical objects are simpler to create...

Dec 20, 2013

How History Shaped the Global Mathematician

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Nothing seems more universal than the truths of mathematics. It should not matter, most believe, where they are expounded and by whom. Mathematics today is the ultimate portable discipline, unconstrained by time, place, nation...

Jan 15, 2014

Real Numbers: Properties and Definition

Real numbers are, in fact, pretty much any number that you can think of. This can include whole numbers or integers, fractions, rational numbers and irrational numbers. Real numbers can be positive or negative, and include the number zero. They are called real numbers because they are not imaginary, which...

Jan 21, 2014

What Are Imaginary Numbers?

An imaginary number is a number that, when squared, has a negative result. Essentially, an imaginary number is the square root of a negative number and does not have a tangible value. While it is not a real number — that is, it cannot be quantified on the number line...

Jan 29, 2014

What Are Complex Numbers?

Complex numbers are numbers that consist of two parts — a real number and an imaginary number. Complex numbers are the building blocks of more intricate math, such as algebra. They can be applied to many aspects of real life, especially in electronics and electromagnetism. The standard format for complex...