What Actually Causes Lightning?

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 story Astrophysicists Find No ‘ ...  Show more

In 2026, shock at AI’s growing mathematical abilities turned into something more like wonder — and concern. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Konstantin Kakaes about how AI is changing not only how mathematicians do math, but also why they ...  Show more

The abstract numeral that changed everything, according to mathematician Talithia Williams. Before the introduction of zero, mathematics was a tangible subject, where numbers held weight and substance. With zero came the concept of a mathematical “nothing;” it turned our solid un ...  Show more

Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cous ...  Show more

When math is based on abstract concepts, how do we know it’s correct? Dr. Eugenia Cheng takes on that question in a new book.

The concept of math has been around for a long time, developing independently in many different cultures. In 1650 BC, the Egyptians were ...

L'idée que le Moyen Âge ait eu "peur du zéro" est un raccourci souvent utilisé pour décrire l'appréhension et les controverses entourant l'introduction du chiffre zéro en Europe médiévale. Mais cette "peur" est-elle réelle, ou bien s'agit-il d'une simplification historique ? E ...