An exact expression for a key process needed in many quantum technologies has been derived by a RIKEN mathematical physicist and a collaborator. This could help to guide advances in quantum technologies.
Entanglement is the mysterious phenomenon whereby two or more particles become so closely interconnected that, no matter how great the distance between them, they exhibit quantum correlations that far exceed the mutual relations achievable in classical systems.
MIT researchers have created a periodic table that shows how more than 20 classical machine-learning algorithms are connected. The new framework sheds light on how scientists could fuse strategies from different methods to improve existing AI models or come up with new ones.
For instance, the researchers used their framework to combine elements of two different algorithms to create a new image-classification algorithm that performed 8% better than current state-of-the-art approaches.
The periodic table stems from one key idea: All these algorithms learn a specific kind of relationship between data points. While each algorithm may accomplish that in a slightly different way, the core mathematics behind each approach is the same.
Eric Lerner is a popular science writer, plasma physicist, and long-time collaborator of the late Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvén. He’s also one of the featured speakers at our Beyond the Big Bang event this summer in Sesimbra, Portugal. For over thirty years, Lerner has been a leading voice in plasma cosmology and a critic of Big Bang cosmology, who argued for a non-expanding, steady state universe as the central claim of his landmark book The Big Bang Never Happened (affiliate link to puchase: https://amzn.to/4jEez8H). Our conversation dives into the history and foundations of plasma cosmology, from early Birkeland current experiments in the Arctic that revealed the electrical nature of the aurora, to the role of plasma dynamics in the shape and behavior of galaxies. All the hits are in here — from Halton Arp, whose Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies seriously challenged the way that mainstream cosmologists interpret redshift, to the electromagnetic forces often overlooked in mainstream cosmology, to the filamentary plasma structures and cosmic-scale currents that strain the limits of the standard model. This is a deep exploration of alternative cosmology, electric universe theories, and the scientists behind them — from Fred Hoyle to Anthony Peratt — who refused to patch a dying theory and instead asked instead if the universe might be eternal.
PARADIGM DRIFT https://demystifysci.com/paradigm-dri… Go! 00:05:59 – The Cosmological Pendulum 00:14:09 – Knowledge and Societal Progress 00:22:18 – Big Bang Origins & Ideological Influence 00:29:04 – Technological Stagnation Since the 1970s 00:32:02 – Ideology Replacing Empiricism in Science 00:36:14 – Gravity vs. Electromagnetism in Cosmology 00:41:02 – Evolution of Scientific Funding Models 00:51:11 – Birkeland Currents & Plasma Discoveries 00:56:25 – Centralization of Postwar Science 01:00:18 – Orthodoxy in Medicine 01:00:59 – Decline of Fundamental Research 01:04:39 – Plasma Cosmology vs. Dark Matter 01:08:52 – Capitalism and Research Priorities 01:14:22 – Sustaining Independent Science 01:15:16 – Birkeland, Alfvén & Plasma History 01:22:24 – Einstein’s Rise & Cultural Legacy 01:31:05 – General Relativity and Elitism 01:34:44 – Chapman’s Math vs. Empirics 01:37:12 – Alfvén’s Plasma Breakthroughs 01:43:39 – Plasma Physics vs. Big Bang Theories 01:47:39 – Nobel Prize & MHD’s Hidden Flaws 01:58:00 – Filamentary Plasmas vs. MHD 02:00:47 – Pseudoplasmas and MHD Limits 02:02:58 – Defining Plasma as a State of Matter 02:06:00 – Where Plasma Exists in Nature 02:11:17 – The Myth of Mathematical Models 02:21:10 – Scientific vs. Aesthetic Cosmology 02:29:55 – Failed Big Bang Predictions 02:36:01 – Alternatives to the Expanding Universe 02:43:09 – Large-Scale Structures and Cosmic Age 02:50:10 – Public Science and Open Debate 02:55:16 – Toward a New Cosmological Paradigm #plasma #bigbang #darkmatter #electricuniverse, #cosmology, #astrophysics, #scientificrevolution, #fusionenergy, #philosophypodcast, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast ABOUS US: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he’s not in the film studio, he’s exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com… AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98 DONATE: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@UCqV4_7i9h1_V7h… BLOG: http://DemystifySci.com/blog RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss MAILING LIST: https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S SOCIAL:
00:00 Go! 00:05:59 – The Cosmological Pendulum. 00:14:09 – Knowledge and Societal Progress. 00:22:18 – Big Bang Origins & Ideological Influence. 00:29:04 – Technological Stagnation Since the 1970s. 00:32:02 – Ideology Replacing Empiricism in Science. 00:36:14 – Gravity vs. Electromagnetism in Cosmology. 00:41:02 – Evolution of Scientific Funding Models. 00:51:11 – Birkeland Currents & Plasma Discoveries. 00:56:25 – Centralization of Postwar Science. 01:00:18 – Orthodoxy in Medicine. 01:00:59 – Decline of Fundamental Research. 01:04:39 – Plasma Cosmology vs. Dark Matter. 01:08:52 – Capitalism and Research Priorities. 01:14:22 – Sustaining Independent Science. 01:15:16 – Birkeland, Alfvén & Plasma History. 01:22:24 – Einstein’s Rise & Cultural Legacy. 01:31:05 – General Relativity and Elitism. 01:34:44 – Chapman’s Math vs. Empirics. 01:37:12 – Alfvén’s Plasma Breakthroughs. 01:43:39 – Plasma Physics vs. Big Bang Theories. 01:47:39 – Nobel Prize & MHD’s Hidden Flaws. 01:58:00 – Filamentary Plasmas vs. MHD 02:00:47 – Pseudoplasmas and MHD Limits. 02:02:58 – Defining Plasma as a State of Matter. 02:06:00 – Where Plasma Exists in Nature. 02:11:17 – The Myth of Mathematical Models. 02:21:10 – Scientific vs. Aesthetic Cosmology. 02:29:55 – Failed Big Bang Predictions. 02:36:01 – Alternatives to the Expanding Universe. 02:43:09 – Large-Scale Structures and Cosmic Age. 02:50:10 – Public Science and Open Debate. 02:55:16 – Toward a New Cosmological Paradigm.
The juridical metaphor in physics has ancient roots. Anaximander, in the 6th century BCE, was perhaps the first to invoke the concept of cosmic justice, speaking of natural entities paying “penalty and retribution to each other for their injustice according to the assessment of Time” (Kirk et al., 2010, p. 118). This anthropomorphizing tendency persisted through history, finding its formal expression in Newton’s Principia Mathematica, where he articulated his famous “laws” of motion. Newton, deeply influenced by his theological views, conceived of these laws as divine edicts — mathematical expressions of God’s will imposed upon a compliant universe (Cohen & Smith, 2002, p. 47).
This legal metaphor has served science admirably for centuries, providing a framework for conceptualizing the universe’s apparent obedience to mathematical principles. Yet it carries implicit assumptions worth examining. Laws suggest a lawgiver, hinting at external agency. They imply prescription rather than description — a subtle distinction with profound philosophical implications. As physicist Paul Davies (2010) observes, “The very notion of physical law is a theological one in the first place, a fact that makes many scientists squirm” (p. 74).
Enter the computational metaphor — a framework more resonant with our digital age. The universe, in this conceptualization, executes algorithms rather than obeying laws. Space, time, energy, and matter constitute the data structure upon which these algorithms operate. This shift is more than semantic; it reflects a fundamental reconceptualization of physical reality that aligns remarkably well with emerging theories in theoretical physics and information science.
By breaking a decades-old paradigm and rethinking the role that the dimension of time plays in physics, researchers from the University of Rostock and the University of Birmingham have discovered novel flashes of light that come from and go into nothingness—like magic at first glance but with deep mathematical roots that protect against all kinds of outside perturbations. Their findings have now been published in the journal Nature Photonics.
Time is the strange dimension: Unlike its spatial siblings, it is a one-way street as the clock only ever ticks forward and never backward. Scientists have long been aware of time’s quirks, with the British astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington musing about this “arrow of time” in his 1927 lectures. Nevertheless, whether it be because of or despite its uniqueness, time as a dimension for physics to play out in has long received far less attention than space.
Recently though, rapid progress in the research on so-called spatiotemporal crystals, objects with repeating patterns in time and space, has inspired a rethinking of the role time should play in our understanding of physics. Additionally, this has spawned the question of whether the uniqueness of time can be more than a mere quirk and instead lead to new effects ultimately useful in applications.
“Metaphysical Experiments: Physics and the Invention of the Universe” by Bjørn Ekeberg Book Link: https://amzn.to/4imNNk5
“Metaphysical Experiments, Physics and the Invention of the Universe,” explores the intricate relationship between physics and metaphysics, arguing that fundamental metaphysical assumptions profoundly shape scientific inquiry, particularly in cosmology. The author examines historical developments from Galileo and Newton to modern cosmology and particle physics, highlighting how theoretical frameworks and experimental practices are intertwined with philosophical commitments about the nature of reality. The text critiques the uncritical acceptance of mathematical universality in contemporary physics, suggesting that cosmology’s reliance on hypological and metalogical reasoning reveals a deep-seated faith rather than pure empirical validation. Ultimately, the book questions the limits and implications of a science that strives for universal mathematical truth while potentially overlooking its own inherent complexities and metaphysical underpinnings. Chapter summaries: - Cosmology in the Cave: This chapter examines the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva to explore the metaphysics involved in the pursuit of a “Theory of Everything” linking subatomic physics to cosmology. - Of God and Nature: This chapter delves into the seventeenth century to analyze the invention of the universe as a concept alongside the first telescope, considering the roles of Galileo, Descartes, and Spinoza. - Probability and Proliferation: This chapter investigates the nineteenth-century shift in physics with the rise of probabilistic reasoning and the scientific invention of the particle, focusing on figures like Maxwell and Planck. - Metaphysics with a Big Bang: This chapter discusses the twentieth-century emergence of scientific cosmology and the big bang theory, shaped by large-scale science projects and the ideas of Einstein and Hawking. - Conclusion: This final section questions the significance of large-scale experiments like the JWST as metaphysical explorations and reflects on our contemporary scientific relationship with the cosmos.
When an electric current passes through some materials, it generates a voltage perpendicular to the direction in which the current is flowing and of an applied magnetic field. This physical phenomenon, known as the anomalous Hall effect, has been linked to the intrinsic properties of some materials.
The efficiency with which a longitudinal current drives a transverse spin-polarized current in these materials is referred to as the anomalous Hall angle (θA). In many conventional magnetic materials, this angle is typically very small, which in turn limits the sensitivity of sensors and other devices developed using these materials.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have introduced a new mathematical model that allows them to modulate the θA in the magnetic topological semimetal Co3Sn2S2.
There are a seemingly endless number of quantum states that describe quantum matter and the strange phenomena that emerge when large numbers of electrons interact. For decades, many of these states have been theoretical: mathematical and computational predictions potentially hiding among real-life materials—a zoo, as many scientists are coming to refer to it, with new “species” just waiting to be discovered and described.
In a new study published on April 3 in Nature, researchers added over a dozen states to the growing quantum zoo.
“Some of these states have never been seen before,” said lead author Xiaoyang Zhu, Howard Family Professor of Nanoscience at Columbia. “And we didn’t expect to see so many either.”
Existing numerical computing libraries lack native support for physical units, limiting their application in rigorous scientific computing. Here, the authors developed SAIUnit, which integrates physical units, and unit-aware mathematical functions and transformations into numerical computing libraries for artificial intelligence-driven scientific computing.
