Mathematicians settle 30-year-old resonance controversy

In the early '80s, several researchers were working to determine the location of atomic and molecular resonances, which are the frequencies at which atoms and molecules prefer to oscillate. Two groups of researchers (Rittby, ...

Is mathematics an effective way to describe the world?

Mathematics has been called the language of the universe. Scientists and engineers often speak of the elegance of mathematics when describing physical reality, citing examples such as π, E=mc2, and even something as simple ...

Ants follow Fermat's principle of least time

(Phys.org) —Ants have long been known to choose the shortest of several routes to a food source, but what happens when the shortest route is not the fastest? This situation can occur, for example, when ants are forced to ...

Why moderate beliefs rarely prevail

(Phys.org)—We live in a world of extremes, where being fervently for or against an issue often becomes the dominant social ideology – until an opposing belief that is equally extreme emerges to challenge the first one, ...

Can a formula predict the outcome of a soccer match?

(PhysOrg.com) -- Soccer, like most sports, is a game full of surprises and lucky or unlucky breaks. After all, if it was easy to predict the winner of a soccer match, there wouldn’t be much reason to watch it. But a team ...

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