History of science

Dynamical systems can be chaotic and impossible to predict, but mathematicians have discovered tools to help understand them.

Three mathematicians show, for the first time, how to form a square with the same area as a circle by cutting them into interchangeable pieces that can be visualized.

The James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to rewrite the history of the cosmos and reshape humanity’s position within it. But first, a lot of things have to work just right.

Today’s powerful but little-understood artificial intelligence breakthroughs echo past examples of unexpected scientific progress.

The concept of dimension seems simple enough, but mathematicians struggled for centuries to precisely define and understand it.

The thorny thought experiment has been turned into a real experiment — one that physicists use to probe the physics of information.

Radio waves, longer and less energetic than visible light, give astronomers access to some of the most obscure physics in the cosmos.

The relationships among the properties of flexible shapes have fascinated mathematicians for centuries.

Christine Darden worked at NASA for 40 years, helping make supersonic planes quieter and forging a path for women to follow in her footsteps.