Information theory

As physicists extend the 19th-century laws of thermodynamics to the quantum realm, they’re rewriting the relationships among energy, entropy and information.

To avoid garbled messages, mathematicians might translate them into geometric form.

Life was long thought to obey its own set of rules. But as simple systems show signs of lifelike behavior, scientists are arguing about whether this apparent complexity is all a consequence of thermodynamics.

The polymath Christoph Adami is investigating life’s origins by reimagining life as self-perpetuating information strings.

Nature’s large-scale patterns emerge from incomplete surveys that borrow ideas from information theory.

Improvements in how densely spheres and other shapes can be packed together could lead to advances in materials science, deep space communication and theoretical physics.