The internet could not exist without information theory
Mehmet BAYSAN / Alamy
The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time here.
Beginning in the mid-20th century, the digital revolution ushered in the information age, radically changing the way information is processed and transmitted. Audio and video, which traditionally had been analogue, became digital. Phones gained more computational power than the room-filling machines…
Ancient rocks show earliest evidence of tectonic activity on Earth
The Pilbara craton in Western Australia is made up of some rocks that are 3.5 billion years oldElizabeth Czitronyi /...
How government use of AI could hurt democracy
AI could automate some government paperwork, but it comes with serious risksBrett Hondow / Alamy Many countries are exploring how...
Surgical robots take step towards fully autonomous operations
A surgical robot operating on a dead pigJuo-Tung Chen/Johns Hopkins University An AI-powered robot was able to remove a gall...
Fig trees may benefit climate by turning carbon dioxide into stone
Fig trees may be especially good at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphereRaimund Linke/mauritius images GmbH/Alamy Some fig trees can...
