Space & Physics: Mathematicians face an AI apocalypse

Plus, a push for more U.S. spaceports                    

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September 10—This week, we’re covering a major AI-fueled math breakthrough—the biggest one yet, in fact—and its profound implications for science and society. On Tuesday, OpenAI announced its resolution of a million-dollar math problem concerning the motion of fluids that has vexed human researchers for centuries. But some mathematicians are crying foul, and the controversy reflects increasing unease about AI’s disruptive effects on academic research. Will this be remembered as the summer when AI ate mathematics? Elsewhere, we also have stories about the strangest sky in the galaxy, a push for more U.S. spaceports, the mysterious shrinkage of Mercury, and much more. Enjoy! Thoughts? Questions? Let me know via e-mail (lbillings@sciam.com), X or Bluesky. —Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Physical Sciences

Top Stories

AI may have just solved a million-dollar math problem. The field will never be the same A mathematician compared the feat to the history-making chess competition in which IBM’s Deep Blue computer beat Garry Kasparov in 1997 Joseph Howlett

The strangest sky in the galaxy The newfound star S301 orbits the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole so closely that its view of the heavens gets twisted Phil Plait

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The summer AI ate math What happens when machines surpass the most brilliant human minds? Mathematicians are finding out Joseph Howlett

How many spaceports does the U.S. need? A new executive order calls for more than 1,000 U.S. rocket launches per year by the end of the decade. Rethinking the nation’s spaceports will be key Elizabeth Howell

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OpenAI claims blockbuster math breakthrough amid swirl of controversy Prior to the announcement, rumors were circulating online among mathematicians over the proof’s origins—OpenAI has denied all allegations Joseph Howlett

These strange celestial objects have been hiding in plain sight for decades It’s unclear what these objects actually are, but evidence for them has been detected by NASA’s Chandra space telescope for years Adam Kovac

The data center backlash comes for SpaceXAI’s Colossus Dozens of temporary gas turbines are powering SpaceXAI’s expansion—and fights over permits and pollution Austyn Gaffney

This cosmic particle was never meant to reach Earth. Now scientists think they finally know why it did In 2022 researchers detected a very odd photon from an enormous gamma-ray burst that should have been destroyed on its way to Earth Adam Kovac

There are just five perfect shapes in math—here's why The five Platonic solids are the epitome of perfection—at least in mathematics. Topology explains why there are only five of them Manon Bischoff

Was this record-setting encryption crack a fluke—or the new normal? A researcher’s social media post that revealed how to break part of a popular encryption protocol has gone viral. But did he really do it with just “good old paper and pencil”? Peter Hall

The planet Mercury is shrinking far faster than we thought The planet’s “wrinkles” give scientists a clue into how the world is contracting in size Mary Randolph

Mathematicians discover the worst way to hang a painting New solutions found to picture-hanging problems Emma R. Hasson

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From the Archive

The million-dollar race to ‘blow up’ math’s hardest equations New results challenge AI’s promise for solving how fluids swirl—and suggest a more human path forward Joseph Howlett

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