Yuan Zhong

A conventional computer sees the world flat: numbers are just points on a line. But a color image or a 3D scene demands more — four numbers that describe both position and rotation. Such quadruples are called quaternions, and until now electronics handled them clumsily, breaking them apart and reassembling them. The new chip changes the approach.

A black hole that has almost stopped consuming matter is like a kettle coming to a boil: calm on the outside, but seething with invisible processes within. Physicists have peered into this boundary world, where space and time no longer follow the familiar rules. They have described everything that happens right at the horizon: that invisible boundary beyond which even light cannot return.

A person looks at a screen where letters flash. They don't move a hand or an eye: they only mentally note the desired symbol. Sensors on the head pick up the brain's faint electrical waves, and the computer figures out which letter the person chose. That's how a brain–computer interface works: it gives a voice to those who can't speak or move.