Explained

Explained: Dynamo theoryRecent discoveries raise questions about how small planets can have self-sustaining magnetic fields

Explained: Climate sensitivityIf we double the Earth’s greenhouse gases, how much will the temperature change? That’s what this number tells you.

Explained: Regression analysisSure, it’s a ubiquitous tool of scientific research, but what exactly is a regression, and what is its use?

Explained: Radiative forcingWhen there’s more energy radiating down on the planet than there is radiating back out to space, something’s going to have to heat up

Explained: Linear and nonlinear systemsMuch scientific research across a range of disciplines tries to find linear approximations of nonlinear behaviors. But what does that mean?

Explained: Gallager codesIn 1993, scientists achieved the maximum rate for data transmission — only to find they’d been scooped 30 years earlier by an MIT grad student.

Explained: The Shannon limitA 1948 paper by Claude Shannon SM ’37, PhD ’40 created the field of information theory — and set its research agenda for the next 50 years.

Explained: The Discrete Fourier TransformThe theories of an early-19th-century French mathematician have emerged from obscurity to become part of the basic language of engineering.

Explained: RNA interferenceExploiting the recently discovered mechanism could allow biologists to develop disease treatments by shutting down specific genes.

Explained: P vs. NPThe most notorious problem in theoretical computer science remains open, but the attempts to solve it have led to profound insights.