• Chinese researchers at Fudan, Peking, and SAIS used AI to solve long‑standing kissing number problem. • AI system Packing Star computed optimal sphere packings in dimensions beyond 24, previously unknown. • New solutions unlock advances in data storage, quantum coding, and high‑speed telecommunications. • The kissing number problem dates back to Newton’s 1694 debate with Gregory. • In 3D, the answer is 12; in 4D, 24; in 24D, 196,950. • AI‑driven approach demonstrates potential of machine learning to solve complex mathematical conjectures.
Article Summaries:
- Chinese scientists push limits of 300-year-old math problem in sphere packing The solutions can help solve problems in the field of information theory, quantum coding, data storage and advanced telecommunication. Scientists at Fudan University, Peking University, and the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science (SAIS) used an artificial intelligence system called Packing Star to solve a 300-year-old maths problem posed by none other than Isaac Newton. Known as the kissing number problem, it has been solved for common numbers of dimensions, such as the three-dimensional world we live in. But answers
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