Science News, February 22nd, 2003
When you learned to tie knots as a child, you probably thought their main use was for making bows on birthday presents or keeping your shoes on your feet. However, if a small band of mathematicians and physicists has its way, knots will form the basis for an entirely new kind of computer, one whose power vastly outstrips that of the machines at our disposal today. In its first century, the mathematical study of knots belonged squarely to the realm of pure mathematics, seemingly divorced from any practical applications. In the past decade, however, mathematicians have turned knot theory into ...
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