Calculation: A representation of a network of electromagnetic waveguides (left) being used to solve Dirichlet boundary value problems. The coloured diagrams at right represent the normalized ...

We were always taught that the fundamental passive components were resistors, capacitors, and inductors. But in 1971, [Leon Chua] introduced the idea of a memristor — a sort of resistor with memory.

Partial differential equations can describe everything from planetary motion to plate tectonics, but they’re notoriously hard to solve. Unless you’re a physicist or an engineer, there really isn’t ...