Visualize how data becomes organized through a variety of sorting algorithms

An overview of 12 fundamental types of algorithms and the uses for each

These include search algorithms to quickly process and find important information, cryptographic algorithms to secure communications, randomized algorithms—such as Monte Carlo simulations for estimating probabilities of outcomes—and greedy algorithms, which make optimal choices based on available data in a step-by-step fashion, as seen in navigation apps.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Traffic flow can be improved through research into card shuffling

Card-shuffling mathematics has been applied to solving problems in biology to estimate the evolutionary distance between organisms and in computer science to determine the optimal distribution of files and folders in databases.

A mathematical and visual analysis distinguishing chaos from randomness

Random systems lack any underlying pattern or causal relationships, while chaos is mathematically deterministic because the behavior follows established laws of nature. In 3D plots, chaotic systems produce outputs that approximate a mathematical function, while random points appear as statistical noise.

Visualize chaos with the orbit of three or more objects bound by gravity

In this simulation, users can simulate randomized and preset orbital configurations for up to 10 celestial bodies to observe the system's evolution in an interactive 3D space. The same configurations can produce different orbital behavior—a feature of chaos—by making small changes to an object's mass under advanced settings.

Visualizing Ben & Jerry's legendary flavors

This delightful data visualization breaks down all the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s across the globe, exploring every possible combination of base flavors and mix-ins.

Visualizing how changes to lineups would impact historical baseball games

This visual essay maps how data-informed lineup construction has revolutionized baseball. Amid the embrace of analytics, the game's best overall hitters were moved from the third spot to second, power bats were shifted out of the "cleanup" role, and speedsters—typically the leadoff batters—were pushed to the bottom half of the nine-player lineup. Joe Carter, the hero of the '93 World Series, likely never hits his iconic walk-off from the cleanup spot in a modern lineup.

Test your gerrymandering skills with this interactive game

This simulation demonstrates how packing and cracking alter election outcomes. See how shifting district lines can change representation—regardless of the overall makeup of the electorate.

Explore an optical table to create quantum physics experiments

This interactive teaches users to create quantum experiments through lessons resembling video game levels. Users can also use the virtual lab to visualize landmark quantum experiments like entanglement, teleportation, cryptography, and quantum computing, or create their own experiments with drag-and-drop elements.

See how computer memory really works—from binary bits to modern RAM

The video explains how computers store information as 1s and 0s, how RAM functions as fast working memory, and why systems utilize different types of storage. The video demonstrates how this process enables computers to operate.

Explore an interactive history of Google search trends

This interactive allows users to browse for the most searched topics on Google Search since 1999 and provides noteworthy statistics. Topics are sorted by categories, including athletes, movies, reality TV, dog breeds, and sauces.

Visualizing cause of death over time in America

As people age, their life expectancy decreases, but the timing and speed of this decline have evolved over the years. Check out this chart which shows the shift in various causes of death of Americans over the last few decades. Data from the...

Visualize the components of fireworks

This article provides animated diagrams depicting how different parts of fireworks function. The elements work together through timed mechanisms to produce desired effects.

Visualizing the 75 largest underwater animals

With so many fish in the sea, which are the largest? This infographic shows fantastic illustrations of the 75 largest sea animals, ranked by average size. The detailed visual is organized in descending order of size, starting with the blue whale,...

It took 70 years for computer scientists to determine how to cut a cake fairly

The cake-cutting problem explores how to divide something fairly, which is not solely about cutting evenly-sized pieces. A protocol that accounted for personal preferences (e.g., a corner piece) between just three people took 16 years to develop.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Explore the effects of tornadoes of different scales

In this simulation, users can adjust the tornado's diameter and rotation speed to see its impact as it passes through a series of trees and a one-story home.

Visualizing 100 years of Pulitzers

This fascinating data visualization breaks down a century of Pulitzer Prizes. Award categories are laid out against a timeline, and the symbols used to represent each winner indicate the topic of the winning work; the number of prizes won by that outlet thus far; and whether the prize was awarded to an individual or a newsroom. For the best viewing experience, zoom in using the magnifying glass on the cursor until it hits full-screen mode.

Explore over 30,000 Olympiad-level math problems

Users can browse questions from 47 countries and 17 languages, sorted by topic across categories that include algebra, geometry, discrete mathematics, and number theory. Each problem is accompanied by at least one solution, with both authored in LaTeX that can be copied over to other platforms.

Explore what each organelle does within various types of cells

In "Cell Anatomy Viewer," users can explore interactive illustrations of animal, plant, fungal, and bacterial cells. Clicking on an organelle, such as a lysosome, the nucleolus, or the Golgi complex, provides descriptions of its characteristics and functions.

Visualizing the growth of botnets

Botnets are a network of computers that have been infected with a variant of malware that coordinates and leverages them for automated mass attacks such as data theft and crashing servers. This interactive map highlights where botnets have been located between 2014-2020.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

How long it takes to travel by train from various cities

This interactive allows users to see how long it would take to move from one city to another in Europe via trains.

Chess can be played at lightning-fast or classical speeds

Time controls shape how the game is played—from bullet matches under three minutes, to blitz games under 10, to classical contests lasting over an hour. Each format demands different skills, from rapid intuition to deep calculation.

An interesting perspective on whether (and how) brain size matters in cognitive ability

Some brains are bigger than others, but what is the relevance, if any, to brain size and intelligence? This Scientific American article explores the question and offers examples. It also visually compares frontal slices of several mammals' brains, showing that humans don't necessarily have the biggest cerebrums on the block.

By organizing elements by atomic weight, Dmitri Mendeleev created the periodic table

The organization included groupings based on similar chemical properties and patterns in atomic weights. This left gaps that were used to predict the properties of elements yet to be discovered—including germanium and gallium—with high accuracy.

Explore a typical layout of an emergency department

This architectural diagram illustrates the layout of an emergency area. It provides insights into a typical emergency room organizational system to provide context for patients as they flow from entry through triage into treatment.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.