Simple "spin models" used to explain magnetism can precisely reproduce any possible phenomenon in classical, non-quantum physics, according to scientists at the MPQ and UCL.
This is the first time such simple 'universal models' have been found to exist, showing that something analogous occurs in physics. The study, published this week Science, builds on pioneering work from the '80s which is at the interface between theoretical computer science and physics. Extremely simple computers are universal: they can in principle compute anything that can be computed.
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