Reference Terms
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Computer software
Software is a program that enables a computer to perform a specific task, as opposed to the physical components of the system (hardware). This includes application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to perform a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run properly, by interfacing with hardware and with other software. Practical computer systems divide software into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.
Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer's storage (such as a hard drive, memory, or RAM). Once the software is loaded, the computer is able to execute the software. Computers operate by executing the computer program. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation -- moving data, carrying out a computation, or altering the control flow of instructions.
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Computers & Math News
January 29, 2026
Jan. 29, 2026 Quantum computers need extreme cold to work, but the very systems that keep them cold also create noise that can destroy fragile quantum information. Scientists in Sweden have now flipped that problem on its head by building a tiny quantum ...
Jan. 28, 2026 AI may learn better when it’s allowed to talk to itself. Researchers showed that internal “mumbling,” combined with short-term memory, helps AI adapt to new tasks, switch goals, and handle complex challenges more easily. This approach boosts ...
Jan. 27, 2026 Quantum technology has reached a turning point, echoing the early days of modern computing. Researchers say functional quantum systems now exist, but scaling them into truly powerful machines will require major advances in engineering and ...
Jan. 26, 2026 Researchers have demonstrated that quantum entanglement can link atoms across space to improve measurement accuracy. By splitting an entangled group of atoms into separate clouds, they were able to measure electromagnetic fields more precisely than ...
Jan. 25, 2026 A massive new study comparing more than 100,000 people with today’s most advanced AI systems delivers a surprising result: generative AI can now beat the average human on certain creativity tests. Models like GPT-4 showed strong performance on ...
Jan. 23, 2026 Blockchain could make smart devices far more secure, but sluggish data sharing has held it back. Researchers found that messy network connections cause massive slowdowns by flooding systems with duplicate data. Their new “Dual Perigee” method ...
Jan. 21, 2026 Scientists have discovered that the human brain understands spoken language in a way that closely resembles how advanced AI language models work. By tracking brain activity as people listened to a long podcast, researchers found that meaning unfolds ...
Jan. 20, 2026 Quantum computers could revolutionize everything from drug discovery to business analytics—but their incredible power also makes them surprisingly vulnerable. New research from Penn State warns that today’s quantum machines are not just ...
Jan. 19, 2026 Physicists have unveiled a new way to simulate a mysterious form of dark matter that can collide with itself but not with normal matter. This self-interacting dark matter may trigger a dramatic collapse inside dark matter halos, heating and ...
Jan. 17, 2026 Engineers have created a device that generates incredibly tiny, earthquake-like vibrations on a microchip—and it could transform future electronics. Using a new kind of “phonon laser,” the team ...
Jan. 17, 2026 Researchers have turned artificial intelligence into a powerful new lens for understanding why cancer survival rates differ so dramatically around the world. By analyzing cancer data and health system information from 185 countries, the AI model ...
Jan. 16, 2026 Humans pay enormous attention to lips during conversation, and robots have struggled badly to keep up. A new robot developed at Columbia Engineering learned realistic lip movements by watching its own reflection and studying human videos online. ...
Latest Headlines
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Jan. 15, 2026 A new OLED design can stretch dramatically while staying bright, solving a problem that has long limited flexible displays. The breakthrough comes from pairing a highly efficient light-emitting ...
Jan. 15, 2026 Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its ...
Jan. 13, 2026 A generative AI system can now analyze blood cells with greater accuracy and confidence than human experts, detecting subtle signs of diseases like leukemia. It not only spots rare abnormalities but ...
Jan. 11, 2026 Scientists have unveiled a new way to capture ultra-sharp optical images without lenses or painstaking alignment. The approach uses multiple sensors to collect raw light patterns independently, then ...
Jan. 9, 2026 Stanford researchers have developed an AI that can predict future disease risk using data from just one night of sleep. The system analyzes detailed physiological signals, looking for hidden patterns ...
Jan. 7, 2026 Researchers have built a new platform that produces ultrashort UV-C laser pulses and detects them at room temperature using atom-thin materials. The ...
Jan. 7, 2026 Tessellations aren’t just eye-catching patterns—they can be used to crack complex mathematical problems. By repeatedly reflecting shapes to tile a surface, researchers uncovered a method that ...
Jan. 6, 2026 Scientists are learning to engineer light in rich, multidimensional ways that dramatically increase how much information a single photon can carry. This leap could make quantum communication more ...
Jan. 6, 2026 Researchers have created microscopic robots so small they’re barely visible, yet smart enough to sense, decide, and move completely on their own. Powered by light and equipped with tiny computers, ...
Jan. 6, 2026 A new chip-based quantum memory uses nanoprinted “light cages” to trap light inside atomic vapor, enabling fast, reliable storage of quantum information. The structures can be fabricated with ...