knot theory
noun
: a branch of topology concerned with the properties and classification of mathematical knots
knot theorist
noun
Examples of knot theory in a Sentence
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In the 1980s, mathematicians began to find deep and surprising connections between these equations and other areas of mathematics: in statistical mechanics and the study of phase transitions, in knot theory and string theory, in number theory and representation theory and the study of symmetries.
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Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 21 Oct. 2024
Contemporary physicists apply knot theory to quantum mechanics and the winding paths that particles take through space-time.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2023
In one noteworthy discovery, deep learning helped mathematicians develop a formula related to knot theory, the study of 3D curves that cannot be untangled.
—Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2021
Quantum computing uses a similarly computationally difficult trick, thanks to knot theory.
—Eric Wolff, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2010
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Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 21 Oct. 2024
Contemporary physicists apply knot theory to quantum mechanics and the winding paths that particles take through space-time.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2023
In one noteworthy discovery, deep learning helped mathematicians develop a formula related to knot theory, the study of 3D curves that cannot be untangled.
—Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2021
Quantum computing uses a similarly computationally difficult trick, thanks to knot theory.
—Eric Wolff, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2010
Cite this Entry
“Knot theory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knot%20theory. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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