• Theoretical computer scientists are always probing the relationship of space (memory) and time.

• For 50 years, experts knew that a calculation of X steps required X/log X memory slots, but a new study suggests that it instead requires only the square root of X log X.

• While this doesn't decrease the time required to do the calculation, the surprising result shows there's more to learn about the foundational relationship in computer science.

Time and space are frequent topics of discussion for cosmologists, especially those studying exotic celestial bodies like black holes—a place where both of those concepts get a little wonky to say the least. Now, a new study shows that time and space in computational terms have a similarly complicated relationship.