statistical mechanics

Second, they used statistical mechanics to mathematically predict the behavior of the puffs, using techniques from phase transition physics.

So, instead of AI, the duo needed a different approach: statistical mechanics, a branch of physical theory.

Conformal field theory acts as a bridge between different fields of physics: the underlying math is used in string theory, condensed matter physics and quantum statistical mechanics.

This was the state of the art in the mid-1800s, and it seemed to mesh perfectly with the laws of statistical mechanics.

In the parlance of statistical mechanics, this is known as a scale-free correlation.