There are many instances that we can see that in our attempts to transform energy into as much as possible usable work, we are always left with this "rest" amount of heat that we can not use anymore to generate even more work. Clear examples of these imperfect transformations are the coolant radiators in our cars and the cooling towers of many factories or power plants. In powerplants that use fossil fuels we can have an efficiency as poor as 50% or often even lower, meaning that only 50% of the energy enclosed in the fuel is converted into electrical power, by means of burning fuel, heat generation that leads to steam and steam that will drive then turbines and generators. 50% or less is that not a shame? Of course the question arises why that is the case?

On May 8, 2007, we were pleased to announce that checkers is now solved. From the standard starting position, Black (who moves first) is guaranteed a draw with perfect play. White (moving second) is also guaranteed a draw, regardless of what Black plays as the opening move. Checkers is the largest game that has been solved to date.