A new computational knowledge search engine comes with unconventional capabilities

At its simplest, the new Wolfram Alpha function like a calculator, albeit one that understands things such as quantum mechanics.

Do you wish to know what size shoe to purchase in Japan, to exactly match your British size 11s? Google will help you find conversion tables but Wolfram Alpha will do the job for you. It is probably most handy as a 'homework engine' focused on science, mathematics and engineering, rather than the arts and humanities topics.

The shoe size conversion is just one of the dozens of example queries, which it provides. It is excellent at comparing different stock prices. It can also convert some currencies. Studying such examples will save you considerable time in the long run, because the more accurate your question, the more likely you’re to get a relevant answer.

Wolfram Alpha looks to occupy a space somewhere between Wikipedia and Google. The site's slogan states it's a ‘computational knowledge engine’. The search box carries an 'equals' sign at the end. Its concept originates from Mathematica software by Stephen Wolfram that has been around for over two decades. It's a computational tool, which enables you to manipulate, analyze and visualize data: its wide capabilities range from creating real-time 3D graphics to solving equations.

Wolfram Research has added data from fields like geography, sociology, finance, music, medicine, education and sport. Currently, it's short of material in several areas. This is largely because it doesn't search. It only employs data tested and uploaded by its own engineers.

Wolfram states that when computing began, 50 years ago, people felt they ‘would be able to ask a machine any factual question, and let it compute the answer. It didn't really work out that way’. It's now becoming possible, he asserts, thanks to the loads of data on the web, and Wolfram Research's Mathematica plus NKS (A New Kind of Science).