Wolfram|Alpha, which is a computational knowledge engine, just launched today. If you haven’t heard about it, wikipedia has a nice explanation.

Wolfram Alpha is not a search engine, as it does not look up answers to queries on an index of web pages or documents. Queries and computation requests are posed to it via a text field, like for a search engine, but it computes answers and relevant visualizations on the fly from a knowledge base of curated, structured data. Alpha thus differs from semantic search engines, which index a large number of answers and then try to match the question to one. Wolfram Alpha synthesizes knowledge by making advanced inferences from a smaller set of core information.

This search engine is a game changer. It is absolutely amazing what this search engine can do. It won’t replace google, but I think it will change how we get information.

I composed a list of interesting searches. I would also be interested in seeing your own favorite searches.

• Jeffrey – Stats on people named Jeffrey
• Macaroni and Cheese – Nutrition Facts about Macaroni and Cheese
• 5*y” + t^2*y = t, y(0)=2, y’(0)=1 – Solves the differential equation
• lord of the rings book – General Information about the book
• tokyo – Map, Population, and other general information
• carbon steel, red brass – Comparing Composition of Materials
• unemployment rate US, Canada, Mexico – Comparing Unemployment Rates