Mathematics

A new way of looking at cities has emerged during the last 20 years that could revolutionise planning and ultimately benefit city dwellers. ‘The Size, Scale and Shape of Cities’ in Science advocates…

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it isn’t necessarily the fastest or easiest path to follow. That’s particularly true when terrain is not level, and now…

An international team of cosmologists, leaded by a researcher from Paris Observatory, has improved the theoretical pertinence of the Poincaré Dodecahedral Space (PDS) topology to explain some…

Forty years ago, mathematician Mark Kac asked the theoretical question, "Can one hear the shape of a drum?" If drums of different shapes always produce their own unique sound spectrum, then it should…

Sports pundits across the country have been comparing the so-far unbeaten 2007 New England Patriots to the perfect 1972 Dolphins all year. A New York cardiologist has used the scientific statistics…

58132764 72645831 76125483 81274365 I first saw these numbers in the book “Fun with Mathematics” by Jerome S. Meyer, published in 1961. I have had them on my computer terminal at work for years. The…

Three-dimensional snowflakes can now be grown in a computer using a program developed by mathematicians at UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. No two snowflakes are truly alike, but…

Who needs a computer? Two theoretical physicists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute grabbed a piece of paper and described the motion of interstellar shock waves — violent events associated with the…

For centuries, human beings have been entranced by the captivating glimmer of the diamond. What accounts for the stunning beauty of this most precious gem? As mathematician Toshikazu Sunada explains…

Adult humans possess some mathematical abilities that are unmatched by any other member of the animal kingdom but there is increasing evidence that the ability to count sets of objects nonverbally is…