click here for the plus home page
© 1997-2009, Millennium Mathematics Project, University of Cambridge.
Permission is granted to print and copy this page on paper for non-commercial use. For other uses, including electronic redistribution, please contact us.
Seven things everyone wants to know about the universe
icon

What would you like to know about your universe?

Careers with maths
icon

Andy Green is gearing up to break the land speed record in his rocket powered car Bloodhound SSC

A favourite from the archive...
Subscribe to our RSS feed:
AddThis Feed Button subscribe to our RSS feed
 
September 2009
Tags

stopping time

Feature icon

Backgammon is said to be one of the oldest games in the world. In this article, Jochen Blath and Peter Mörters discuss one particularly interesting aspect of the game - the doubling cube. They show how a model using Brownian motion can help a player to decide when to double or accept a double.

Tags: strategy : doubling cube : stochastic process : Brownian motion : independence : stopping time : Backgammon : doubling strategy : random walk


Feature icon

In issue 29 of Plus, we heard how a simple mathematical equation became the subject of a debate in the UK parliament. Chris Budd and Chris Sangwin continue the story of the mighty quadratic equation.

Tags: bernoulli equation : navier-stokes equations : gravity : ellipse : chaos : differential equation : public understanding of mathematics : quadratic equation : circle : parabola : hyperbola : acceleration : stopping time : galileo : Newton : pendulum : Euler : complex number : logistic map : copernicus : kepler