mathematics in sport
In 1997 Andy Green was the first to break the sound barrier in his car Thrust SSC, which reached speeds of over 760mph. Now he and his team want to push things even further with a car called Bloodhound, designed to reach the dizzy heights of 1,000mph, about 1.3 times the speed of sound. Ben Evans explains how maths is used to build this car.
In this issue we venture to the very extremes of human experience. We explore the life and work of Kurt Gödel, who would have turned a hundred this year, and who stunned the maths world by pinning down the limits of logic. We tremble with NASA astronaut Michael Foale, as he tells us of a space odyssey that depended on three little equations. We map out the future of life after Armageddon. And we find out what on Earth to do with a group.
Learn about the aerodynamics of footballs and perfect your free kick.
How to count without counting
Why rankings don't work
How to predict football scores
The recent news of the great Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar surpassing West Indian Brian Lara's record number of test runs has given maths-loving cricket geeks another opportunity to pull out their calculators and Excel spreadsheets. Marc West is openly one of these nuts and did just that.
Browse all articles from the Plus sports page.
Why length matters
If your team scores first in a football match, how likely is it to win? And when is it worth committing a professional foul? John Haigh shows us how to use probability to answer these and other questions, and explains the implications for the rules of the game.
Modelling Olympic success
A mathematical improbability in the Third Round of the FA Cup could have upset the Premiership sides.
Goal keepers defend against the maths of the new World Cup ball
With the rugby world cup in full swing, it's time to look at some numbers
Australian cricket to blame for oil price rise?
The mathematics of foam coats Olympic swimming venue
How long do football managers last?
How will the UK do in the 2012 Olympics?
Andy Green, Royal Air force pilot and Oxford maths graduate, is gearing up to break his own land speed record in Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car designed to reach speeds of up to 1000mph. He tells Plus about the challenges — and the maths — behind this engineering adventure.
Chess versus sumo
Will the Ashes result depend on the weather?
