Articles

Particle hunting at the LHCIt's hard to avoid CERN these days. Last year's successful switch-on of CERN's Large Hadron Collider, followed by a blow-out which is currently being fixed, sparked wide-spread media coverage, and currently CERN stars in the Tom Hanks movie Angels and Demons. So what goes on at CERN and why the hubbub about the Large Hadron Collider, known as the LHC? Ben Allanach investigates.
Lambda marks the spot — the biggest problem in theoretical physicsThe mathematical maps in theoretical physics have been highly successful in guiding our understanding of the universe at the largest and smallest scales. Linking these two scales together is one of the golden goals of theoretical physics. But, at the very edges of our understanding of these fields, one of the most controversial areas of physics lies where these maps merge: the cosmological constant problem.
Beauty in mathematicsSurein Aziz explores one of the most beautiful equations in mathematics
EditorialAnd the winner is...
How maths killed Lehman BrothersHoratio Boedihardjo explains the credit crunch
Thinking outside the boxSonia Buckley travels through higher dimensions
The expression that (nearly) explained the UniverseSophie Butchart finds mysterious patterns in the solar system
Knitting by numbersLucinda Mathews visualises tricky surfaces
The Carol syndromeJosé-Manuel Rey unveils the curse of attractiveness
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Outer space: Are the constants of nature really constant?Are the unchanging features of the Universe really unchanging?
Understanding uncertainty: The many ways of spinning risk

Would you prefer a game with a 90% chance of winning, or one with a 10% chance of losing? You might scratch your head and say it's the same thing, and you'd be right, but research has shown that people's perception of risk is surprisingly vulnerable to the way it's presented. In this article David Spiegelhalter and Mike Pearson explore how risk can be spun and there's an interactive animation for you to have a go yourself.
Restoring profanityIn 1979 decorating work in a house in Vienna revealed a set of medieval frescoes depicting a cycle of songs by a 13th century poet, who was particularly fond of satirising the erotic relationships between knights and peasant maidens. The frescoes are of great historical significance, but they are badly damaged. In this article Carola Schönlieb explores how mathematicians use the heat equation to fill in the gaps.