What is a square?
If a shape has equal sides with 90 degree angles between them then it's a square, right? Well, not quite...
If a shape has equal sides with 90 degree angles between them then it's a square, right? Well, not quite...
Curves bring great beauty to our world. But how curvy is a curve?
That geometry should be relevant to physics is no surprise — after all, space is the arena in which physics happens. What is surprising, though, is the extent to which the geometry of space actually determines physics and just how exotic the geometric structure of our Universe appears to be. Plus met up with mathematician Shing-Tung Yau to find out more.
Is the Universe finite, with an edge, or infinite, with no edges? Or is it even stranger: finite but with no edges? It sounds far-fetched but the mathematical theory of topology makes it possible, and nobody yet knows the truth. Janna Levin tells us more.