Articles

Defying gravity: The uphill rollerWhat goes up must come down — or does it? Find out how to cheat gravity with Julian Havil.
Music and Euclid's algorithmWhat does a mathematician from the 3rd century BC have to do with tuning musical instruments in 17th century Europe? Benjamin Wardhaugh tells us about one of the more unusual places you might find Euclid's algorithm being used.
Graphical methods III: the slugs bounce backIn the last article of this three-part series, Phil Wilson shows how simple graphs can tell you a lot about the economy — and not only in Slugworld.
The Fields Medals 2006The highest honour in maths has been awarded to four mathematicians
Troubled minds and perfect turbulenceVan Gogh paintings mimic the physics that governs turbulence
Editorial
  • Plus new writers award - Maths is the language of the universe, so what have you got to say?
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  • World Cup maths - How Plus can help you with your football.
The power of groupsGroups are some of the most fundamental objects in maths. Take a system of interacting objects and strip it to the bone to see what makes it tick, and very often you're faced with a group. Colva Roney-Dougal takes us into their abstract world and puzzles over a game of Solitaire.
Gödel and the limits of logicWhen Kurt Gödel published his incompleteness theorem in 1931, the mathematical community was stunned: using maths he had proved that there are limits to what maths can prove. This put an end to the hope that all of maths could one day be unified in one elegant theory and had very real implications for computer science. John W Dawson describes Gödel's brilliant work and troubled life.
The right spin: how to fly a broken space craftOn the 25th of May 1997 a dramatic collision tore a hole into the space station Mir and sent it hurtling through space. As NASA astronaut Michael Foale tells Plus, the fate of Mir and its crew hinged on a classical set of equations.
Outer space: SuperficialityHow to keep warm and safe
Graphical Methods II: The return of the slimeIn last issue's Graphical methods I Phil Wilson used maths to predict the outcome of a cold war in slug world. In this self-contained article he looks at slug world after the disaster: with only a few survivors and all infra-structure destroyed, which species will take root and how will they develop? Graphs can tell it all.
Editorial
  • What motivates mathematics?
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