Articles

Mathematical mysteries: Goldbach revisited

Since we first wrote about the Goldbach Conjecture we've had many requests for more information about  it and about how our Goldbach calculator works. We answer some of your questions here but the Goldbach conjecture touches on a strange area of maths that may leave you even more curious than before...
Designing loudspeakersIn his second article, David Henwood explains the role of mathematics in the design of Hi-Fi loudspeakers.
Natural frequencies and musicIn the first of two articles, David Henwood discusses the vibrations that can be harnessed by musical instrument makers.
What a coincidence!Coincidences are familiar to us all but what are the so-called laws of chance? From coin tossing to freak weather events, Geoffrey Grimmett explains how probability is at the heart of it all.
Editorial
  • What's in a name?
  • Disaster
Mathematical mysteries: twin primes

We know there is infinitely many primes, but are there infinitely many twin primes?
Image analysis - a modern application of mathematicsNew technology has provided us with some amazing images - satellite images, medical images, even images beamed back from Mars. Julian Stander tells us about the increasing role of statistics in interpreting them.
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Mathematics, marriage and finding somewhere to eatHow do you choose a partner? Is it an irrational choice or is it made rationally, based on a mathematical model which analyses the best potential partner you are likely to meet?
Dynamic programming: an introductionThe previous feature, "Mathematics, marriage and finding somewhere to eat" investigated the problem of finding the best potential partner from a fixed number of potential partners using a technique known as "optimal stopping". Inevitably, mathematicians and mathematical psychologists have constructed other models of the problem...
Decoding a war time diaryAn account of how a prisoner of war's diary was recently decoded. Donald Hill wrote his diary in a numerical code, disguised as a set of mathematical tables, while in Hong Kong during and after the Japanese invasion of 1941.
Coding theory: the first 50 yearsSpace probes, like NASA's recent Pathfinder mission to Mars, have radio transmitters of only a few watts, but have to transmit pictures and scientific data across hundreds of millions of miles without the information being completely swamped by noise. Read about how coding theory helps.
Editorial
  • The Dearing report
  • Network capacity problem
  • References