Article
sunrise over earth

Time and motion

Whatever is so wonderful about point B that makes all the people at point A want to get there? Robert Hunt sits at point C, and muses on the problem.
Article
Unspinning the boomerang

Unspinning the boomerang

In this article, we look at the physics behind the curved flight path of a returning boomerang, and explain that boomerangs are really a kind of gyroscope. We even show you how to bang up a boomerang yourself!

Article

Bang up a boomerang!

Here's how you can make your own cross-shaped boomerang - and it's safe enough to fly indoors! Hugh rolls up his sleeves and proves that theory isn't everything.
Article

Editorial

  • Roll-over malevolence
  • Time to change
  • Understanding science
Article

Mathematical mysteries: the three body problem

On June 25th 1998 the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory known as SOHO, a small spacecraft that monitors the sun, went missing. An error in the instructions given to it from ground control left it spinning out of control. However, there is a glimmer of hope.

Article

Pilgrims, planes and postage stamps

Practical problems often have no exact mathematical solution, and we have to resort to using unusual techniques to solve them. From navigation in the 17th century to postage stamps, see how this principle applies to a variety of real-life problems - and also learn how to use a piece of string to locate a German bomber!
Article

The origins of fractals

The term fractal, introduced in the mid 1970's by Benoit Mandelbrot, is now commonly used to describe this family of non-differentiable functions that are infinite in length. Find out more about their origins and history.
Article

Modelling nature with fractals

Computer games and cinema special effects owe much of their realism to the study of fractals. Martin Turner takes you on a journey from the motion of a microscopic particle to the creation of imaginary moonscapes.
Article

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...

Article

Quantum uncertainty

Quantum mechanics is the physics of the extremely small. With something so far outside our everyday experience it's not surprising to find mathematics at the heart of it all. But at the quantum scale nothing in life is certain... Peter Landshoff explains.
Article

Light's identity crisis

What is light? Sometimes it seems wave-like and sometimes particle like. See how Einstein applied his theory of relativity to the problem, predicted that photons have no mass and laid the foundations for quantum mechanics.