Articles

  • article

    Cantor and Cohen: Infinite investigators part I

    What's the nature of infinity? Are all infinities the same? And what happens if you've got infinitely many infinities? In this article Richard Elwes explores how these questions brought triumph to one man and ruin to another, ventures to the limits of mathematics and finds that, with infinity, you're spoilt for choice.
  • article

    Number crunching ants

    Liz Newton finds that having a small brain doesn't stop you doing great things.
  • article
    Andrew Wiles

    Fermat's last theorem and Andrew Wiles

    Neil Pieprzak tells the fascinating story of Andrew Wiles who, with intense devotion and in secret, proved a deceptively simple-looking conjecture that had defeated mathematicians for almost 400 years.
  • article

    Maths on a plane

    Phil Trinh discovers how maths helps solve the mysteries of flight and love.
  • article

    Understanding uncertainty: The maths of surprises

    You meet an old friend on holiday, you find your colleague shares your birthday, you win the lottery. Exactly how rare are these rare events? David Spiegelhalter investigates in his regular column on uncertainty and risk.
  • article

    Editorial

    • I need maths like a carburettor recalibration
    • The 118 188 challenge
  • article

    The amazing librarian

    Josefina Alvarez describes the workings of the most famous search engine of them all. You'll need some linear algebra for this one, but it's worth the while!
  • article
    icon

    Saving lives: the mathematics of tomography

    Not so long ago, if you had a medical complaint, doctors had to open you up to see what it was. These days they have a range of sophisticated imaging techniques at their disposal, saving you the risk and pain of an operation. Chris Budd and Cathryn Mitchell look at the maths that isn't only responsible for these medical techniques, but also for much of the digital revolution.