7

Basic page

Letters

January 1999

From bouquets...

I wanted to thank you for creating a wonderful site for those of us who find it fun to spend an evening puzzling through maths problems! I just happened upon the site when I was discussing Fibonacci numbers with a not so mathematically inclined friend, who asked just what they were ever used for...

Tags
Taxonomy upgrade extras
Basic page

Introducing the MMP

January 1999

Mathematics is vital for any modern technological nation. Economic success depends on technology, which depends upon engineering, which depends upon science, which ultimately depends upon mathematics. But because mathematics lies at the far end of this chain, its importance is not always appreciated: and many people think that mathematics is what they were taught at school and have no idea of its true depth. Some people are even proud of being bad at it!

Tags
Taxonomy upgrade extras
Article

Mathematical Mysteries: Trisecting the Angle

Bisecting a given angle using only a pair of compasses and a straight edge is easy. But trisecting it - dividing it into three equal angles - is in most cases impossible. Why?
Career
icon

Career interview: Games developer

Andrew Wensley works at Eidos Interactive, the company who publish the mega-successful computer game Tomb Raider, featuring 90s icon Lara Croft. Andrew is a long-term computer game fan with an academic background in maths. PASS Maths caught up with him at Eidos's Wimbledon offices.
Article

The origins of proof

Starting in this issue, PASS Maths is pleased to present a series of articles about proof and logical reasoning. In this article we give a brief introduction to deductive reasoning and take a look at one of the earliest known examples of mathematical proof.
Article

Galloping gyroscopes

If boomerangs are really gyroscopes, then what are gyroscopes? In this article, we explore some more of the physics of gyroscopes, and demonstrate some interesting experiments you can do with them.
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!