Collection

Teacher package: Mathematical Modelling

The flocking behaviour of birds, the spread of diseases and the Cuban missile crisis — all of these and much more can be modelled mathematically. In our second teacher package we bring together all Plus articles on mathematical modelling, ready for use in classroom discussions or students projects.
Podcast

Podcast 1, August 2007: Breaking the ice

We talk to Shahn Majid about a whole new geometry of space, find out about how mathematics is combatting climate change, as well as all the latest news from the world of maths.
Article
cake

What is the Area of a Circle?

You might know the famous formula for an area of a circle, but why does this formula work? Tom Körner's explanation really is a piece of cake, served up with a hefty estimate of pi.

Article

Quantum geometry

One of the many strange ideas from quantum mechanics is that space isn't continuous but consists of tiny chunks. Ordinary geometry is useless when it comes to dealing with such a space, but algebra makes it possible to come up with a model of spacetime that might do the trick. And it can all be tested by a satellite. Shahn Majid met up with Plus to explain.
Article
limit set

Non-Euclidean geometry and Indra's pearls

If you've ever redecorated a bathroom, you'll know that there are only so many ways in which you can tile a flat plane. But once you move into the curved world of hyperbolic geometry, possibilities become endless and the most amazing fractal structures ensue. Caroline Series and David Wright give a short introduction to the maths behind their beautiful images.

Article

Editorial

  • Plus 100 —the best maths of the last century
  • More maths grads
Article

Maths goes public

Plus celebrates its tenth birthday this year. Former editor and present executive editor of Plus, Robert Hunt, explores how maths popularisation in general, and Plus in particular, have changed over the last ten years.