Podcast 2, October 2007: The geometry of viruses

Submitted by plusadmin on August 21, 2007

Reidun Twarock finds symmetry in viruses and tells us about the maths used to understand them.

Podcast download link:

Maths in a minute

Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.

What can we see?

Physics is all about observation. But how much can we actually see with the naked eye?
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle

There are limits to how much you can simultaneously squeeze the quantum fuzziness of an electron's position and momentum
Who's watching: Can maths exist if you can't see it?

We explore non-constructive proofs and what happens if you try and avoid them.
Maths in a minute: Transcendental numbers (and politics)

A quick introduction to transcendental numbers, a famous problem which relates to them, and how the person who solved it became a victim of political tensions.
Maths and politics

Mathematicians like to think that their field transcends politics, but as this brief history of the International Congress of Mathematicians shows, international mathematics has always been coloured by world events.