ellipse
Flying a plane on a secret mission? Some basic geometry can help you avoid being captured by an adversary.
Play with our applets to explore the conic sections and their different definitions.
A Gömböc is a strange thing. It looks like an egg with sharp edges, and when you put it down it starts wriggling and rolling around as if it were alive. Until quite recently, no-one knew whether Gömböcs even existed. Even now, Gábor Domokos, one of their discoverers, reckons that in some sense they barely exists at all. So what are Gömböcs and what makes them special?
Chuck Gill caught the space bug as a child when watching Alan Shepherd launch into space. Since then he's worked as a US Air Force navigator, a satellite operator, and in the US intelligence service. These days he's busy reducing carbon emissions and preparing London for the 2012 Olympics. Plus went to see him to find out more about his career.
Runner up in the schools category. Dusty books, chalky blackboards and checked shirts are all things usually associated with maths. But according to Jonathan Tims, pubs, hot chocolate and cats can be far more inspirational. Join him on a trip through shadow land.
Why do so many people say they hate mathematics, asks David Acheson? The truth, he says, is that most of them have never been anywhere near it, and that mathematicians could do more to change this perception - perhaps by emphasising the element of surprise that so often accompanies mathematics at its best.
In issue 29 of Plus, we heard how a simple mathematical equation became the subject of a debate in the UK parliament. Chris Budd and Chris Sangwin continue the story of the mighty quadratic equation.
It isn't often that a mathematical equation makes the national press, far less popular radio, or most astonishingly of all, is the subject of a debate in the UK parliament. However, as Chris Budd and Chris Sangwin tell us, in 2003 the good old quadratic equation, which we all learned about in school, reached these dizzy pinnacles of fame.
We've all seen a traditional sundial, where a triangular wedge is used to cast a shadow onto a marked-out dial - but did you know that there is another kind? In this article, Chris Sangwin and Chris Budd tell us about a different kind of sundial, the analemmatic design, where you can use your own shadow to tell the time.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is now chiefly remembered as a mathematical astronomer who discovered three laws that describe the motion of the planets. J.V. Field continues our series on the origins of proof with an examination of Kepler's astronomy.
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Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.
In this podcast Paul Shepherd tells us about the maths of football stadiums and why his work required him to listen to Belgian techno.
Amidst all the controversy of the FIFA World Cup 2022 there is also some football to be played. And where there's football, there's maths...
Tosin uses maths to guarantee the continued production of chocolate.
Mathematician Nataliya Vaisfel'd talks about fleeing Ukraine with her wheelchair-bound mother and their dogs, eventually finding sanctuary in Britain.
If you've ever marvelled at a rainbow, you have witnessed dispersion in action!