Article
Content about “ irrational number
”
Article
Easy as pi?
This article explores this most beautiful of numbers. Find out its definition, why its value can only ever be approximated, what it has to do with waves, and why it contains the history of the Universe.
Article
Happy pi day 2025!
We celebrate pi day with a look at the number itself as well as some of its fellow numbers we particularly like.
Article
Myths of maths: The golden ratio
The golden ratio has many amazing properties. But is it really a secret of nature and the epitome of beauty?
Article
The real numbers and Cauchy sequences
We take the real numbers for granted, but what are they really?
Article
Maths in a minute: The square root of 2 is irrational
Here's one of the most elegant proofs in all of maths. Rejoice in its simplicity!
Article
Editorial
The Plus anniversary year — A word from the editors
Article
A tale of two curricula: Euler's algebra text book
In the fourth and final part of our series celebrating 300 years since Leonhard Euler's birth, we let Euler speak for himself. Chris Sangwin takes us through excerpts of Euler's algebra text book and finds that modern teaching could have something to learn from Euler's methods.
Article
Outer space: Some benefits of irrationality
Outer space: How to beat that photocopier
Article
Mathematical mysteries: Transcendental meditation
Nineteenth-century German mathematician Leopold Kronecker once said God created the integers, all the rest is the work of man.
Article
The origins of proof III: Proof and puzzles through the ages
For millennia, puzzles and paradoxes have forced mathematicians to continually rethink their ideas of what proofs actually are. Jon Walthoe explains the tricks involved and how great thinkers like Pythagoras, Newton and Gödel tackled the problems.