phase synchronisation

How do green algae manage a perfect breaststroke even though they haven't got a brain? Enter the maths of synchronisation.

How do green algae manage a perfect breaststroke even though they haven't got a brain? The maths of synchronisation explains and even sheds light on human physiology and evolution.

Ray Goldstein explains what little green algae have told us about evolution the maths of synchronisation.

How do green algae manage a perfect breaststroke even though they haven't got a brain? Enter the maths of synchronisation.

It's one of the most beautiful sights in nature: fireflies illuminating the night with their synchronised flashing. Mathematicians have just solved a 40 year-old problem behind this striking phenomenon.

The Millennium Bridge across the Thames opened in June 2000 and was subsequently closed two days later because of the now-famous "wobbles". Given that, at any instant, two thousand people were suspended above a very dangerous river, this presented a serious problem.

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

  • As COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, kicks off we look at how maths can help understand the climate crisis.

  • How do you create dramatic film out of mathematics? We find out with writer and director Timothy Lanzone.

  • Mathematics plays a central role in understanding how infectious diseases spread. This collection of articles looks at some basic concepts in epidemiology to help you understand this fascinating and important field, and set you up for further study.

  • Find out why the formula we use to work out conditional probabilities is true!

  • We talk about a play that explores the fascinating mathematical collaboration between the mathematicians GH Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan.