Article
Billiards

Chaos on the billiard table

If you thought that billiards was a harmless game to play in the pub, think again. It's a breeding ground for chaos!

Article

Pointless: The maths of TV gameshows

One thing that makes TV game shows fun to watch is that there's usually an element of luck involved. But how (un)lucky is (un)lucky? We look at the probabilities of two popular examples.
Article
Arrows around a yellow tube

Why did nature choose quantum theory?

To create energy from information you would need to break the second law of thermodynamics — that's impossible in the real world, but could theories that do break it shed light on why nature is the way it is?

Collection

Can information be turned into energy?

In the latest online poll of our Information about information project you told us that you'd like an answer to this question. We asked Seth Lloyd, an expert on information at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and here is an answer. We also bring you two related articles from FQXi who are our partners on this project. Happy reading!
News story

A NICE decision

How does NICE make the difficult decision of which treatments to fund under the NHS?
News story

Easy as 1, 2, 3?

The natural numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, ..., are nice. So what could be nicer than discovering interesting patterns within them?
Podcast

When worlds collide

Fields medallist Cédric Villani talks to us about our solar system, chaos, and what it's like being a mathematical superstar.
News story

Building a bridge to maths

At last month's Cambridge Science Festival we had great fun trying out a hands-on (or rather feet-on) activity based on one of our favourite puzzles – the bridges of Königsberg. We were really pleased with how it went, so we thought we'd share our game for others to put on at their own science or maths event.
Article

Polar power

Like spirals and flowers? Then you'll love polar coordinates and the pretty pictures they allow you to draw!