Math
Geometry can shape our world in unexpected but useful ways
This math, and the geometers who use it, can solve problems from how to stack oranges to designing better vaccines.
Math
More Stories in Math
- Math
Let’s learn about mathematical mysteries
There are still many mysteries about numbers, shapes and other aspects of math that have yet to be solved.
- Math
Scientists Say: Prime number
Prime numbers’ unique quality — being divisible only by themselves and one — makes them useful for encrypting secret information.
- Math
A twisty mystery about Möbius strips has been solved at last
Turning to paper and scissors helped one mathematician finally figure out just how short the twisted loops can be.
- Math
Scientists Say: Imaginary Number
These numbers may not be “real,” but they sure aren’t make-believe.
- Math
Bees and wasps devised the same clever math trick to build nests
During nest building, these insects add five- and seven-sided cells in pairs. This helps their colony fit together hexagonal cells of different sizes.
- Physics
Explainer: What is chaos theory?
Chaos can help scientists explore subjects from climate change to human brains. Learn about the theory behind this field of science.
- Math
Math explains why dense crowds form surprisingly orderly lines
New research into the behavior of moving groups of people adds to decades of study on the wisdom of crowds.
- Math
Scientists Say: Parabola
A parabola is a U-shaped curve, where every point along that curve is the same distance from another point and a line.
- Math
Scientists Say: Ellipse
Ellipse describes the shapes of planetary orbits around their stars and explains the wacky acoustic phenomenon of “whispering chambers.”
