I’ve temporarily moved to Berkeley, California, where I am the “science communicator in residence” at the Simons Institute, the world’s leading institute for collaborative research…
View More Can you solve it? The magical maths that keeps your data safeTag: Mathematics
The 10 biggest science stories of 2023 – chosen by scientists
1. India’s lunar lander reaches the dark side of the moon While western billionaires were busy sending rockets to space only for them to crash…
View More The 10 biggest science stories of 2023 – chosen by scientistsPhysicist Bob Coecke: ‘It’s easier to convince kids than adults about quantum mechanics’
Belgian physicist and musician Prof Bob Coecke, 55, wants to teach quantum physics to a mass audience. The paradox-filled theory that describes the microscopic realm…
View More Physicist Bob Coecke: ‘It’s easier to convince kids than adults about quantum mechanics’Eureka! Scientists explore mysteries of black holes with hi-tech bathtub
At the end of a nondescript corridor at the University of Nottingham is a door labelled simply: Black Hole Laboratory. Within, an experiment is under…
View More Eureka! Scientists explore mysteries of black holes with hi-tech bathtubThe ultimate swearword: an algorithm has come up with the ‘best’ expletive ever. It is certainly a surprise
Name: The ultimate swearword. Age: Ber! Mind your own business. Sorry, age is just the way we normally start things around here. “Ber”, though, what…
View More The ultimate swearword: an algorithm has come up with the ‘best’ expletive ever. It is certainly a surprise‘Look back and marvel’: how will today’s science be viewed in 2123?
As the Royal Society launches its Summer Science exhibition, including a display of what was cutting-edge science in 1923, we ask experts what the world…
View More ‘Look back and marvel’: how will today’s science be viewed in 2123?Can you solve it? The simple question almost everyone gets wrong
Today’s puzzles are an intelligence test for children invented a century ago by an American psychologist, Grace Arthur. You will be presented with a patterned…
View More Can you solve it? The simple question almost everyone gets wrongCan you solve it? Rotation, rotation, rotation
Gather round. Today’s puzzles are all about going in circles. Onward with the revolution! 1. Roll with it Imagine a weight is being rolled along…
View More Can you solve it? Rotation, rotation, rotation‘The miracle that disrupts order’: mathematicians invent new ‘Einstein’ shape
One of mathematics’ most intriguing visual mysteries has finally been solved – thanks to a hobbyist in England. The conundrum: is there a shape that…
View More ‘The miracle that disrupts order’: mathematicians invent new ‘Einstein’ shapeThe Messi of maths: Argentinian Luis Caffarelli wins Abel prize
First football, and now maths. Three months after Lionel Messi triumphed at the World Cup, an Argentinian has won the top international trophy in mathematics.…
View More The Messi of maths: Argentinian Luis Caffarelli wins Abel prize