Issue 52 of Plus - http://plus.maths.org/issue52/index.html?nl=0
If you have ever felt the need for speed, then this is the issue for you!
Andy Green tells us how maths is going to help him break his own land speed
record by driving a supersonic Bloodhound at 1,000mph. But if you prefer a
more sedate pace, then why not try your hand at juggling, search for a
Gomboc on the seashore, contemplate your bathroom floor, or just gaze out
at the horizon. And find out how probability can give you the winning edge,
whether you are playing the markets, or the beautiful game.
In this issue...
* Understanding uncertainty: Football crazy
On May 22nd 2009 the English Premier league had one more match day ahead,
with West Bromwich Albion at the bottom of the league and Manchester United
at the top, sure to remain there. Taking up a challenge from a BBC radio
programme, David Spiegelhalter and Yin-Lam Ng used their statistical
finesse to predict the outcome of the last matches - and they were 90%
correct. Find out how they did it.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/risk/index.html?nl=0
* Juggling, maths and a beautiful mind
Many mathematicians find the pure and tight patterns of juggling as
irresistible as those of mathematics. Burkard Polster explains how to get
to grips with the bewildering range of juggling possibilities and invites
you to do your own virtual juggling.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/features/polster/index.html?nl=0
* The story of the Gomboc
A Gomboc is a strange thing. It looks like an egg with sharp edges, and
when you put it down it starts wriggling and rolling around as if it were
alive. Until quite recently, no-one knew whether Gombocs even existed. Even
now, Gabor Domokos, one of their discoverers, reckons that in some sense
they barely exists at all. So what are Gombocs and what makes them special?
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/features/gomboc/index.html?nl=0
This article is accompanied by a podcast:
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/PlusPodcastSep09.mp3
* Secrets from a bathroom floor
Tilings have adorned buildings from ancient Rome to the Islamic world, from
Victorian England to colonial Mexico. But while it sometimes seems free
from worldly limitations, tiling is a very precise art, where not much can
be left to chance. We can push and turn and wiggle, but if the maths is not
right, it isn't going to tile. Josefina Alvarez and Cesar L. Garcia
investigate.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/features/alvarez/index.html?nl=0
* Supersonic Bloodhound
In 1997 Andy Green was the first to break the sound barrier in his car
Thrust SSC, which reached speeds of over 760mph. Now he and his team want
to push things even further with a car called Bloodhound, designed to reach
the dizzy heights of 1,000mph, about 1.3 times the speed of sound. Ben
Evans explains how maths is used to build this car.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/features/evans/index.html?nl=0
* What is financial mathematics?
Tim Johnson was drawn into financial maths, not through an interest in
finance, but because he was interested in making good decisions in the face
of uncertainty. Tim explores the development of this interface between
abstract mathematics and our everyday lives, and explains why a painting
may only be worth its wall space.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/features/finance/index.html
* Career interview: The fastest mathematician on Earth
Andy Green, Royal Air force pilot and Oxford maths graduate, is gearing up
to break his own land speed record in Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car
designed to reach speeds of up to 1000mph. He tells Plus about the
challenges - and the maths - behind this engineering adventure.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/interview/index.html?nl=0
* Teacher package: Graphs and networks
This teacher package brings together all Plus articles on graph and network
theory. Graphs and networks turn up in many real-life problems, from
neuroscience to telecommunications. In the UK curriculum, they make a
frequent appearance in the area known as decision maths. Our articles
explore a wide range of related topics, from simple algorithms to complex
network topologies.
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/package/index.html?nl=0
But wait, there's more!
* Have fun with fuses
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/puzzle/index.html?nl=0
* Find out how far you can see on a clear day
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/outerspace/index.html?nl=0
* And support a campaign to keep libel laws out of science
http://plus.maths.org/issue52/editorial/index.html
**********
Happy reading from the Plus team!
**********
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