A recent news article (in the NZ Herald) indicated some hope in the chase to find effective cancer cures. It noted, “A cancer forms when a cell in the body goes awry, multiplying out of control to form a tumour. A typically-sized cancer tumour is made up of more cells than there are people on […]
So, you are at a friend’s party and they ask, “What did you do in the weekend?” You reply, “Well, I did a bit of Math and…” Whaaat?” they say, startled. “You did What???” “Mathematics!” “And what kind of Math did you do that made your weekend so exciting?” “Change the subject!” you say to […]
One of history’s great geniuses, Isaac Newton (yes, the mathematician with the curly hair sitting under the apple tree), developed differential equations in the 1600s. But we aren’t all geniuses, so here’s the definition given in Differential Equations for Dummies (caution – this link downloads over 300 pages!) such equations “involve derivatives, which specify how […]
Predicting the future to make money – that’s what Ernie Chow does for an investment funds manager. His skill in developing differential equations to model future trends in the stock market, along with his ability to solve those same equations means he can predict the future. Or at least do it as well as science […]
A quite amazing phenomena, toroidal bubbles can be found in many fluids. Technically, During the collapse of a bubble near a surface, a high-speed liquid jet often forms and subsequently impacts upon the opposite bubble surface. The jet impact transforms the originally singly-connected bubble to a toroidal bubble, and generates circulation in the flow around […]
New Zealand scientists are surveying several hundred people about their experiences in the February 2011 earthquake which devastated many parts of Christchurch, in the South Island. “Teams of scientists will scour the quake-shattered eastern suburbs of Christchurch to gather vital information to improve earthquake hazard and risk assessments in New Zealand. Where owners or occupiers […]
This video by Yann Pineill & Nicolas Lefaucheux, gives a dynamic view into living equations. The animated triptych (triple picture frame) shows an equation on the left, its quantified schematics in the center, and its real world manifestation on the right. “We wanted to explore beauty with an angle as objective as possible, and we […]
This 50min youtube video from the BBC is a great overview of the use of equations in Mathematics and Science. Click on the image of Einstein’s famous equation below to gain a greater understanding of the exciting world of equations (PS: first half of video is probably the best):
As the previous post indicated, Mathematics is at the heart of every top sport – whether in the data collection and analysis or in the calculation of successful equations to balance performance against each parameter. In this article from WhyDoMath the goal in yacht design is to find the most efficient shape of the hull its […]
“The cat was let out of the bag – so to speak – very early on in Team NZ’s testing programme in the new AC72 class, after a sailing enthusiast and amateur photographer snapped pictures of the team out training, which appeared to show both hulls of the Kiwi boat flying clear of the water. […]
