Physics & Math / Math

#82: Could Random Airplane Boarding Speed Your Trip?


The quickest way to climb aboard a plane may be the least ordered. 01.09.2012

#83: Gravity Probe B Gives Einstein an A


Satellite measures how much Earth warps space-time. 01.09.2012

When Astronomy Met Computer Science

Digital sky surveys and real-time telescopic 
observations are unleashing an unprecedented flood 
of information. Astronomers have recently created new tools to sift through all that data, which could contain answers 
to some of the greatest questions in cosmology. 07.19.2011

Who's Smarter, a Human or a Computer? Round 9: Jeopardy

As IBM's supercomputer prepares to face off against Jeopardy champions tonight, we count the ways that humans can still out-think our computational creations—for now. 02.14.2011

Far Out: The Most Psychedelic Images in Science

Scientists know you don't need psychedelic drugs to make mind-blowing psychedelic images: Fractals, particle collisions, computer simulations, and sunspots will do the job just fine. 01.27.2011

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

The Mathematics of Terrorism

Seemingly random attacks contain an unexpected regularity: the same numerical pattern seen in Wall Street booms and busts. 12.01.2010

Back From the Future

A series of quantum experiments shows that measurements performed in the future can influence the present. Does that mean the universe has a destiny—and the laws of physics pull us inexorably toward our prewritten fate? 08.26.2010

Discover Interview: The Math Behind the Physics Behind the Universe

Shing-Tung Yau explains how he discovered the hidden dimensions of string theory. 04.27.2010

Our Brightest Hopes for Keeping Up With Moore's Law

Scientists are trying out strange technological tricks to make computer chips tinier and more powerful. 03.01.2010

#39: Math—Combined With GPS—Could Fix Traffic Jams

Traffic jams are mathematically like explosions. Drivers armed with info can defuse the bomb. 01.26.2010

#15: Model Solves Fundamental Packing Problem

How do different-sized spheres fit into a large container? 01.25.2010

The Brain: Humanity's Other Basic Instinct: Math

New research suggests that math has evolved its way right into our neurons—and monkeys', too. 11.17.2009

Darwin Plays Game Theory—and Wins

A computer simulation predicts that ravens should have evolved a behavior called "gang foraging," which is then observed in real ravens. 05.22.2009

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Time

The beginning, the end, and the funny habits of our favorite ticking force. 03.12.2009

#39: Amazonian Tribe Doesn't Have Words for Numbers

The Pirahã people overturned scientists' belief about human cognition. 12.15.2008

20 Best Brains Under 40

Young innovators are changing everything from theoretical mathematics to cancer therapy. 11.20.2008

Searching Heaven and Earth for the Real Johannes Kepler

Galileo may be science's most famous martyr, but it was Kepler who solved the mystery of the planets. 10.05.2008

An Essential, Concise History of the LHC, 2002–2008

DISCOVER's been all over the Large Hadron Collider since it was just a big hole in the ground. 09.10.2008

Turbulence: How to Visualize the Invisible

You can feel turbulence with your hand, but to see it really well you need some kick-ass computers. Hold on to your seats. 08.13.2008

Physics Proves It: Everyone Should Shoot Granny-Style

Shooting a basketball underhand gives your shot far better arc and spin. 08.07.2008

Is the Universe Actually Made of Math?

Cosmologist Max Tegmark says mathematical formulas create reality. 06.16.2008

The Cure for Procrastination: Discipline

Procrastination works fine—in a world where the future is perfectly predictable. 06.04.2008

3 People Who Are Pushing the Edge of Science

Growing electronics with viruses, finding alien life, and quantum privacy protection. 05.30.2008

Has the Einstein Revolution Gone Too Far?

Einstein ended science's devotion to experience; it may now be time to come back. 04.01.2008

Genius at Work

The labs, desks, and chalkboards where Einstein brought his insights into the world. 03.25.2008

Einstein Didn't Grok His Own Revolution

He thought black holes and quantum mechanics were too weird to be true. 03.10.2008

Teleportation? Very Possible. Next Up: Time Travel.

Some of the most far-out sci-fi is eminently do-able. 02.28.2008

59. Medieval Mosque Shows Amazing Math Discovery

The never-repeating geometry of quasi crystals, revealed 500 years early 01.09.2008

Copernicus the Surprise Genius

The man who proved heliocentrism never thought his ideas would amount to much. 12.11.2007

If You Never Aged, How Long Would You Live?

With a little luck, you could well make it to your 20,000th birthday. 11.16.2007

This Man Wants To Control the Internet

And you should let him... 10.25.2007

Are We Trapped in God's Video Game?

Probably not. And no, he's not looking at your underwear. 10.15.2007

The Rubik's Cube Solution that Could Improve Your Life

Scientists solve it in 26 moves. Next up: flight schedules. 08.15.2007

Map: High School Hookups

Teens make life easy for STDs. 06.18.2007

The Math Behind Beauty

A plastic surgeon computes the perfect face. 06.01.2007

The World's Most Complex Structure

Abstract 248-dimensional map may unify the laws of nature. 05.29.2007

Fuzzy Math: Dubious Change

Buying a pack of gum can leave you $5 richer. 05.16.2007

Fuzzy Math: Heavy Eggs

Make sure to weigh all the information. 04.28.2007

Jaron's World: Shapes in Other Dimensions

Meet a 'regular' shape that lives in 4-D. 04.05.2007

Whatever Happened to... Chaos Theory?

It's quietly seeped into many scientific fields. 04.04.2007

Fuzzy Math: Impartial Jury

A bad jury or judge? Might as well flip a coin. 04.02.2007

Fuzzy Math: The Monty Hall Scenario

The secret to winning Let's Make a Deal 02.23.2007

Space Weavers

Two mathematicians finally found a way to demonstrate hyperbolic space—by knitting it. 02.19.2007

Space Weavers

Two mathematicians finally found a way to demonstrate hyperbolic space—by knitting it. 02.19.2007

The Top 2 Math Stories of 2006

The math discovery of the century (already!), math that's in your ear 01.01.2007

Fuzzy Math: Million-Dollar Chess Match

Two certain defeats can be better than one. 12.07.2006

Million Dollar Math

If you can solve the world's most daunting mathematical challenges, fame awaits. Fortune, too, if you want it 12.01.2006

Fuzzy Math's Guide To Fleecing Someone

Want to scam a little extra money? 11.28.2006

Fuzzy Math: Reproductive Roulette

If a father of two tells you one of his children is a boy, what are the odds that the other child is also a boy? 08.01.2006

The Extreme Sport of Origami

A physicist's computer program produces the world's most complex paper sculptures. 07.29.2006

The Extreme Sport of Origami

A physicist's computer program speeds the creation of stupefyingly complex paper sculptures. 07.29.2006

Sky Lights: Sometimes Nothing Means Everything

How the valueless number zero has come to rule the universe. 07.03.2006

Fuzzy Math

In a group of 23 people, the odds are better than even that at least two of them will share a birthday. 05.28.2006

Drake's Brave Guess

A group of astronomers who met in 1961 to figure out the odds of finding intelligent life in our own galaxy turn out to have been really smart and really lucky. 05.27.2006

Discover Dialogue: Geophysicist Didier Sornette

Is the United States economy sustainable? I don't believe it is.' 12.01.2005

The Physics of . . . Changing Lanes

Is traffic passing you by? Relax. You may be moving faster than you think 04.28.2005

61: Prime-Time News

01.03.2005

Discover Data

12.03.2004

The Mathematics of . . . Juggling

An algebra whiz reveals the secrets of keeping a lot of balls in the air 12.03.2004

Fibonacci Cactus

07.08.2004

Cracking The Da Vinci Code

The secret behind this best seller has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with numbers 06.26.2004

Prime Time

03.28.2004

Leap Seconds

Every year or so we figure out that Earth hasn't been rotating quite as fast as we thought, so we add a second to the clock. And that messes up everything 03.28.2004

Mathematics

01.02.2004

The Physics of . . . Pocket Change

What we really need to solve the problem of loose and useless lucre is a new coin 10.01.2003

One, Two, tie my

05.01.2003

Mathematics

01.01.2003

The Mathematics of . . . Artificial Speech

Two centuries of tinkering finally produce a sweet-talking machine 01.01.2003

What We Learned About Tall Buildings from the World Trade Center Collapse

What We Learned About Tall Buildings from the World Trade Center Collapse 10.01.2002

Discover Roundtable

In an age when computers, not to mention calculators, can do just about any kind of math, is it more important to know how to get the answer than to know the math behind it? 10.01.2002

The Mathematics of . . . Shuffling

A magician turned mathematician saves the casinos' shirts 10.01.2002

The Mathematics of . . . Auctions

By the time an auctioneer shouts Sold! most bidders have already gone too far 08.01.2002

Works in Progress

Even in a small world, there's room for disagreement 06.01.2002

Pollock's Fractals

That isn't just a lot of splattered paint on those canvases, it's good mathematics 11.01.2001

Herd on Wall Street

06.01.2001

May the Best Man Lose

The presidential election highlights an ugly truth about American politics: The most popular candidates often don't get elected. 11.01.2000

Gene-ius Computer

04.01.2000

Sky Lights

How NASA got lost in space over meters, feet, newtons, and pounds 03.01.2000

Painting By Numbers

09.01.1999

Curing Congestion

Stay close, don't pass, and we'll all get there somehow. 03.01.1999

Curing Congestion

Stay close, don't pass, and we'll all get there somehow. 03.01.1999

From Muhammad Ali to Grandma Rose

They say any two people on the planet are connected by a chain of at most six acquaintances. Now mathematicians know why. 12.01.1998

A Head for Numbers

Everybody has one--even rats and pigeons, to say nothing of people. The ability to grasp small numbers and map them onto a number line in the brain is an evolutionary birthright of ours. Arithmetic, of course, is another matter. 07.01.1997

Liquid Universe

11.01.1996

Math Against Tyranny

Math shows our archaic electoral system safeguards democracy. 11.01.1996

Risky Business

05.01.1996

Who's Exaggerating?

Congress may be wrong in saying risk experts are overcautious. 05.01.1996

A Fistful of Risks

Don't make another move until you've checked it against our compendium of life's potential mishaps. 05.01.1996

The Mathematics of Making Up Your Mind

Statisticians are figuring out the equations that underlie subjective decisions. 05.01.1996

Gunslinging in America

Does a gun make you safer or increase your likelihood of violent death? 05.01.1996

Just a Coincidence?

04.01.1996

Rat vs. Chemist

01.01.1996

Infinity Plus One, and Other Surreal Numbers

With innovative arithmetic, manipulating infinitely large and infinitesimally tiny quantities is as simple as one, two, three. 12.01.1995

Wave of the Future

One cold, snowy day, Ingrid Daubechies saw a wealth of hidden meaning in a confused jumble of wiggly lines. Now Daubechie's wavelets are some of the hottest math around. 05.01.1995

Dividing the Spoils

The contentious mathematics of division applies to everything from birthday cake to real estate. A mathematician and a political scientist have come up with a procedure that can make dividing anything fair and envy-free. 03.01.1995

Jack's Straws

What could be simpler? Take a clump of sticks, pull them out one by one, win the game. But in the hands of a mathematician, this is far from child's play. 12.01.1994

Forgiveness Math

Evolution, in our dog-eat-dog world, should have made short work of unselfish behavior. 05.01.1993

Shell Game

Creating shells out of nothing but mathematical equations, a computer scientist holds a mirror up to nature. 05.01.1992