Math

November 20, 2024

Aisha Chloe C. Camaquin

Infinity seems like an easy concept to grasp; it’s just things with no end, right? Well, when you venture deep into the idea, several paradoxes arise, such as the simple question of: are there more counting numbers, or even numbers? The answer is neither. Both sets of numbers are boundless, which means that they can be paired one-to-one. ...click here to read more

November 18, 2024

Vincent Hoang

Young Isaac Newton, sitting just outside Trinity College in Cambridge, England, was struck by an apple that had fallen from the tree. From that point, Newton had a revelation, a genius discovery: Calculus. Sir Isaac Newton created calculus as a method of explaining the universe, a means of comprehending the mechanical clock that is our world. He was a brilliant mind widely recognized as the “father of calculus”; known for his observations of the world and his contributions to mathematics and physics...click here to read more

October 21, 2024

Rachel Truong 

In a world where classical computing would take billions of years to solve a seemingly impossible problem, quantum computing has the capability to do it in seconds. Quantum computing applies properties of quantum mechanics to exponentially facilitate computer processes. Since quantum computing does not adhere to classical physics, it also does not rely on binary logic. It uses qubits, which have exponentially more capabilities than regular bits. Qubits are the fundamental units of quantum information used to encode data similar to the binary number system used in classical computing...click here to read more

August 5, 2024

Jessica A. Dennehy 

In 1867, a Scottish mathematician and physicist named Peter Guthrie Tait demonstrated his smoke ring device to his friend and fellow scientist, Sir William Thomson. The two individuals were entranced by the rings' constantly shifting yet stable shapes and their interactions with each other and their environment. Combining their observations with the scientific notions of the time—most of which were later dispelled—they formed the vortex theory...click here to read more

May 13, 2024

Kathlyn Phan

By understanding chemical reactions on a molecular level, scientists have developed a method to capture rapid chemical reactions in slower time frames in order to analyze and make observations. Some chemical reactions can occur within femtoseconds, making it impossible for scientists to predict results or conduct research. With collective knowledge in both Physics and Chemistry, researchers invented a computer that could slow these reactions down to a time frame humans can observe. These chemical processes are crucial for applications of forensic science, solar energy harvesting, etc., so understanding how their dynamics work will enable us to find solutions to some of the most complex problems in science...click here to read more

April 24, 2024

Spandana Cheruvu

Various branches of mathematics are required to problem-solve, analyze algorithms, and write efficient codes in computer science. A fundamental five, however, are most necessary in computer science: discrete mathematics, linear algebra, calculus, number theory, and statistics. All of these types of math serve as the backbone for computational thinking and can be applied in algorithm formulation, robotics, software development, and artificial intelligence...click here to read more

March 1, 2024

Caroline Cronin

   Eureka! That is what Archimedes, the famous mathematician, exclaimed as he sprinted out of his bathtub and through the streets of Syracuse. This moment in history was a huge mathematical breakthrough and possibly the greatest math discovery of all time. But who is Archimedes? And how did we get here? It all started over 2,000 years ago when a genius was born. Meet Archimedes, one of the most famous ancient Greek mathematicians and inventors...click here to read more

February 26, 2024

Janessa Angela Alerre

   The Potato Paradox, a brain teaser with the use of potatoes, is a mathematical calculation with counterintuitive results. To break it down, a paradox is a statement or situation that seems contradictory, though it expresses truth. The potatoes come into play as there is a contradiction of potatoes weighing more than it’s been cooked...click here to read more

February 15, 2024

Kathlyn Phan

In the complex world of trigonometry, there are three key functions: sine, cosine, and tangent. These functions help us solve problems and better our understanding of right-angled triangles. But how were they created? These mathematical tools stemmed from ancient mathematicians and astronomers deriving them from side length ratios in right-angled triangles. By understanding their history, we can see how sine, cosine, and tangent evolved from ancient problem-solving techniques to the essential math tools we use for everyday applications today...click here to read more

December 1, 2023

Kevin Yacub

Although art and mathematics, two greatly contrasting elements, may seem to belong to different worlds, they are actually intricately intertwined. The apparent subjectivity of art and the objective nature of mathematics are not mutually exclusive but rather collaborate in profound ways. This synergy between art and mathematics has a rich historical presence, with artists often employing mathematical concepts consciously or unconsciously in their creative processes. This article delves into the significant areas where mathematics has exerted a profound influence on art; these areas include the Golden Ratio, perspective and proportion, anamorphic art, tessellations, polyhedra, fractals, and symmetry...click here to read more

November 14, 2023

Chrinnah Torres

From 1900 B.C. up until the present, the 21st century, the jobs associated with finding the missing length of a right triangle have had abundant amounts of impact on our world. Pythagoras’ Theorem is introduced in Algebra 1. It is also known as the Pythagorean Theorem when being taught in school. A bunch of major roles use this theorem for their everyday workspace. For example agriculture, aviation, construction, and so on. These jobs using Pythagoras’ Theorem have benefited our society. Without this discovery, our universe wouldn’t have evolved as it is today and stay as an ennui...click here to read more

November 9, 2023

Audrey Tran

The number zero represents nothing, an empty quantity. This prevalent symbol surprisingly only arrived and was accepted in the West in the late 12th century, though with resistance. Since then, the development of the number zero has transformed prior numbering systems and revolutionized calculations in mathematics and science. But, prior to that, ancient civilizations did not need a value to represent nothing. Counting usually involves physical objects like the number of people in a tribe or animals in a herd, so it wouldn’t make sense to count zero objects. So why was zero invented and when and where did this symbol first appear?...click here to read more

October 23, 2023

Reggie Dao

Marjorie Lee Browne, one of the most influential women in STEM, laid the pathway to the feminist movement regarding the area. She was born on September 9, 1914. She soon would accomplish many mathematical achievements and become a respected figure of African-American women's suffrage in the modern world of mathematics. Browne was an African-American analytical prodigy who enjoyed solving difficult arithmetic and held a passion for learning, ultimately earning herself a Ph.D. Not only did she become one of the few women to hold the title in 1949, but the impact of her work guided her to being the first African-American woman to obtain a prestigious academic degree in the strenuous and competitive fields of abstract mathematics...click here to read more

September 22, 2023

Andrea Mojsoska

From patterns to percentages, through skyscrapers and sunlight, math is all around us. And it has been for a while. Ages ago, the Ancient Greeks regarded this discipline as inherently beautiful, whereas Pythagoras and his followers viewed numbers as the center of our universe, placing emphasis more on their stringent rules than their larger, inherent beauty. The belief that mathematics can be both beautiful and practical has thus been shared by philosophers, mathematicians, and neuroscientists ad infinitum. As Bertrand Russel put it, “Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty.” As such, the scope of mathematics transcends pen and paper. It extends to situations that, at first glance, have nothing to do with neither numbers nor calculations. Among this wide array of mathematical applications lies the concoction of beauty and brains: cosmetology...click here to read more

September 11, 2023

Tsz Kiu Amanda Leung

What do lightning bolts, rivers, and our blood vessels have in common? They are all examples of fractals. Fractals are unique geometric structures that differ dramatically from traditional Euclidean shapes like triangles, squares, and circles. Unlike these familiar shapes, fractals exhibit never-ending patterns that retain their initial patterns when you zoom in, the mathematics of which is invariably linked to calculus. One key characteristic of fractals is self-similarity. They are also quantified by a parameter known as the fractal dimension, which measures the “complexity” of said shapes...click here to read more

August 22, 2023

Roumaissae Bouaid

Along with the booming success of Netflix’s original series The Queen’s Gambit, in October 2020, chess experienced a resurgence and suddenly become extremely popular. Although it is challenging to determine chess's age or origin, the legend is that it was invented in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as they are known today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century. However, people didn't just play chess but were also captivated by the maths deeply seated in the game. Many mathematicians had theories about chess, and these century-old theories and problems are still of interest - and are being further developed - today...click here to read more

July 10, 2023

Julie Arangio

In 1905, 26-year-old Albert Einstein published three papers that debunked the principles of Newton’s mechanics and shifted the world’s perspective on the forces that regulate our universe. Needless to say, he would later become known as one of the greatest and most influential minds of the 20th century. Let’s take a step back to understand how this all happened...click here to read more

June 28, 2023

Tsz Kiu Amanda Leung

We all have encountered this symbol, π (“pi”),  in our math and science classes. It might seem complicated, irrational, or transcendental, and it goes on without any patterns emerging. But pi is simply defined as the ratio of the circumference of a perfect circle to its diameter. The first ten digits of pi are 3.141592653…and it goes on forever...click here to read more

April 29, 2022

Noa Essner

The Rubik’s Cube, originally popular in the seventies and eighties, made a comeback a few short years ago around 2017. In fact, in 2018, a rough estimate of 350 million cubes was sold worldwide. Ranging from 2x2 to 22x22, the Rubik’s Cube has evolved, and now so has the world’s addiction to solving it...click here to read more