News tagged with mathematics
Hacking code of leaf vein architecture solves mysteries, allows predictions of past climate
(Phys.org) -- UCLA life scientists have discovered new laws that determine the construction of leaf vein systems as leaves grow and evolve. These easy-to-apply mathematical rules can now be used to better ...
May 23, 2012 |
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A classic model for ecological stability revised, 40 years later
A famous mathematical formula which shook the world of ecology 40 years ago has been revisited and refined by two University of Chicago researchers in the current issue of Nature.
Feb 19, 2012 |
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Choreographing dance of electrons offers promise in pursuit of quantum computers
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the basement of Hoyt Laboratory at Princeton University, Alexei Tyryshkin clicked a computer mouse and sent a burst of microwaves washing across a silicon crystal suspended in a frozen ...
Jan 12, 2012 |
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Time for a change? Scholars say calendar needs serious overhaul
Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered a way to make time stand still -- at least when it comes to the yearly calendar.
Dec 27, 2011 |
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Researchers link patterns seen in spider silk, melodies
Using a new mathematical methodology, researchers at MIT have created a scientifically rigorous analogy that shows the similarities between the physical structure of spider silk and the sonic structure of ...
Dec 08, 2011 |
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Theoretical chemists find new dimension to rules for reactions
Theoretical chemists at Emory University have solved an important mystery about the rates of chemical reactions and the so-called Polanyi rules.
Oct 20, 2011 |
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New equation predicts molecular forces in hydrophobic interactions
The physical model to describe the hydrophobic interactions of molecules has been a mystery that has challenged scientists and engineers since the 19th century. Hydrophobic interactions are central to explaining ...
Oct 11, 2011 |
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'Perfect plastic' created
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Leeds and Durham University have solved a long-standing problem that could revolutionize the way new plastics are developed.
Sep 29, 2011 |
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Jellyfish replacing fish in over-exploited areas
(PhysOrg.com) -- Over-fished commercial stocks of plankton-eating fish have been replaced in several locations by jellyfish species. This appears to be something of a paradox because fish move quickly and ...
Sep 16, 2011 |
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Researchers create bizarre optical phenomena, defying the laws of reflection and refraction
Exploiting a novel technique called phase discontinuity, researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have induced light rays to behave in a way that defies the centuries-old ...
Sep 01, 2011 |
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Discovery in parent of one high-temperature superconductor may lead to predictive control
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists studying the parent compound of a cuprate (copper-oxide) superconductor has discovered a link between two different states, or phases, of that matter - and written a mathematical ...
Jul 21, 2011 |
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Predicting burglary patterns through math modeling of crime
Pattern formation in physical, biological, and sociological systems has been studied for many years. Despite the fact that these subject areas are completely diverse, the mathematics that describes underlying patterns in ...
May 31, 2012 |
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Teenager reportedly finds solution to 350 year old math and physics problem
(Phys.org) -- In Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica published in 1687, the man many consider the most brilliant mathematician of all time used a mathematical formula to describe the path taken by an obj ...
May 29, 2012 |
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Math predicts size of clot-forming cells
UC Davis mathematicians have helped biologists figure out why platelets, the cells that form blood clots, are the size and shape that they are. Because platelets are important both for healing wounds and in strokes and other ...
May 25, 2012 |
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New mathematical framework formalizes oddball programming techniques
Two years ago, Martin Rinard's group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory proposed a surprisingly simple way to make some computer procedures more efficient: Just skip a bunch of ...
Technology / Computer Sciences
May 23, 2012 |
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Mathematics
Mathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.
There is debate over whether mathematical objects such as numbers and points really exist or whether they are manmade. The mathematician Benjamin Peirce called mathematics "the science that draws necessary conclusions". Albert Einstein, on the other hand, stated that "as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."
Through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, mathematics evolved from counting, calculation, measurement, and the systematic study of the shapes and motions of physical objects. Practical mathematics has been a human activity for as far back as written records go (see: History of Mathematics). Rigorous arguments first appeared in Greek mathematics, most notably in Euclid's Elements. Mathematics continued to develop, in fitful bursts, until the Renaissance, when mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries, leading to an acceleration in research that continues to the present day.
Today, mathematics is used throughout the world as an essential tool in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, and the social sciences. Applied mathematics, the branch of mathematics concerned with application of mathematical knowledge to other fields, inspires and makes use of new mathematical discoveries and sometimes leads to the development of entirely new disciplines. Mathematicians also engage in pure mathematics, or mathematics for its own sake, without having any application in mind, although practical applications for what began as pure mathematics are often discovered later.
For more information about Mathematics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
