Tag: mathematics
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The Golden Ratio Explained
The Golden Ratio: Nature’s Perfect Proportion The Golden Ratio in Nature The Golden Ratio in Art and Design A Number That Never Ends The golden ratio, represented by the Greek letter φ (phi), is approximately equal to: φ ≈ 1.61803… It is defined as a ratio where the ratio of the read more
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The Series Rearrangement Paradox
The Riemann Series Theorem The Key Idea Why Does This Matter? The Riemann Series Theorem The Riemann series theorem, named for and rigorously proved by German mathematician Bernhard Riemann, involves conditionally convergent series. A conditionally convergent series is one that converges only under the condition that the sign of each term read more
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Fractal Dimensions Explained
Fractals introduced the idea of non-integer dimensions, also called fractional dimensions. These are used to measure the complexity of objects that display self-similarity, meaning patterns that repeat at different scales. The Koch Snowflake Mandelbrot and Fractal Geometry Where Do Fractional Dimensions Appear? The Koch Snowflake A famous example is the Koch read more
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The Math Constant Unknown until 1934 – Khinchin’s Constant Explained
Khinchin’s constant, denoted by K, was proven by the Russian mathematician Alexander Khinchin in 1934. Definition Open Questions Why Is This So Remarkable? Definition Let x be a real number with a continued fraction expansion where a₀ is an integer and a₁, a₂, a₃, … are positive integers (the partial denominators). read more
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The Infinite Circles Fractal – Apollonian Gasket Explained
Let’s start by drawing a circle named C₁. Draw a second circle, C₂, that touches C₁ at just one point. Now draw a third circle, C₃, that is tangent to both C₁ and C₂. With these three circles in place, we can always draw exactly two more circles that are tangent to all three. Let’s read more
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The Game With Infinite Expected Value – The St Petersburg Paradox Explained
Imagine a game beginning with a stake of $2. The stake is the amount the player will be paid at the end. The player flips a coin, and if it lands on tails, the stake doubles. Otherwise, the game ends and the player collects the stake. Calculating the Expected Value The read more
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Every Proof That 0^0 is 1 but they get increasingly complex
Why Mathematicians Often Define 0⁰ as 1 The Empty Product Combinatorics and Tuples Functions and the Empty Set Further reading Why Mathematicians Often Define 0⁰ as 1 Throughout mathematics, 0⁰ is a notoriously problematic expression. Is it defined to have a value of 1, or does it have no mathematical meaning read more
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Complex & Imaginary Numbers Explained
From Squaring to Square Roots The Imaginary Unit The Complex Plane Operations on Complex Numbers Polynomial Equations and Complex Roots A Brief History of Complex Numbers Modeling Rotations From Squaring to Square Roots To start, consider multiplying a number by itself. For example, 4 × 4 = 16. This can be read more
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The Basic Math Iceberg Explained
The Math Iceberg Explained, Part 1 Counting Addition Subtraction Multiplication Division Equations Basic Geometry Order of Operations Decimals Factors Fractions Powers and Radicals Data Plots Variables Cartesian Coordinates Functions Additional Context on Number Systems Counting Counting is a method of finding what number of something you have. The number zero indicates read more
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The Discovery of the Atom Explained (From Ancient Greece to Bohr)
The Ancient Idea of Atoms John Dalton and Chemical Ratios J. J. Thomson and the Electron Rutherford and the Gold Foil Experiment The Problem with Classical Physics Niels Bohr and Quantized Energy Levels Toward Quantum Mechanics Further Reading The Ancient Idea of Atoms Our understanding of matter, everything we can touch, read more
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