numbers

‘Gem’ of a Proof Breaks 80-Year-Old Record, Offers New Insights Into Prime Numbers

by
‘Gem’ of a Proof Breaks 80-Year-Old Record, Offers New Insights Into Prime Numbers

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Sometimes mathematicians try to tackle a problem head on, and sometimes they come at it sideways. That’s especially true when the mathematical stakes are high, as with the Riemann hypothesis, whose solution comes with a $1 million reward from the Clay Mathematics Institute. Its proof … Read more

You Can Count on Pi

by
You Can Count on Pi

For geeks, there are several great holidays on the calendar. There is of course Mole Day (10/23) to commemorate Avogadro’s number, which is huge (on the order of 1023) and hugely important in physics. There’s e Day (2/7) for Euler’s ubiquitous number (e = 2.718…). But the best is Pi Day, held on March 14 … Read more