{"id":11522,"date":"2018-08-29T16:14:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T08:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/?p=11522"},"modified":"2019-07-08T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T02:20:14","slug":"intmath-newsletter-model-animations-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/letters\/intmath-newsletter-model-animations-software-11522","title":{"rendered":"IntMath Newsletter: Model, animations, software"},"content":{"rendered":"

29 Aug 2018<\/p>\n

1. New on IntMath <\/h2>\n

(a) EFFEKT bridge model <\/h3>\n\n\n
\"Spiral<\/a><\/td>\n\n

In the last Newsletter, the puzzle was to model the EFFEKT bridge, a spiral in the shape of a hyperboloid. Here's my solution: <\/p>\n

Spiral around a hyperboloid - the Effekt bridge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

(b) Math Art in Code: Animated Lissajous figures <\/h3>\n\n\n
\"Animated<\/a><\/td>\n\n

We can get interesting and beautiful curves when combining two signals. See:<\/p>\n

Animated Lissajous figures<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

2. Resources<\/h2>\n

(a) oPhysics interactive simulations<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"oPhysics:<\/a><\/td>\n\n

Here's over 100 physics simulations including kinematics, forces, waves, fluids. There's even circuit drawing tools.<\/p>\n

Go to: oPhysics: Interactive Physics Simulations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

(b) Topology and Geometry Software <\/h3>\n

In the article, With new technology, mathematicians turn numbers into art<\/a>, we read how various mathematicians are pushing the envelope when it comes to exploring mathematical concepts within the real and virtual realms. <\/p>\n

\"Mathematical
\n[Image source<\/a>: Frank Farris, CC BY]<\/p>\n

One of the resources mentioned in that article is the following, developed by Jeff Weeks, one of the "rock stars" of the mathematical world.<\/p>\n\n\n
\"Topology<\/a><\/td>\n\n

In these games with a mathematical underpinning, you can explore polyhedra (tetrahedrons, icosidodecahedrons, etc) and 4-D mazes. You can even play pool on a hyperbolic surface. Some are for mobile devices, others for desktop. <\/p>\n

Go to: <\/p>\n

Topology and Geometry Software<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The development of these games was supported by the (US) National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n

3. Math in the news<\/h2>\n

What is the smallest number of colors that you'd need to color any graph consisting of points connected by segments of the same length? <\/p>\n

This puzzle has fascinated mathematicians since the 1950s when it was first posed. It was long held that 4 colors should do the job. <\/p>\n\n\n
\"4<\/a><\/td>\n\n

However, earlier this year, amateur mathematician Aubrey de Grey proposed the first unit-distance graph that requires at least five colors.<\/p>\n

Here's the article: Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

4. Math Movies<\/h2>\n

(a) 3 Ways to spot a bad statistic <\/h3>\n\n\n
\"3<\/a><\/td>\n\n

We're living in a world of "alternative facts", but this is a dangerous situation. It's crucial we understand how statistics are collected, funded, interpreted and used. <\/p>\n

See: 3 Ways to spot a bad statistic<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

(b) How does your body know what time it is?<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"How<\/a><\/td>\n\n

The story of Michel Siffre is a fascinating one. He went into a cave for months to see the effect on his perception of time.<\/p>\n

See: How does your body know what time it is?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

5. Math puzzles<\/span> <\/h2>\n

The puzzle in the last IntMath Newsletter<\/a> was about the EFFEKT bridge, which I addressed earlier in this Newsletter.<\/p>\n

New math puzzle: Factorial<\/h3>\n

What's the maximum number of times 2 can divide exactly into factorial 50 (written 50!<\/span>)?<\/p>\n

You can leave your response here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6. Final thought<\/h2>\n
\n

\"Learning is not compulsory - neither is survival.\"
\n [W. Edwards Derning]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Until next time, enjoy whatever you learn.<\/p>\n

See the 11 Comments<\/a> below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this Newsletter:<\/p>\n

1. New on IntMath: EFFEKT bridge model, Lissajous animations
\n 2. Resources: oPhysics, topol0gy software
\n 3. Math in the news: 4-color graph problem
\n 4. Math movies: Statistics, time
\n 5. Math puzzle: Factorials
\n6. Final thought<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[134,109,130],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11522"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12059,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11522\/revisions\/12059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}