Mathematical Moments from the American Mathematical Society
Mathematical Moments promote an appreciation and understanding of the role mathematics plays in science, nature, technology, and human culture. Hear experts talk about how they use mathematics in various applications from improving film animation to analyzing voting strategies.
- Update frequency
- every 24 days
- Average duration
- 6 minutes
- Episodes
- 141
- Years Active
- 2005 - 2024
Answering the Question, and Vice Versa
Experts are adept at answering questions in their fields, but even the most knowledgeable authority can.t be expected to keep up with all the data generated today. Computers can handle data, but unti…
00:07:17 |
Tue 12 Jul 2011
Sounding the Alarm - Part 2
Nothing can prevent a tsunami from happening they are enormously powerful events of nature. But in many cases networks of seismic detectors, sea-level monitors and deep ocean buoys can allow authorit…
00:08:20 |
Thu 16 Jun 2011
Sounding the Alarm - Part 1
Nothing can prevent a tsunami from happening they are enormously powerful events of nature. But in many cases networks of seismic detectors, sea-level monitors and deep ocean buoys can allow authorit…
00:08:23 |
Thu 16 Jun 2011
Putting Another Cork in It - Part 2
Chartier and Martin talk about they used math to show that a triple cork snowboarding maneuver was possible.
00:05:39 |
Thu 21 Apr 2011
Putting Another Cork in It - Part 1
Chartier and Martin talk about they used math to show that a triple cork snowboarding maneuver was possible.
00:06:06 |
Thu 21 Apr 2011
Assigning Seats - Part 2
As difficult as it is to do the census, the ensuing process of determining the number of congressional seats for each state can be even harder. The basic premise, that the proportion of each state's …
00:03:32 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Assigning Seats - Part 1
As difficult as it is to do the census, the ensuing process of determining the number of congressional seats for each state can be even harder. The basic premise, that the proportion of each state's …
00:06:26 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Knowing Rogues - Part 2
It doesn't take a perfect storm to generate a rogue wave-an open-ocean wave much steeper and more massive than its neighbors that appears with little or no warning. Sometimes winds and currents colli…
00:05:14 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Knowing Rogues - Part 1
It doesn't take a perfect storm to generate a rogue wave-an open-ocean wave much steeper and more massive than its neighbors that appears with little or no warning. Sometimes winds and currents colli…
00:06:02 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Creating Something out of (Next to) Nothing
Normally when creating a digital file, such as a picture, much more information is recorded than necessary-even before storing or sending. The image on the right
was created with compressed (or compr…
00:08:33 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Getting at the Truth - Part 2
Mathematics has helped investigators in several major cases of human rights abuses and election fraud. Among them: The 2009 election in Iran. A mathematical result known as Benford's Law states that …
00:06:50 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Getting at the Truth - Part 1
Mathematics has helped investigators in several major cases of human rights abuses and election fraud. Among them: The 2009 election in Iran. A mathematical result known as Benford's Law states that …
00:03:41 |
Fri 10 Dec 2010
Resisting the Spread of Disease - Part 2
One of the most useful tools in analyzing the spread of disease is a system of
evolutionary equations that reflects the dynamics among three distinct categories
of a population: those susceptible (S)…
00:06:38 |
Mon 28 Sep 2009
Resisting the Spread of Disease - Part 1
One of the most useful tools in analyzing the spread of disease is a system of
evolutionary equations that reflects the dynamics among three distinct categories
of a population: those susceptible (S)…
00:06:02 |
Mon 28 Sep 2009
Predicting Climate - Part 2
What.s in store for our climate and us? It.s an extraordinarily complex question whose answer requires physics, chemistry, earth science, and mathematics (among other subjects) along with massive com…
00:05:20 |
Wed 16 Sep 2009
Predicting Climate - Part 1
What.s in store for our climate and us? It.s an extraordinarily complex question whose answer requires physics, chemistry, earth science, and mathematics (among other subjects) along with massive com…
00:06:21 |
Wed 16 Sep 2009
Matching Vital Needs - Increasing the number of live-donor kidney transplants
A person needing a kidney transplant may have a friend or relative who volunteers
to be a living donor, but whose kidney is incompatible, forcing the person to wait for a transplant from a deceased d…
00:10:24 |
Wed 01 Jul 2009
Pulling Out (from) All the Stops - Visiting all of NY's subway stops in record time
With 468 stops served by 26 lines, the New York subway system can make visitors
feel lucky when they successfully negotiate one planned trip in a day. Yet
these two New Yorkers, Chris Solarz and Matt…
00:10:24 |
Mon 18 May 2009
Working It Out. Math solves a mystery about the opening of "A Hard Day's Night."
The music of most hit songs is pretty well known, but sometimes there are
mysteries. One question that remained unanswered for over forty years is: What
instrumentation and notes make up the opening …
00:07:15 |
Fri 10 Apr 2009
Getting It Together
The collective motion of many groups of animals can be stunning. Flocks of birds
and schools of fish are able to remain cohesive, find food, and avoid predators without
leaders and without awareness …
00:07:15 |
Mon 01 Dec 2008
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