Uncategorized

  1. Math

    Contra Dances, Matrices, and Groups

    Though unknown to many people, contra dancing is practiced with great devotion and abandon throughout the United States by fans of this lively dance form. What’s striking is that a remarkably high percentage of contra dancing’s practitioners are highly educated, often involved in mathematics, computers, or engineering. Matrix representing initial configuration of two couples in […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  2. Tech

    Watching the Big Wheelers: In sea of cars, trucks reveal traffic flow

    A new way to sense traffic jams more quickly tracks the motion of trucks within the overall traffic flow.

    By Peter Weiss
  3. Materials Science

    Making Polymers That Self-Destruct: Layers break apart in controlled way

    A new polymer film chews itself apart under certain conditions, making it a potential candidate for the controlled delivery of therapeutic drugs.