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Dive into the fascinating world of mathematics with our captivating articles, written by passionate experts. Whether you are a curious amateur or a seasoned mathematician, our articles cover a wide range of topics, from fundamental concepts to the latest discoveries, including practical applications and philosophical reflections.
The chocolate equation
Coating roasted hazelnuts, almonds, candies, sugar Easter hares or other tempting shells in chocolate is generally no trouble at all for chocolatiers.
Celebrating mathematical literature | Tangente
As has become tradition, Tangente readers are invited to vote from July until the end of September to select the nominees for the Tangente Book Prize, from whom the jury will choose the 2016 winner. The inaugural Tangente High School Students' Prize will be announced at the same time.
Beach math games: puzzles & strategy | Tangente
Tired of swimming, sunbathing and sandcastles? Improvise strategy games and other challenges with shells and pebbles found on the beach!
From Brel to Navier–Stokes
Beyond the poetry and the images evoked in Jacques Brel's songs lies a surprising mathematical reality: the basic models used to describe the movement of waves and dunes are identical! Moreover, they are far from having revealed all their secrets.
Sandpile geometry: surfaces and skeleton | Tangente
There are a thousand ways to keep your mind active while soaking up the sun on the beach. Let's set aside those—not so foolish after all—that involve not tanning at all. Instead, let's borrow our young nephew's bucket, spade and sieve, and embark on the great geometric adventure of sandpiles!
Shadows revealed: mathematics and vision | Tangente
As summer begins and temperatures soar, we all seek out a little spot sheltered from the sun. Let us not forget that drawing shadows is where perspective begins! Seeing an object's shadow already means recognizing it to some extent—and therefore knowing how to draw it in 3D.
François Morellet: geometry staged | Tangente
How many times, in these pages, have we mentioned the works of François Morellet, this artist possessed by geometry...
Fascinating prime numbers
A look at the latest theorems about prime numbers, which continue to inspire just as much as ever.
The inexhaustible prime number theorem
Prime numbers are an endless source of mathematical surprises: they are infinite in number yet rare, and attempts to count them bring transcendental functions into play, such as the Riemann zeta function, which at first glance seem far removed from arithmetic.
Bac and maths: specialization, APB, algorithms | Tangente
Following on from Tangente 170 and its feature "Should We Abolish the Baccalauréat?" Robert Cabane, dean of the Inspection générale de mathématiques, sent us some interesting comments.
André Warusfel: popularizer and educator | Tangente
André Warusfel, who passed away on 6 June 2016 at the age of 80, was active across every facet of mathematics over the course of his fifty-year career.
2017: neither blank nor double, the math of tax | Tangente
To file or check your taxes, it helps to know how to calculate (a little)
Plaque in memory of Évariste Galois in Paris | Tangente
Passersby on the rue des Bernardins will now be able to pause and wonder at this plaque, which was missing from the capital.
Rademacher's error on the Riemann hypothesis | Tangente
The German-born mathematician Hans Adolph Rademacher (1892-1969), a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was a giant of number theory.
Babies love numbers too: an innate number sense | Tangente
"At three days old, babies are sensitive to a ratio of 3 to 1. They can tell 3 and 9 apart, 4 and 12. At six months, it's 2 to 1. At nine months, 3 to 12."
A sculptor of polyhedra in Paris: art & geometry | Tangente
In the "Village Saint-Paul" in Paris is a shop called Cabinet de curiosités géométriques, where numerous polyhedra pile up. Our editorial team got in touch with its owner, Sylvain Calvier.
Solving equations: Rolle's theorem to the rescue
The mean value theorem guarantees that very concrete compounding problems do indeed have a solution, and that applying the standard governing equations does indeed lead to that solution. A dream for any economist!
The foundations of differential calculus: the 1700 quarrel | Tangente
A famous scientific quarrel over infinitesimals pitted Rolle against Varignon.
Rolle: a cascade of theorems!
Rolle's theorem, like the celebrated mean value theorem, has been dropped from the secondary-school curriculum. Yet these two major results in analysis are of far more than historical importance. They can be used to solve a great many mathematical problems!
The calendar is good for calculations
Our calendar is organized into seven-day weeks. So we sometimes need to calculate remainders modulo 7…