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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.
A dive into a strange world of numbers
At the beginning of the 20th century, the German mathematician Kurt Hensel "invented" new numbers, written with infinitely many digits, as in the decimal system, but based on a very different notion of proximity. This curious theory proved very fruitful in arithmetic!
10-adic numbers
Some mathematicians, tired of manipulating objects according to established procedures, begin to play with the rules themselves. What seems to be nothing more than pure intellectual pleasure often finds unexpected applications. Such is the case with 10-adic numbers...
Alexandre Grothendieck: mathematician of extremes | Tangente
Barely opened to the public, Alexandre Grothendieck's archives offer a glimpse into the career and extraordinary discoveries of one of mathematics' last great geniuses. An enormous task awaits specialists in algebraic geometry and historians of mathematics!
Alexandre Grothendieck, mathematician of extremes
Newly opened to the public, Alexandre Grothendieck's archives evoke the career and extraordinary discoveries of one of mathematics' last great geniuses. An enormous task awaits specialists in algebraic geometry and historians of mathematics!
Philippe Charbonneau: mathematical sculptor | Tangente
The artist Philippe Charbonneau (1936–2019), well known to Tangente readers, died a few days after the Mathematical Culture and Games Fair, which he had attended.
Arik Levy's Rocks: sculpture and geometry | Tangente
"I was more interested in the possibilities for reflections that the work offered than in the work itself: each work offers views that would be impossible without it."
Tangente Best Article Award | Tangente
Why not showcase your talent for bringing mathematical culture to a wider audience? That is exactly what the Tangente Best Article Award is for. Read this page and you will have everything you need to submit, by September 30, a miniature masterpiece that might even be published in Tangente.
Tangente Prize 2019: vote (and get others voting)!
As they do every year, our readers are invited to read books about mathematics published for a general readership over the past eighteen months and vote for their favorite. The five books receiving the most votes will become the "nominees," from which the jury will select the 2019 winner of the Tangente Book Prize.
Two theorems for the price of one
The idea of pairing two mathematical objects according to a set of rules allows us to extend certain results without reinventing everything: that is the whole point of duality. Or, mathematically speaking, how to kill two birds with one stone.
A math problem taken to court
Should the solution to a mathematical puzzle have to be approved by a judge? If the case reported here is anything to go by, the answer is not so simple.
Grothendieck archives: an enigmatic treasure | Tangente
One hundred thousand pages of archives is no small matter! That is the scale of the legacy left by Alexandre Grothendieck, who withdrew from the world in 1991 to live in a remote village in Ariège, where he died in 2014.
Michel Serres: tribute to a learned philosopher | Tangente
Michel Serres, philosopher and member of the Académie française, died on June 1 at the age of 88.
Loop quantum gravity
What if our universe were actually discrete? If confirmed, a bold theory known as loop quantum gravity could reconcile the physics of macroscopic gravitational fields with quantum physics. Spin plays a fundamental role in this theory.
The unification of physics through mathematics | Tangente
Physicists have two dreams. The first is to find a beautiful equation. The second is for that beautiful equation to describe all of physics. The Standard Model, string theory and loop quantum gravity are all candidates for a "theory of everything."
Dirac and distributions
Distributions generalize the concept of a function to account for discontinuous phenomena in physics.
The tensor: an indispensable tool
Describing the universe as a whole calls for a rather abstract mathematical concept: the tensor. Einstein's equation, which links geometry to the distribution of mass in the universe, makes use of tensors to express this relationship very concisely.
The puzzles of general relativity
Newton's laws quickly reach their limits when applied to certain celestial phenomena. Reconciling theory with observation requires the introduction of "spacetime with a changing geometry"…
Mathematical humor: jokes and anecdotes | Tangente
Mathematicians are quick to poke fun at their physicist colleagues’ failings, real or imagined… and the physicists return the favor.
The first black hole image explained | Tangente
Soon after the detection of gravitational waves, astrophysics and cosmology are buzzing once again with the publication of the first image of a black hole. These discoveries match theorists' predictions and lend further support to the theory of general relativity.
Rattlebacks: when motion reverses | Tangente
Among the unusual objects that inspire both wonder and scientific curiosity, few are more astonishing than the rattleback. When spun, it has the remarkable ability to reverse its direction of rotation "by itself."