Curiosity
Patterns, crafts, magic squares and fun mathematical content not part of the school curriculum
Morley's "miracle"
A symmetry appearing out of nowhere, an equilateral triangle emerging amid the trisectors of a completely arbitrary triangle: that is the whole "miracle" of Morley and his theorem. The many proofs of this beautiful property are marvels of geometry and trigonometry.
RO in quarantine: optimizing lockdown life | Tangente
Confined to our homes because of Covid-19, we all suffered from having to restrict our living space, share the household computer, continue our schooling in chaotic conditions and help with chores we had previously managed to avoid.
ROADEF/EURO challenge: 20 years of OR competitions | Tangente
This challenge is an exemplary model of collaboration between industry and academia in solving operations research problems!
CNRS operational research group | Tangente
In France, research laboratories are often large—sometimes employing several hundred researchers—and span several disciplines. GDRs coordinate research in a particular discipline across laboratories, allowing researchers to exchange ideas directly with other specialists in their field, all of whom are brought together within the GDR.
ROADEF, a learned society for operational research | Tangente
Since its founding in 1998, ROADEF has played an important role in operational research in France.
Operational research in France: a history | Tangente
Operational research (OR) seems to have emerged in the US military, first in radar development and then in inventory management during the First World War.
The 2020 Tangente High School Students' Prize: Enigma wins | Tangente
The sixth edition of the Tangente High School Students' Prize (PTL) took place this year. Despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, several schools still managed to see it through to the end!
Tangente Prize: Mathematics in Books | Tangente
You can read while nurturing your interest—or even your passion—for mathematics! Many authors draw inspiration and the subjects of their books from the inexhaustible wealth of material that mathematics provides. The Tangente Book Prize exists to promote the most captivating of these books.
Ishango bones finally deciphered | Tangente
The earliest mathematical object is more than twenty thousand years old. It was discovered by chance in the heart of Africa by a Belgian geologist. Its interpretation remains a matter of debate to this day.
Essential mathematics references | Tangente
The Mathcurve website is essential reading for anyone interested in curves. Several major authors are also closely associated with the subject.
Drawing machines: building mathematical curves | Tangente
Viewed as geometric loci, curves have always been drawn on a physical surface using instruments—or even machines. The mechanical linkages devised for this purpose can faithfully reproduce the curve under study.
Wheels and roads to match
Surprisingly, wheel and road profiles can be tailored so that the wheel’s axle remains at a constant height, ensuring maximum comfort for the traveller.
Mary Everest Boole, a surprising educator
Mary Everest did much to advance mathematics education. Among her innovations were the thread boards she used to make curves tangible.
Curves that go beyond the compass
Even when some "natural" problems prove impossible to solve, mathematicians have found ways around them, producing approximations of varying accuracy. To do so, they have sometimes had to draw on a host of geometric tricks and devise ingenious mechanisms.
Elliptic curves
An elliptic curve is an algebraic curve of genus 1, defined by a polynomial equation in Cartesian coordinates with real coefficients.
The early history of the cycloid
It took decades to uncover the geometric properties of cycloids and trochoids. The scholars who studied them began with physical or practical questions before turning to these remarkable curves themselves.
Polynomial stories
Anyone may come across a polynomial along the way. Here's the proof...
When numbers awoke to wonder
Ancient peoples used numbers for purely practical purposes: to count and enumerate. Five centuries before the Common Era, after travelling the world, a Greek scholar named Pythagoras returned certain that the original order of the World was Number, thereby turning it into a philosophical concept.
Words and mathematics | Tangente
Symbols and formulas emerged only gradually from mathematics that was initially expressed entirely in words. Ever since, the relationship between formalism and ordinary language has continued to fascinate.
Wanted: a missing abacus | Tangente
An ancient Roman ivory abacus has been missing for several years.