Math for everyone
Mathematical content accessible to everyone
Where do the figures come from? | Tangente
Public authorities and the media release all kinds of figures, presenting them as indisputable facts. Where do all these numerical data come from? Where can we find them—in online sources, studies or elsewhere? How can we form an informed opinion?
Art as a way to interpret numbers | Tangente
The digital artwork Exit illustrates global population movements
Journalists and scientists join forces | Tangente
In an unprecedented initiative, journalists and scientists joined forces for an entire day to make sense of the news
Mobile structures and solar games for... | Tangente
Philippe Debouclans, a pioneer in solar-energy education, brought together a team to introduce young people to renewable energy through workshops featuring games and construction activities using his range of Héliobil toys.
Antarctica: a still-mysterious continent | Tangente
Unlike in the Arctic, where the area covered by winter sea ice is shrinking, Antarctica's ice-covered area is growing. How can this paradox be explained when temperatures are rising?
Predator–prey system | Tangente
Without predators, an animal population grows exponentially, ultimately sealing its fate. Predation can establish a balance… but may also lead to the species' extinction or to chaotic situations!
Greenhouse gases: the paradoxes of transport
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Quantifying the share attributable to road transport is no simple matter—and reducing it is harder still!
Riverside road closures backfire | Tangente
The City of Paris decided to close the riverside roads. Tangente's editorial team asked the City of Paris to comment on the contents of this page. At the press deadline, we had not yet received a reply. If we do, we will add it to the digital edition of this issue.
The difficult question of forecasting | Tangente
How can we predict likely changes in temperature and precipitation twenty years, fifty years or a century from now?
The going rate for black gold - Math brief | Tangente
Should we fear an oil shortage or a surge in oil prices?
Setting off bright and early, on a bicycle… | Tangente
According to some media outlets, the bicycle is the future of mobility and the key to the energy transition. And yet…
The challenges of the energy transition
Modelling the key factors in the energy transition is essential in today's world, but it is no simple matter, especially because the modelling varies from one country to another. Electricity receives a great deal of attention, while other, sometimes far more important, areas are often overlooked. Here is a brief look at the key quantities that need to go into the equations.
Save fuel: bet on tires! | Tangente
In an unusual turn of events, the Industry category of the 2018 European Inventor Award, presented by the European Patent Office, has gone to a French mathematician.
Air pollution: the toll in figures | Tangente
How can we measure the effects of pollution? Is it true, as some claim, that air pollution causes 48,000 deaths a year in France and that fine particles, especially emitted by diesel engines, account for 9% of these deaths? Mathematical tools can help provide answers.
The science of wind turbines
Enthusiasm for generating electricity with wind turbines often overshadows scientific analysis. Where do we stand on the generation and distribution of this energy? What impact does it have on greenhouse gas emissions? Let's see what the figures tell us.
The Leslie model
Modeling changes in an animal population is a frequently studied topic in mathematics and biology. But how can we account for the fact that individuals produce different numbers of offspring depending on their age? The Leslie model addresses these questions.
Biodiversity in equations
Biodiversity is life. Quantifying it at a given point in time is useful, but predicting how it will change is better—and mathematical modeling allows us to do just that.
Electric vehicles: virtues... and vices
Electric vehicles have a reputation for being clean. True—but much depends on where the electricity that powers them is generated...
A tricky equation – Mathematics article | Tangente
How much have human activities contributed to the observed and measured changes in Earth's temperature over recent decades? More importantly, what role can humanity hope to play through energy policies in altering this trend over the course of the 21st century?
Biodiversity: a very fashionable portmanteau | Tangente
What does "biodiversity" mean? Where does the word come from? Even without knowing it, we think we understand what it means