# Maths

Here’re the posts that fall under admittedly enormous category of ‘maths’. The collection is expanding rapidly!

Brachistochrone – what path should a particle take such that it moves between two points in the least time under the influence of gravity?

Catenary Curve – what shape is a cable hanging under its own weight?

The Cusp in the Coffee Cup – can ray optics explain the seagulls in my mug?

Euler-Lagrange Equations – an outline of the origin of the Euler-Lagrange equations.

Euler-Lagrange Equation Trick – a useful relation derived from the Euler-Lagrange equation, called the Beltrami identity.

Exaltin’ Galton – how does the binomial distribution tend towards the normal distribution?

Garland – how much tinsel does it take to decorate a tree?

Geodesics on a Cone – how do you circumnavigate a cone as quickly as possible?

Graphs of Orthogonality – some pretty pictures generated from holomorphic functions. Their predecessor is here.

Lagrange Multipliers – an incidental sketch proof of the method of Lagrange multipliers for a single constraint.

Mario Kart Maths: Green Shell Ballistics – where should you drive to avoid green shells? Find out the answer here.

Mario Kart Maths: Red Shell Rumble – think twice before firing that red shell!

Mothematics – why are moths attracted to lights?

Newtonian Pedantics – the real Neil would be spinning in his … planetarium.

Pi and Bouncing Balls – what does $\pi$ have to do with the elastic collisions? Click here to discover a surprising and beautiful result.

Pharaoh – Random Walks – how easily does the bazaar trader get lost?

Puzzle #21 – HP3: The Guards of Azkaban – suggestions for the SI unit of happiness are welcome!

Puzzle #20 – HP2: The Rogue Bludger – radiodromes ahoy!

Puzzle# 10 – Wax Mathematical – a guided foray into the fledgling science of beeometry! Will the puns never end?

Puzzle #8 – Unappealing Puzzle – a little integration never hurts!

Puzzle #6 – Eye in the Sky – a geometric problem more easily said than done.

Puzzle #4 – Deceptively Simple Sequence – the title says it all! A real meaty one which requires more than a little creativity.

Puzzle #1 – Crossed Drive Belt – where it all began. A geometric jaunt to cut your teeth on.

Refraction in Action – an application of the Euler-Lagrange equations in optics, motivated by Fermat’s principle of least time.

Stirling’s Approximation – a clever equation for the logarithm of a factorial.

Sum of Squares – a sneaky way of deriving a classic sum.

Trigonometric and Hyperbolic Substitution – would that I had learnt it sooner!