When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Awesome Math

Singing 200 Digits of Pi

Singing 200 Digits of Pi

March 14 is Pi Day, so there’s no better time to learn as many digits of the mathematical constant as possible. AsapSCIENCE is here to help. While it’s definitely harder to memorize than The Alphabet Song, if you’re paying attention to the lyrics, you should at least get further than 3.1415926.

How Many Different Games of Tic-Tac-Toe Are There?

How Many Different Games of Tic-Tac-Toe Are There?

We assumed there were thousands of different ways that a game of tic-tac-toe could turn out. While the game board allows for more than 255,000 combinations of Xs and Os, there are far fewer gameplay outcomes. Musician and coder Marc Evanstein ran the numbers and argues there are only 14 different games to be played. (Thanks, Orion!)

Advertisement

Wooden Zoetrope Bowl

Wooden Zoetrope Bowl

Greg Blanpied makes CNC-machined and laser-cut functional art fabricated using parametric math and geometry. Among his amazing pieces is this elegant bowl, which acts as a zoetrope when filmed or spun beneath a strobe light. He’s also created a zoetrope vase.

Metric Paper & Everything in the Universe

Metric Paper & Everything in the Universe

Unlike US paper sizes, metric paper sizes like A3 and A4 can be folded into quarters to make smaller standard size sheets. CGP Grey explains the satisfying math of this paper sizing standard, then zooms in and out to see how it relates to the exponential nature of the universe.

The Abacusynth

The Abacusynth

Electronic instrument maker Elias Jarzombek created this unique synthesizer that looks like an abacus. The otherworldly sounds it makes are controlled by sliding and spinning its triangular “beads” on metal bars, along with turning its side dials. Read more about the Abacusynth on Elias’ website.

Animation vs. Math

Animation vs. Math

Alan Becker’s Animation vs. series usually has stick figures battling the animation process or other stick figures. But in this short, our stick figure hero encounters a new challenge – mathematics. Things start with simple addition and subtraction, but the calculations quickly become harder to solve, especially when Euler’s Identity shows up.

3D-Printed Infinite Fractal Zoom

3D-Printed Infinite Fractal Zoom

Using CGI, it’s possible to create fractal images that can be zoomed into infinitely. Inspired by the work of Feliks Konczakowski, mathematical artist Henry Segerman created an infinite zoom illusion using a real-world 3D-printed model. He pulled off the effect using a computer-controlled slider, a turntable, and precision editing.

Advertisement

Making a Magnetic Bike Transmission

Making a Magnetic Bike Transmission

A normal bike uses a set of gears to influence the amount of torque sent to its rear wheel. Tom Stanton wanted to see if it was possible to create a bike transmission that uses magnets to turn its wheel and create resistance. Put your thinking caps on for this brainy video that incorporates physics, math, and engineering.

Fractalicious 9

Fractalicious 9

Amsterdam-based visual effects designer Julius Horsthuis is known for his incredible moving fractal art. Fractalicious 9 is a compilation of his more recent work and offers up a variety of mesmerizing visuals based on mathematical equations.

Why Penrose Tiles Never Repeat

Why Penrose Tiles Never Repeat

Penrose tiles are a kind of arrangement in which polygons create patterns that never repeat. Minutephysics teamed up with Aatish Bhatia to explain the grid that underlies Penrose tiles and the math and geometry that prevents repetition. You can play with Penrose and similar patterns on Bhatia’s Pattern Collider.

An Unsettling Fractal Pattern

An Unsettling Fractal Pattern

Fractal art can be beautiful, hypnotic, and colorful. But with the proper arrangement of pixels, these mathematical patterns can also be dark and downright unsettling. Motion designer Chris Lavelle’s short fractal animation Creation 1 is especially disturbing, especially for those who suffer from trypophobia.

AlgoLoop Marble Toy

AlgoLoop Marble Toy
 Link

Mathematician and creator Yosuke Ikeda invented this glorious little plaything which uses a series of ramps to move marbles around as you push on it. Multiple AlgoLoops can be combined for more complex patterns. The project’s Kickstarter already has closed, but hopefully we’ll be able to buy these soon.

Advertisement

Elliptical Pool Table

Elliptical Pool Table

Frustrated by missing shots on a regular pool table, The Q went ahead and built himself a special kind of pool table where the ball goes in the pocket virtually every time. The trick is its elliptical shape, which sets up the perfect bank shot at every angle. This video from Numberphile explains the geometry at work.

The Double Pendulum Fractal

The Double Pendulum Fractal

A pendulum with two pivot points is one of the more entertaining mechanisms to watch in action as it descends into chaos. Sam Maksimovich plotted the changes in the two pendulums’ angles and assigned a unique color to each point. As the graph evolved, it turned into a cool piece of fractal art.

32-Point Pendulum

32-Point Pendulum

Mathematician mc2 shows off a neat digital simulation that shows how a string with 32 balls hung from it might behave when swung like a pendulum. It starts out smoothly enough, but as they slow down, chaotic movements bring the orbs closer to the fulcrum. We’d love to see how this looks in the real world.

Byte Size Comparison

Byte Size Comparison

It’s estimated that the amount of data stored on the Internet as of 2020 was around 40 zettabytes. If you can’t count that high, MetaBallStudios is here to provide some perspective on the relative size of various data measurements, envisioning a single byte as a 1-millimeter cube, and scaling up from there.

Wireframe Fractal Zoom

Wireframe Fractal Zoom

Maths Town teamed up with fellow fractal fanatic Yann Lby to create this hypnotic visual made up of colorful wireframes. For math geeks, the pattern starts as a 2D Mandelbrot fractal but uses its iteration data to project a vertical axis. Blow it up full screen dim the lights, get ready to enter a hypnotic trance.

The Biggest Numbers

The Biggest Numbers

Millions, billions, trillions, quadrillions, septillions… these kind of large numbers are really hard to wrap your mind around. The guys at Riddle attempt to put some of these numbers in perspective using real world examples of things that occur in such quantities.

Unsolvable Computer Problems

Unsolvable Computer Problems

Computers are pretty capable these days. And while most problems boil down to a series of mathematical computations, Tom Scott points out that there are some kinds of abstract problems that even the smartest programmers with the most powerful supercomputers can’t figure out.

Fizzy Lifting Math

Fizzy Lifting Math

Among the many memorable scenes in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was the one where Charlie and Grandpa Joe steal Fizzy Lifting Drinks. While it’s impossible that sipping a little soda could lift a human, Kyle Hill of Because Science figured out how much gas it would have actually taken to send Charlie sky high.

Gold Fractal Zoom

Gold Fractal Zoom

If you enjoyed Maths Town’s hypnotic fractal zoom video, here’s another one with a very different aesthetic. Rather than filling our eyeballs with vibrant colors, this one is filled with soothing mathematical structures dipped in shiny gold.

Humble Pi

Humble Pi
Buy

Matt Parker’s book Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World tells tales of the catastrophic consequences of mathematical errors in everything from architecture, to sweepstakes, to air traffic control systems. Perhaps it’ll be the kick in the pants you need to actually pay attention in math class.

The Sound of Sorting

The Sound of Sorting

Computers use a variety of different algorithms to sort items into order. In this mesmerizing clip by programmer Timo Bingmann, we not only see how six different sorting algorithms bring order to chaos, but hear them as well.

ADVERTISEMENT

Home | About | Suggest | Contact | Team | Links | Privacy | Disclosure
Advertise | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Sites We Like

Awesome Stuff: The Awesomer | Cool Cars: 95Octane
Site Design & Content © 2008-2024 Awesomer Media / The Awesomer™