Chalkdust issue 11 – Coming 17 April 9 April 2020 Issue 11 of everyone's favourite magazine for the mathematically curious is coming very soon

Crossnumber winners, issue 10 26 March 2020 Did you solve it?

On curvature: cars, clothoids and cartography 5 March 2020 Issah Merchant discusses the geometric principles behind, and real-world applications of, curvature

Book of the Year 2019 27 February 2020 We announce the winner of this coveted prize

The Hidden Half 20 February 2020 We review the ninth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

Maths on the Back of an Envelope 19 February 2020 We review the eighth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

The Maths of Life and Death 18 February 2020 We review the sevnth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

Humble Pi 17 February 2020 We review the sixth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

So You Think You’ve Got Problems? 16 February 2020 We review the fifth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

Here Come the Numbers 10 February 2020 We review the fourth of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

The Art of Logic 6 February 2020 We review the third of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

A Compendium of Mathematical Methods 4 February 2020 We review the second of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

Geometry Puzzles in Felt Tip 3 February 2020 We review the first of this year's nominees for the Book of the Year

Chalkdust Book of the Year 2019 30 January 2020 We reveal the shortlist

Constructing the cover of Issue 10 10 December 2019 21 simple steps to draw your own Islamic pattern!

How to crochet a fractal 23 October 2019 This article will (unsurprisingly) tell you how to crochet a fractal

Chalkdust issue 10 – Coming 24 October 15 October 2019 Come along to our launch party for free pizza and the real quiz

Black mathematician month 2019 1 October 2019 A month celebrating the contributions of black mathematicians

Crossnumber winners, issue 09 27 September 2019 Did you solve it?

Reproduce or die 1 August 2019 Hugh Duncan explores an exciting variation on Conway's Game of Life

Review of Problem Solving in GCSE Mathematics 6 June 2019 We have a go at the puzzles in Daniel Griller’s new book

How do calculators do trigonometry? 23 May 2019 W.L. Feldhusen explains the obscure sine-finding trick hiding inside your calculator!

Counting all the numbers between zero and one 2 May 2019 Tony Pisculli dissects the lyrics from a popular song

Unknown pleasures: pulsars and the first data revolution 18 April 2019 The scientific story behind the cover of Joy Division's treasured debut

The scutoid: a geometric building block of life 28 March 2019 In 2018, scientists discovered a new shape that is essential to multicellular life

Review: Mathematical socks 2 7 March 2019 More sartorial inquisition for your feet

Chalkdust issue 09 – coming 15 March 1 March 2019 Read the magazine, and come to the launch party!

Talkdust, episode 3 28 February 2019 A podcast for the mathematically curious

Piet Hein: the pirate 21 February 2019 Did the Danish mathematician also sail the high seas?

Crossnumber winners, Issue 08 14 February 2019 Did you solve it?

Puzzles about partitions 7 February 2019 Tricks and puzzles that provide an introduction to the world of partitions

Talkdust, episode 2 31 January 2019 A podcast for the mathematically curious

The sieve of Eratosthenes: revisited 24 January 2019 How can we teach people about the sieve in a way that helps them best understand prime numbers?

An irrational problem 17 January 2019 Investigating the power of thinking rationally

Solutions to recent puzzles 10 January 2019 Looking back at puzzles about complex numbers, tic-tac-toe, and the Eggnog Mystery

Christmas competition #3: ‘An eggnog mystery’ 2 January 2019 Lies, liquor and logical deduction play their part in this festive holiday tale

Christmas lights, trees and maths 18 December 2018 Why do Christmas lights get tangled? And what's the perfect way to decorate a Christmas tree? Find the answers here.

Christmas competition #2: ‘More geometry snacks’ 14 December 2018 Win this year's best book of geometry puzzles

The first Black Mathematician Month outreach event 11 December 2018 Looking back at the exciting day that closed our 2018 celebrations

Christmas competition #1: ‘You can’t polish a nerd’ 6 December 2018 Win a DVD boxset from Festival of the spoken nerd in our first Christmas competition!

Deal or no deal? 29 November 2018 Mike Fletcher explores the optimal strategy for winning the popular television game show

Digging for roots in the complex plane 22 November 2018 Bring your shovel, and dig with us to unearth some amazing results about polynomials

Talkdust, episode 1 16 November 2018 A podcast for the mathematically curious

Overturned polygons: shapes with less than two sides 15 November 2018 Hugh Duncan explores polygons with a shortage of edges

The history of pi 8 November 2018 What is pi? How do we define it and who first thought of it? We explore the history of this quintessential mathematical constant.

The maths ‘black box’ 30 October 2018 John Pougué Biyong explains how and why science communication can lead to better diversity.

Balancing the equation 25 October 2018 Reviewing the Royal Institution's first Black History Month event.

The mathematics of Black Panther 11 October 2018 Nira Chamberlain explains how Black Panther's suit can be modelled mathematically

David Blackwell and me 9 October 2018 Clive Fraser reflects on his interactions with one of the greatest ever Black mathematicians

Carnival of Mathematics 162 9 October 2018 This month’s round up of mathematical blog posts from all over the internet

Black Mathematician Month 2018 4 October 2018 We look back at last year's Black Mathematician Month, and give a preview of what to expect this October.

Chalkdust Issue 08 – coming 19 October 27 September 2018 Join us at our upcoming launch party!

Can you make something out of nothing? 20 September 2018 We explore the concept of emptiness in set theory, and explain how zero went from "nothing" to "something"

2018 Fields medal winners 6 September 2018 Introducing the work that has won mathematics' most famous award

Complex numbers and algebra 30 August 2018 Exploring the beauty of complex numbers, their origins and why they are important

Folding nets into Johnson solids 23 August 2018 How does one produce a net for the broadest class of polyhedra?

My life with mathematical tattoos 16 August 2018 ... and how Chalkdust played a role in one of them

Crossnumber winners, Issue 07 9 August 2018 Did you solve it?

Frawks 26 July 2018 Exploring non-random walks using fractions

Closing the Gap 28 June 2018 A review of Vicky Neale's new book about the quest to understand prime numbers.

The maths behind a chip goal 21 June 2018 We analyse the maths and physics required to execute a good chip shot

Bend it like Newton: curves in football 14 June 2018 Discover the mathematical equations that describe the most commonly observed trajectories in football

Heads and Tails 7 June 2018 An unexpected way to beat the odds in this classic game

Integration: It’s more than the sum of its parts 4 June 2018 Defining what exactly an integral is leads naturally to an explanation of how to handle approximating them.

Fun phenomena in fluids 31 May 2018 A selection of weird goings-on from the world of fluid mechanics

Review of Galois Knot Theory 17 May 2018 A thrilling review of this truly enlightening book

Modelling blood 10 May 2018 Blood is exceptionally complicated and its composition varies from person to person. So how do we begin to model it?

Maths trumps review 3 May 2018 A mathematically-themed version of the classic card game, with several new features

Our favourite (and not-so-favourite) Euler equations 26 April 2018 A collection of our favourite and least favourite things named after Euler, from issue 07

The new Chalkdust T-shirt 19 April 2018 Have you been wondering what the pattern on it means?

A few of Euler’s masterpieces 12 April 2018 ``Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all." -- Laplace. An invitation to join us in celebrating Euler's 311th birthday by appreciating a few of his great contributions to mathematics.

Let them share cake 5 April 2018 Or, how a simple problem can get very complicated, very quickly...

Magic behind the Fibonacci sequence 29 March 2018 Let's take a look at patterns that can be discovered in Fibonacci numbers and how we can find them around us.

Sylvester’s convex hull problem in R 1 March 2018 What is the probability that d+2 random points in d-dimensional space form a convex body? Investigating an old problem using modern methods.

Chalkdust Issue 07 – coming 13 March 26 February 2018 Join us at our upcoming launch party!

Power-up review 23 February 2018 "Unlocking the hidden mathematics in video games"

Modelling in a heartbeat 14 February 2018 Learn how to model your heart one beat at a time ❤️

Math Blaster 8 February 2018 Belgin plays a classic mathsy game from her childhood...in 16-bit graphics! Here's her review...

Why knot? 1 February 2018 You can un-knot a knot, by cutting it not?

Surname extinction 25 January 2018 Why do surnames die out? We take a look at the Galton-Watson process for modelling the extinction of surnames to answer the question: 'When will we all be Smiths?'

Crossnumber winners, Issue 06 24 January 2018 Did you solve it?

Well, well, well… 18 January 2018 A fiendish puzzle for you to 'pour' over...

The mathematical con artist 11 January 2018 Some summations seem strangely slippery...

Maths and music, together in harmony 4 January 2018 Uniting the teaching of mathematics and music can benefit pupils greatly in both areas.

Review of the year 2017 31 December 2017 What have we been up to this year?

Christmas conundrum #4 22 December 2017 Can you solve four puzzles to reveal the hidden message?

Review of The Element in the Room 21 December 2017 Reviewing this week's conundrum prize... science-y stuff staring you in the face!

Christmas conundrum #3 18 December 2017 Try our nonograms! And remember, not all puzzles have a unique solution...

The science behind Santa Claus 14 December 2017 Christmas is coming, and Santa will soon begin his journey. We analyse the science and maths behind his trip.

Christmas conundrum #2 11 December 2017 Solve this and you could be the lucky winner of a signed copy of The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus

Carnival of mathematics 152 7 December 2017 We round up some of the last month's top mathematical posts from around the internet

Christmas conundrum #1 4 December 2017 Solve this and you could be the lucky winner of a Chalkdust T-shirt

Chalkdust’s Christmas conundrums 30 November 2017 As the festive season strikes again, we'll be dishing out more fiendish puzzles – this time with prizes!

Review of The Maths Behind by Colin Beveridge 23 November 2017 Should you ask Santa for 'Ice Col' Beveridge's encyclopedic tome this festive period?

MathsJam 2017 16 November 2017 Chalkdust descends upon the UK's largest pop maths gathering and tells you what you missed

Beghilos 9 November 2017 When you get tired of using your calculator for numbers, why not use it for words?

Dispersion on the dark side of the moon 2 November 2017 Maths has strong connections to art and music, but what about to both at the same time?

Closing the first Black Mathematician Month 31 October 2017 Reflecting on what we've learnt over the past few weeks.

My mathematical trajectory 25 October 2017 Stories and lessons on diversity in mathematics from a globe-trotting number theorist.

Issue 06 19 October 2017 Cardioids in coffee cups, counting with three fingers, and breakfast at Villani's. Plus the return of all your favourite fun pages in our autumn 2017 issue.

Star polynomials 6 October 2017 Natalya Silcott introduces us to star polynomials!

October is Black Mathematician Month 2 October 2017 Promoting black mathematicians, and talking about building a more representative mathematical community.

The mathematics of brewing 21 September 2017 While drinking beer in your favourite pub, have you ever wondered how it is produced? Find here some of the science and mathematics behind brewing.

Seeing double 14 September 2017 Take a ball, divide it into parts, glue them back and get two identical copies of your ball!

Tupper’s self-referential formula 7 September 2017 A hideous equation that hides beautiful images, and much (much) more besides...

Four ways Photoshop encourages thinking mathematically 31 August 2017 How processes used in image editing are related to mathematics!

Creating hot ice 24 August 2017 We created hot ice from scratch, a solution that remains liquid even below its freezing point!

Going once, going twice… game theory? 17 August 2017 A quick look at how to get the most bang for your buck the next time you're in a bidding war

Review: Mathematical T-shirt 10 August 2017 A summer essential or an embarrassment risk on the streets of Ibiza?

Winning the Chalkdust coin game 3 August 2017 How to win a game when your expected score is 0

How many quadratics factorise? 20 July 2017 Write down a quadratic. What is the probability that it factorises? Paging Prof. Dirichet...

Crossnumbers and cross products 13 July 2017 A crossnumber clue takes us plunging headfirst towards projective geometry

The mathematics of human migration 11 July 2017 Human migration with mathematical models, data and a hands-on experiment!

Cat among the pigeons 6 July 2017 Some interesting observations with the pigeonhole principle

Summer puzzles 29 June 2017 Have a go at these puzzles, adequate for your holidays!

Top 10 emoji for use in mathematics 22 June 2017 We take a look at the top 10 emojis!

Making your own papercupter 15 June 2017 Next time you are finished using a paper cup, create your own papercupter!

What’s your least favourite number? 8 June 2017 Read about our least favourite numbers in this collection from issue 5!

Football free-kicks… taken by Newton 1 June 2017 Discover the mysteries behind the most spectacular free-kick ever scored and how Newton can help us to simulate it.

Taking the (mathematically) perfect picture at the Leaning Tower Of Pisa 25 May 2017 Finding the best picture at the Leaning Tower of Pisa is all about the maths rather than the pose!

The croissant equation 17 May 2017 Each time you eat a croissant you might be biting more than 500 layers of dough!

Review of Elastic Numbers 11 May 2017 We have a go at the puzzles in Daniel Griller's new book

In conversation with Marcus du Sautoy 4 May 2017 We chat to Marcus about science communication, teaching mathematics in schools, and how to make group theory sound sexy.

Thinking outside the box 27 April 2017 Negative polygons and other mathematical creations

The pipe singularity 20 April 2017 In the Aztec city of Atzlan, the scientist Remotep makes a revolutionary discovery

Superegg 16 April 2017 How optimising the space around a circular monument is related to supereggs

Is it better to run or walk in the rain? 13 April 2017 When you're caught in the rain without an umbrella... what is your best option?

Why self-service machines give such awful change 6 April 2017 Unexpected item in bagging areAAAARGGGHH here's 90p change in pennies

Is it possible to reach absolute zero? 30 March 2017 After 100 years, a key postulate of the third law of thermodynamics has been proven. We meet Lluis Masanes, one of the researchers responsible.

Forget a new £1 coin, we need a £1.23 coin 27 March 2017 Not the new coin we want, but the new coin we need

Cutting my birthday cake 23 March 2017 How to make the most slices from just a few cuts of cake

Issue 05 6 March 2017 Graphical linear algebra, slide rules and game theory in nature. Plus all your favourite fun pages in our spring 2017 issue.

Chalkdust Issue 05 coming 7 March 23 February 2017 Free launch party, 7.15pm. Come along! Free copies of Chalkdust, free pizza, and buy your own Chalkdust T-shirt.

The digital sum of the products of twin primes is 8? 16 February 2017 What connects the products of twin primes with something you learnt in primary school and the number 8?

To share, or not to share 14 February 2017 A tragic love story of shares and viral songs. To share, or not to share...

Should you buy a Valentine’s day present? 9 February 2017 For those of you tackling this dilemma, here's your answer...

Curiouser and curiouser! 2 February 2017 Some surprising mathematical facts

Two years of Chalkdust! 27 January 2017 Here are some highlights of the first two years of Chalkdust!

Crossnumber winners, issue 04 26 January 2017 Are you a winner?

The limit does not exist! 19 January 2017 Lindsay Lohan is really good at L'Hôpital's rule.

Is MEDUSA the new BODMAS? 12 January 2017 Why the infamous acronym needs revising.

Review: Mathematical socks 5 January 2017 Can you wear them and be taken mathematically seriously?

The Chalkdust Christmas card 15 December 2016 This year's Chalkdust puzzle Christmas card

The n days of Christmas 1 December 2016 Get into the ChristMATHS spirit with the maths behind the popular Christmas carol!

Catching criminals with maths 24 November 2016 How crime science, and the maths it uses, is helping the police fight crime

What’s your favourite set? 17 November 2016 Here we have collected our favourite sets, from the Mandelbrot set to the Mahut-Isner set!

Visualising mathematics with 3D printing 10 November 2016 Using modern technology to understand geometry

Feeling the love for Chalkdust T-shirts 3 November 2016 The algebra will set your heart aflutter.

The spider witch project 27 October 2016 Constructing a spiderweb: in the spookiest and most horrific way possible!

Hooke’s Monument 20 October 2016 The Great Fire of London, a little-known polymath and a Monument...

Killing by numbers: the mathematics of warfare 13 October 2016 A blast from the past. Modelling battle grounds from ancient Greece.

Issue 04 launch quiz 2 October 2016 Tuesday 11 October, 7.15pm. Come along! Featuring hundreds of free copies of Chalkdust, free pizza, and the chance to purchase a Chalkdust T-shirt.

Man vs Maths 29 September 2016 A review of Timothy Revell's new book, describing the hidden mathematics behind our world

Why maps are wrong 15 September 2016 If only the Earth were flat...

The evolutionary arms race 8 September 2016 Applying game theory to evolution

Hairy balls, cyclones and computer graphics 2 September 2016 What can a 100-year-old result in topology say about weather and computers?

Donald in Mathmagic Land 25 August 2016 Donald Duck learns that there is “a lot more to mathematics than two-times-two”.

Maths at EMF camp 18 August 2016 Exploring the maths on offer at this year's UK hacker festival.

Why I hate an empty bus stop 11 August 2016 How the queue size tells you when the next bus is coming

Mathematicians and their Gods 4 August 2016 Believe it or not: Mathematics and Theology can coexist

Crossnumber winners, issue 03 28 July 2016 Are you a winner?

Switching sides in a matrix equation 21 July 2016 Looking for a neat description of this useful matrix part-inverse

Puzzles about calculus 14 July 2016 Can you solve these puzzles about differentiation and integration?

Changing the status quo 7 July 2016 Difficulties in designing a voting system for referenda

Constructing a sphere with 455 cups 23 June 2016 Paper cups do not follow a hexagonal pattern and the cones do not meet at a single point, but they do make a gigantic sphere

The Housekeeper and the Professor 9 June 2016 Memory and maths in the modern world

Stopping distances in the Highway Code are wrong 2 June 2016 An easy equation to remember for your driving theory test, with dangerous consequences

A brief history of gravitational waves 26 May 2016 The discovery of gravitational waves offers a new way of looking at the universe. Who knows what we will discover?

How many cups does it take to make a sphere? 19 May 2016 The Chalkdust team set you a challenge, for which the prize is a £25 Amazon voucher...

Names for large numbers 12 May 2016 Extending the million, billion, trillion system to much, much bigger numbers

Cracking the Guess Who? board game 5 May 2016 Maths and Decision Theory to be the best at playing Guess Who?

The mathematics of tea-making 28 April 2016 When-to-add-milk confusion and other related matters

Hunting for polydivisibles 21 April 2016 The search for polydivisible numbers in different bases: how many can you find?

Carnival of Mathematics 133 14 April 2016 This month's round up of mathematical blog posts.

Are we getting tired of Twitter? 7 April 2016 Here is the reason why the golden era of Twitter is gone

The wonders of mathematical crochet 31 March 2016 Hyperbolic surfaces, Klein bottles and more

What’s your favourite shape? 24 March 2016 Read ours then send us your favourites!

Issue 03 launch quiz 17 March 2016 How many points could you have scored at our launch quiz?

Fun with water bells 3 March 2016 Explaining how surface tension makes water form surprising shapes

Chalkdust Issue 3 coming soon! 14/03/16 25 February 2016 Your first peek at our Spring issue

A counterintuitive result in the theory of traffic flow 18 February 2016 Additional roads do not imply faster travel times!

Dear Dirichlet Valentine’s Day special 11 February 2016 Agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems this Valentine's Day.

Finding the edge of your images 4 February 2016 How can we identify objects in photos, to diagnose cancer or predict the weather? Using gradients!

The analytics of healthcare 28 January 2016 Simple Statistics can help businesses make informed decisions

New largest prime number discovered! 19 January 2016 Amaze your friends with our top facts about the new largest known prime number

The Drake equation 14 January 2016 Is there life on Mars? Or anywhere else?

Victorian maths tricks with old money 7 January 2016 Exploring mental arithmetic tricks in T. Martin's 1842 guide, 'Pounds, shillings and pence'

Chalkdust review of the year 2015 31 December 2015 Have you read the best of the blog?

Christmas puzzles 24 December 2015 Something for you to solve during the post-Christmas lull

Dear Dirichlet Christmas special 17 December 2015 Agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems this Christmastime.

Crossnumber winners 10 December 2015 Are you a winner?

How to make: Christmas Special 3 December 2015 Making gingerbread Platonic solids, Fröbel stars and Christmas flexagons

What’s your favourite function? Part II 26 November 2015 We have received loads of feedback from people telling us their favourite function

100 years with the Sierpinski triangle 19 November 2015 Three ways to obtain and generalise a beautiful fractal

Weekend at MathsJam 12 November 2015 Chalkdust visits popular maths' biggest conference

@mathslogicbot 5 November 2015 Explaining the tautological Twitter bot

How to kick a conversion 22 October 2015 Where should you choose to take a conversion kick from?

Somewhere over the rainbow 15 October 2015 Some mathematical questions you might have wondered every time you look at one of those rainbows

Why is it so hard to pull two phone books apart? 1 October 2015 Take two phone books and interleave all their pages one by one. Now try and pull them apart by their spines. Impossible, right?

Chalkdust Issue 2 coming soon! 06/10/15 24 September 2015 Find out what's going to be inside

Number Rumbler–a new fun maths game! 17 September 2015 Maths on Toast is a charity that aims to challenge and change the public's perception of mathematics...

Our Favourite Blogs 10 September 2015 A selection of our favourite mathematical blogs

Can you solve these puzzles? 3 September 2015 While we work on issue 2

Time turns backwards at the Spark Festival 27 August 2015 The extreme weirdness of slow viscous flows, and why borrowers shouldn't use doggy paddle.

Introducing the Cuboku 20 August 2015 Can you solve our 3D Sudoku puzzles?

Is there a perfect maths font? 13 August 2015 Let's print your thesis in Comic Sans

Do you have too many or too few friends? 6 August 2015 Do we have a natural limitation on the number of friends that we have?

Crossnumber winners 30 July 2015 Are you a winner?

Thoughts on the crossnumber 23 July 2015 Did you use meta-logic to solve the crossnumber?

Puzzles on square grids 16 July 2015 How to make Sudoku more interesting

Pandigital square numbers 9 July 2015 Why are there none in base 13?

Ace 2 July 2015 How tennis players spin and slice their serves

What’s your favourite number? 25 June 2015 Favourite numbers for many are linked to birthdays or anniversaries, but here is our take on the question

Maths for money: The Longitude Prize 18 June 2015 When people do science for money…

What makes a good puzzle? 11 June 2015 If you enjoyed Hannah's sweets then you'll love these...

Can we do good more effectively? 4 June 2015 Choosing which charity we donate money to shouldn't be an entirely emotional decision.

Review of Birth of a Theorem 28 May 2015 Cédric Villani’s Birth of a Theorem tells the story of a mathematical theorem

The statistics of a squeaky bum 21 May 2015 Does form going into the play-offs predict your success?

Politics: a tweeting glance 7 May 2015 What does Twitter have to do with politics?