Since 1950, there has been a quiet but steady revolution in meteorology, and especially in numerical weather prediction (NWP). The growth in accuracy, range and scope of weather forecasts over the past half-century has been spectacular. As late as the mid-1970s, forecasts were seriously unreliable. The diagram illustrates the inexorable increase in skill of the…

ThatsMaths

22.11.2024

The Never-ending Quest for Enormous Prime Numbers – ThatsMaths

The ongoing search for ever-larger prime numbers continues apace. Primes are the atoms of arithmetic: every whole number is a unique product of primes. For example, 21 is the product of primes 3 and 7, while 23 is itself prime. The primes play a central role in pure mathematics, in the field of number theory,…

ThatsMaths

28.11.2024

Fermi Resonance and Climate Change – ThatsMaths

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main culprit in causing our climate to change, but it is only recently that a key property of CO2 has been elucidated. This is linked to a surprising interaction between the molecular vibrations of carbon dioxide: the various modes of vibration of the molecules resonate with each other in a…

ThatsMaths

19.12.2024

The Surprising Utility of Square Wheels – ThatsMaths

The London Eye, a vast observation wheel with a diameter of 120 metres, on the south bank of the River Thames, opened in 2000. Resembling an enormous bicycle wheel, it has 32 passenger capsules, each weighing ten tons, attached to its circumference. Each capsule holds 25 people, so up to 800 may be on the…

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Joining Forces to Improve Weather Forecasts – ThatsMaths

The Never-ending Quest for Enormous Prime Numbers – ThatsMaths

Fermi Resonance and Climate Change – ThatsMaths

The Surprising Utility of Square Wheels – ThatsMaths

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