Remember the graph paper you used at school, the kind that’s covered with tiny squares? It’s the perfect illustration of what mathematicians call a “periodic tiling of space”, with shapes covering an ...

Simple patterns can be found almost everywhere in the environment, from drain covers to leaves and road markings, say Julie Mountain and Felicity Robinson Patterns are essential to building ...

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. A few minutes into a 2018 talk at the University of Michigan, Ian Tobasco picked up a large piece of paper and ...

Mathematics can be both mind-boggling and illuminating. Though it can require mental gymnastics to follow some recent developments in math research, the effort is often rewarded with fascinating ...

In March, a group of mathematicians identified a thirteen-sided shape called “the hat” that can tile a surface without any patterns repeating. Now the researchers are updating the shape to maintain ...

Consider the tiles on a bathroom floor or wall; they’re often arranged in a repeating pattern. But is there a single shape that tiles such a surface — an infinite one — in a pattern that never repeats ...

Here we have a square, a circle and a triangle. We're going to use them to form a pattern. This is the pattern formed by the shapes.

Robyn Grant receives funding from the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), which funded this work as part of the MMEAW (Modelling the MEchanics of Animal Whiskers) Project, a ...

During family dinner, we have a tradition. Everyone has to summarize their day by describing three good events and, if necessary, one bad event. When my turn arrived at a recent dinner, I turned to my ...