Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Season 41 / Year 2006
Season 41 / Year 2006
Network
DatesDec 25, 2006 - Dec 29, 2006
Episodes
Year 2006Episode 160 min
The Num8er My5teries: The Curious Incident of the Never-Ending Numbers
The secret life of numbers has fascinated people ever since humans learned to count. Join Marcus as he investigates where our numbers came from and where they are going, how big they can get and whether infinity is really a number. Explore the mysterious primes, the indivisible numbers. Just why did Beckham choose the number 23 shirt? And why do sunflowers have 89 petals? Find out how to try for the $1 million prize for cracking mathematics' biggest mystery.
Dec 25, 2006
Year 2006Episode 260 min
The Num8er My5teries: The story of the Elusive Shapes
Ever wondered why bubbles are always round even if you blow them with a square frame? Or why footballs are made out of pentagons and hexagons? Take a tour through the mathematical and cultural world of shapes - from pyramids in Egypt to the domes of Italy, and from the shape of good dice to the smell of symmetry. We'll even take a trip into hyperspace and reveal how to see in four dimensions.
Dec 26, 2006
Year 2006Episode 360 min
The Num8er My5teries: The Secret of the Winning Streak
Place your bets as we use maths to win at games. Logic is an important part of playing games and mathematics can help you plan the best strategy to win. Explore why some games are won or lost on the first move, how lateral thinking unlocks fiendish brainteasers, and why the economy, the law courts and even human relationships are one big game.
Dec 27, 2006
Year 2006Episode 460 min
The Num8er My5teries: The Case of the Uncrackable Code
From the Caesar Cipher to the Da Vinci Code, people have been fascinated by secret messages. The mathematics of codes lets us to do everything from photographing the surface of Mars to shopping securely on eBay. Find out how prime numbers are now the key to codes which protect credit cards from internet hackers, and how, in the digital age, i-pods and digital TV are just a load of 0s and 1s.
Dec 28, 2006
Year 2006Episode 560 min
The Num8er My5teries: The Quest to Predict the Future
Mathematics is the ultimate fortune teller. It can predict if a new plane design will make it off the ground. It can plan the path of a spacecraft so it passes close to every planet on its journey through the solar system. But some of nature's equations are more tricky. Why is weather so hard to forecast? How will world populations evolve? The mathematics of chaos theory helps explain why problems like these are so challenging.
Dec 29, 2006
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