What is Pi?

Pi is a number that everyone has heard of. It is a staple of our maths education from a fairly early age. Some may recall it is approximately 3.14. That funny looking symbol, π is engraved in our minds, but what actually is it? What are the practical uses for it? And what on earth is an 'irrational number'?

Let's be curious and ask, 'what is pi?'

How Does Sunscreen Work?

Image designed by Matthew Bird using Canva
"The Sun". Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Sometimes understanding the science behind something will not only benefit you intellectually, but physically as well. Sunscreen is one of the those cases. By knowing how sunscreen works you'll understand why you need to use it and in what way. So let's be curious and find out how sunscreen works.

Who were Marie and Pierre Curie?

Recipient of 2 Nobel Prizes, discoverer of 2 new elements, saviour of countless lives; Marie Curie is perhaps the most famous of all female scientists. Her scientific successes are interesting in themselves, but a look into the life and times of Marie Curie provides a fascinating lens through which to view them. Her personal life involves courage, tragedy and even a duel—more fitting for a Hollywood romance film than a scientist.

But as wonderful as Marie Curie was, she didn't work alone. In one of the great scientific partnerships, her husband, Pierre Curie, did research alongside her. Together they shared, alongside Antoine Henri Becquerel, the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Today (26 July 2014) is the 119th anniversary of Pierre Curie and Maria Sklodowska's (Marie Curie) marriage. So, to celebrate this special day let's be curious and find out who the Curies were.

How Big is a Billion?

Counting is easy, right? When we were very young, we were taught to count in terms of apples or blocks or something like that: one apple, two apples, three apples, and so on. It is easy to imagine three apples. It doesn't require much effort to imagine ten apples. Imagining a hundred apples requires a bit more effort, but isn't too tough.

Now try to image a billion apples. What are you thinking of? A room filled with apples? A concert hall filled with apples? Let's be honest with ourselves, and admit that imagining a billion apples is hard. So, how do we go about imagining a billion apples?

Why Bother With Science?

Science is everywhere. It is in the food you eat and the car you drive, the clothes on your back and the phone at your ear. As this blog’s title suggests, it is all science.

But scientists do all the science in your food and cars, so why should you bother with science? Modern day society is faced with many issues. Just think about global warming, the energy crisis, recessions, poverty, not to mention all the health-risks around the world and the worrying rise of antibiotic resistance.