!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!

"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
@
1he 11 most beaut|fu| equat|ons |n mathemat|cs
Whlle cerLaln famous equaLlons, such as AlberL LlnsLeln's L = mc
2
, hog mosL of Lhe publlc glory,
many less famlllar formulas have Lhelr champlons among sclenLlsLs. LlveSclence asked physlclsLs,
asLronomers and maLhemaLlclans for Lhelr favorlLe equaLlons, here's whaL we found:

Genera| re|at|v|ty



1he equaLlon above was formulaLed by LlnsLeln as parL of hls groundbreaklng general Lheory of
relaLlvlLy ln 1913. 1he Lheory revoluLlonlzed how sclenLlsLs undersLood gravlLy by descrlblng Lhe
force as a warplng of Lhe fabrlc of space and Llme.
"lL ls sLlll amazlng Lo me LhaL one such maLhemaLlcal equaLlon can descrlbe whaL space-Llme ls all
abouL," sald Space 1elescope Sclence lnsLlLuLe asLrophyslclsL Marlo Llvlo, who nomlnaLed Lhe
equaLlon as hls favorlLe. "All of LlnsLeln's Lrue genlus ls embodled ln Lhls equaLlon." [LlnsLeln Culz:
1esL ?our knowledge of Lhe Cenlus]
"1he rlghL-hand slde of Lhls equaLlon descrlbes Lhe energy conLenLs of our unlverse (lncludlng Lhe
'dark energy' LhaL propels Lhe currenL cosmlc acceleraLlon)," Llvlo explalned. "1he lefL-hand slde
descrlbes Lhe geomeLry of space-Llme. 1he equallLy reflecLs Lhe facL LhaL ln LlnsLeln's general
relaLlvlLy, mass and energy deLermlne Lhe geomeLry, and concomlLanLly Lhe curvaLure, whlch ls a
manlfesLaLlon of whaL we call gravlLy." [6 Welrd lacLs AbouL CravlLy]
"lL's a very eleganL equaLlon," sald kyle Cranmer, a physlclsL aL new ?ork unlverslLy, addlng LhaL
Lhe equaLlon reveals Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween space-Llme and maLLer and energy. "1hls equaLlon
Lells you how Lhey are relaLed - how Lhe presence of Lhe sun warps space-Llme so LhaL Lhe LarLh
moves around lL ln orblL, eLc. lL also Lells you how Lhe unlverse evolved slnce Lhe 8lg 8ang and
predlcLs LhaL Lhere should be black holes."
!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
1
Standard mode|



AnoLher of physlcs' relgnlng Lheorles, Lhe sLandard model descrlbes Lhe collecLlon of fundamenLal
parLlcles currenLly LhoughL Lo make up our unlverse.
1he Lheory can be encapsulaLed ln a maln equaLlon called Lhe sLandard model Lagranglan (named
afLer Lhe 18Lh-cenLury lrench maLhemaLlclan and asLronomer !oseph Louls Lagrange), whlch was
chosen by LheoreLlcal physlclsL Lance ulxon of Lhe SLAC naLlonal AcceleraLor LaboraLory ln
Callfornla as hls favorlLe formula.
"lL has successfully descrlbed all elemenLary parLlcles and forces LhaL we've observed ln Lhe
laboraLory Lo daLe - excepL gravlLy," ulxon Lold LlveSclence. "1haL lncludes, of course, Lhe
recenLly dlscovered Plggs(llke) boson, phl ln Lhe formula. lL ls fully self-conslsLenL wlLh quanLum
mechanlcs and speclal relaLlvlLy."
1he sLandard model Lheory has noL yeL, however, been unlLed wlLh general relaLlvlLy, whlch ls why
lL cannoL descrlbe gravlLy. [lnfographlc: 1he SLandard Model Lxplalned]










!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
A
Ca|cu|us



Whlle Lhe flrsL Lwo equaLlons descrlbe parLlcular aspecLs of our unlverse, anoLher favorlLe
equaLlon can be applled Lo all manner of slLuaLlons. 1he fundamenLal Lheorem of calculus forms
Lhe backbone of Lhe maLhemaLlcal meLhod known as calculus, and llnks lLs Lwo maln ldeas, Lhe
concepL of Lhe lnLegral and Lhe concepL of Lhe derlvaLlve.
"ln slmple words, [lL] says LhaL Lhe neL change of a smooLh and conLlnuous quanLlLy, such as a
dlsLance Lravelled, over a glven Llme lnLerval (l.e. Lhe dlfference ln Lhe values of Lhe quanLlLy aL Lhe
end polnLs of Lhe Llme lnLerval) ls equal Lo Lhe lnLegral of Lhe raLe of change of LhaL quanLlLy, l.e.
Lhe lnLegral of Lhe veloclLy," sald Melkana 8rakalova-1revlLhlck, chalr of Lhe maLh deparLmenL aL
lordham unlverslLy, who chose Lhls equaLlon as her favorlLe. "1he fundamenLal Lheorem of
calculus (l1C) allows us Lo deLermlne Lhe neL change over an lnLerval based on Lhe raLe of change
over Lhe enLlre lnLerval."
1he seeds of calculus began ln anclenL Llmes, buL much of lL was puL LogeLher ln Lhe 17Lh cenLury
by lsaac newLon, who used calculus Lo descrlbe Lhe moLlons of Lhe planeLs around Lhe sun.









!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
B
ythagorean theorem



An "oldle buL goodle" equaLlon ls Lhe famous yLhagorean Lheorem, whlch every beglnnlng
geomeLry sLudenL learns.
1hls formula descrlbes how, for any rlghL-angled Lrlangle, Lhe square of Lhe lengLh of Lhe
hypoLenuse, !, (Lhe longesL slde of a rlghL Lrlangle) equals Lhe sum of Lhe squares of Lhe lengLhs of
Lhe oLher Lwo sldes (" and #). 1hus, "$% ' #$% ( !$%
"1he very flrsL maLhemaLlcal facL LhaL amazed me was yLhagorean Lheorem," sald maLhemaLlclan
ualna 1almlna of Cornell unlverslLy. "l was a chlld Lhen and lL seemed Lo me so amazlng LhaL lL
works ln geomeLry and lL works wlLh numbers!" [3 Serlously Mlnd-8oggllng MaLh lacLs]

















!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
C
1 = 0.999999999..



1hls slmple equaLlon, whlch sLaLes LhaL Lhe quanLlLy 0.999, followed by an lnflnlLe sLrlng of nlnes,
ls equlvalenL Lo one, ls Lhe favorlLe of maLhemaLlclan SLeven SLrogaLz of Cornell unlverslLy.
"l love how slmple lL ls - everyone undersLands whaL lL says - yeL how provocaLlve lL ls," SLrogaLz
sald. "Many people don'L belleve lL could be Lrue. lL's also beauLlfully balanced. 1he lefL slde
represenLs Lhe beglnnlng of maLhemaLlcs, Lhe rlghL slde represenLs Lhe mysLerles of lnflnlLy."









!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
2
Spec|a| re|at|v|ty



LlnsLeln makes Lhe llsL agaln wlLh hls formulas for speclal relaLlvlLy, whlch descrlbes how Llme and
space aren'L absoluLe concepLs, buL raLher are relaLlve dependlng on Lhe speed of Lhe observer.
1he equaLlon above shows how Llme dllaLes, or slows down, Lhe fasLer a person ls movlng ln any
dlrecLlon.
"1he polnL ls lL's really very slmple," sald 8lll Murray, a parLlcle physlclsL aL Lhe CL8n laboraLory ln
Ceneva. "1here ls noLhlng Lhere an A-level sLudenL cannoL do, no complex derlvaLlves and Lrace
algebras. 8uL whaL lL embodles ls a whole new way of looklng aL Lhe world, a whole aLLlLude Lo
reallLy and our relaLlonshlp Lo lL. Suddenly, Lhe rlgld unchanglng cosmos ls swepL away and
replaced wlLh a personal world, relaLed Lo whaL you observe. ?ou move from belng ouLslde Lhe
unlverse, looklng down, Lo one of Lhe componenLs lnslde lL. 8uL Lhe concepLs and Lhe maLhs can
be grasped by anyone LhaL wanLs Lo."
Murray sald he preferred Lhe speclal relaLlvlLy equaLlons Lo Lhe more compllcaLed formulas ln
LlnsLeln's laLer Lheory. "l could never follow Lhe maLhs of general relaLlvlLy," he sald.












!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
D
Lu|er's equat|on



1hls slmple formula encapsulaLes someLhlng pure abouL Lhe naLure of spheres:
"lL says LhaL lf you cuL Lhe surface of a sphere up lnLo faces, edges and verLlces, and leL l be Lhe
number of faces, L Lhe number of edges and v Lhe number of verLlces, you wlll always geL v - L + l
= 2," sald Colln Adams, a maLhemaLlclan aL Wllllams College ln MassachuseLLs.
"So, for example, Lake a LeLrahedron, conslsLlng of four Lrlangles, slx edges and four verLlces,"
Adams explalned. "lf you blew hard lnLo a LeLrahedron wlLh flexlble faces, you could round lL off
lnLo a sphere, so ln LhaL sense, a sphere can be cuL lnLo four faces, slx edges and four verLlces. And
we see LhaL v - L + l = 2. Same holds for a pyramld wlLh flve faces - four Lrlangular, and one
square - elghL edges and flve verLlces," and any oLher comblnaLlon of faces, edges and verLlces.
"A very cool facL! 1he comblnaLorlcs of Lhe verLlces, edges and faces ls capLurlng someLhlng very
fundamenLal abouL Lhe shape of a sphere," Adams sald.












!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
3
Lu|er-Lagrange equat|ons and Noether's theorem



"1hese are preLLy absLracL, buL amazlngly powerful," n?u's Cranmer sald. "1he cool Lhlng ls LhaL
Lhls way of Lhlnklng abouL physlcs has survlved some ma[or revoluLlons ln physlcs, llke quanLum
mechanlcs, relaLlvlLy, eLc."
Pere, L sLands for Lhe Lagranglan, whlch ls a measure of energy ln a physlcal sysLem, such as
sprlngs, or levers or fundamenLal parLlcles. "Solvlng Lhls equaLlon Lells you how Lhe sysLem wlll
evolve wlLh Llme," Cranmer sald.
A splnoff of Lhe Lagranglan equaLlon ls called noeLher's Lheorem, afLer Lhe 20Lh cenLury
Cerman maLhemaLlclan Lmmy noeLher. "1hls Lheorem ls really fundamenLal Lo physlcs and Lhe
role of symmeLry," Cranmer sald. "lnformally, Lhe Lheorem ls LhaL lf your sysLem has a symmeLry,
Lhen Lhere ls a correspondlng conservaLlon law. lor example, Lhe ldea LhaL Lhe fundamenLal laws
of physlcs are Lhe same Loday as Lomorrow (Llme symmeLry) lmplles LhaL energy ls conserved. 1he
ldea LhaL Lhe laws of physlcs are Lhe same here as Lhey are ln ouLer space lmplles LhaL momenLum
ls conserved. SymmeLry ls perhaps Lhe drlvlng concepL ln fundamenLal physlcs, prlmarlly due Lo
[noeLher's] conLrlbuLlon."








!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
E
1he Ca||an-Symanz|k equat|on



"1he Callan-Symanzlk equaLlon ls a vlLal flrsL-prlnclples equaLlon from 1970, essenLlal for
descrlblng how nalve expecLaLlons wlll fall ln a quanLum world," sald LheoreLlcal physlclsL MaLL
SLrassler of 8uLgers unlverslLy.
1he equaLlon has numerous appllcaLlons, lncludlng allowlng physlclsLs Lo esLlmaLe Lhe mass and
slze of Lhe proLon and neuLron, whlch make up Lhe nuclel of aLoms.
8aslc physlcs Lells us LhaL Lhe gravlLaLlonal force, and Lhe elecLrlcal force, beLween Lwo ob[ecLs ls
proporLlonal Lo Lhe lnverse of Lhe dlsLance beLween Lhem squared. Cn a slmple level, Lhe same ls
Lrue for Lhe sLrong nuclear force LhaL blnds proLons and neuLrons LogeLher Lo form Lhe nuclel of
aLoms, and LhaL blnds quarks LogeLher Lo form proLons and neuLrons. Powever, Llny quanLum
flucLuaLlons can sllghLly alLer a force's dependence on dlsLance, whlch has dramaLlc consequences
for Lhe sLrong nuclear force.
"lL prevenLs Lhls force from decreaslng aL long dlsLances, and causes lL Lo Lrap quarks and Lo
comblne Lhem Lo form Lhe proLons and neuLrons of our world," SLrassler sald. "WhaL Lhe Callan-
Symanzlk equaLlon does ls relaLe Lhls dramaLlc and dlfflculL-Lo-calculaLe effecL, lmporLanL when
[Lhe dlsLance] ls roughly Lhe slze of a proLon, Lo more subLle buL easler-Lo-calculaLe effecLs LhaL
can be measured when [Lhe dlsLance] ls much smaller Lhan a proLon."






!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
@4
1he m|n|ma| surface equat|on



"1he mlnlmal surface equaLlon somehow encodes Lhe beauLlful soap fllms LhaL form on wlre
boundarles when you dlp Lhem ln soapy waLer," sald maLhemaLlclan lrank Morgan of Wllllams
College. "1he facL LhaL Lhe equaLlon ls 'nonllnear,' lnvolvlng powers and producLs of derlvaLlves, ls
Lhe coded maLhemaLlcal hlnL for Lhe surprlslng behavlor of soap fllms. 1hls ls ln conLrasL wlLh more
famlllar llnear parLlal dlfferenLlal equaLlons, such as Lhe heaL equaLlon, Lhe wave equaLlon, and Lhe
Schrdlnger equaLlon of quanLum physlcs."



















!""#$%%&&&'()*+,-)+.-+'-/0%12234567+8"+,"508"!+08")-8(5+9:8")/.,'!"0(;-)<=<(*7')"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
@@
1he Lu|er ||ne



Clen WhlLney, founder of Lhe Museum of MaLh ln new ?ork, chose anoLher geomeLrlcal Lheorem,
Lhls one havlng Lo do wlLh Lhe Luler llne, named afLer 18Lh-cenLury Swlss maLhemaLlclan and
physlclsL Leonhard Luler.
"SLarL wlLh any Lrlangle," WhlLney explalned. "uraw Lhe smallesL clrcle LhaL conLalns Lhe Lrlangle
and flnd lLs cenLer. llnd Lhe cenLer of mass of Lhe Lrlangle - Lhe polnL where Lhe Lrlangle, lf cuL
ouL of a plece of paper, would balance on a pln. uraw Lhe Lhree alLlLudes of Lhe Lrlangle (Lhe llnes
from each corner perpendlcular Lo Lhe opposlLe slde), and flnd Lhe polnL where Lhey all meeL. 1he
Lheorem ls LhaL all Lhree of Lhe polnLs you [usL found always lle on a slngle sLralghL llne, called Lhe
'Luler llne' of Lhe Lrlangle."
WhlLney sald Lhe Lheorem encapsulaLes Lhe beauLy and power of maLhemaLlcs, whlch ofLen
reveals surprlslng paLLerns ln slmple, famlllar shapes.