Journey into Maths Country

Kovaleskaya's Spinning Top or The Best Way to Spin

Directed by Denis van Waerebeke
S2 • E9    Oct 10, 2023    10m
How do you model the movement of a potato in space? Many a mathematician has struggled with this question.

At the end of the 19th century, mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya finally obtained an important result for determining the motion of a solid around a fixed point, thanks to a very special spinning top. A little expedition to the heart of integrable systems, even if it's a bit dizzying...

Where to Watch Journey into Maths Country - S2 • E9

 

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