Wolfram Computation Meets Knowledge

News, Views & Insights

Computation & Analysis

Industrial Pumpkin Carving with Mathematica

The art of pumpkin carving is hard to master, yet once a year parents in many countries are asked to perform this traditional and messy form of art. It's time for a change in this old tradition. In fact, our colleague Jon McLoone already made a significant advance in pumpkin carving, mainly using implicit functions and RegionPlot3D. This year, I decided to make a contribution of my own that is more interactive and easier to use, with Mathematica or Mathematica Home Edition, of course. Let's start with a list. These are the things you need for traditional pumpkin carving. A nice looking pumpkin Carving tools of your choice: from a spoon and knife (if you are a true professional) to an industrial 36,000 rpm power rotary tool (seriously, I know someone who uses one) A bunch of candles to be placed inside the pumpkin A pattern for the carving on paper For industrial Mathematica pumpkin carving, you need these tools. B-spline curve, surface, and function Color processing functions Morphological image processing functions ParametricPlot3D with Texture A pattern for the carving as a bitmap Intrigued? Let us begin.
Yu-Sung Chang, Technical Communication & Strategy Group
Education & Academic

Wavelets and Their Application in Mathematica

What do computer animation, oil exploration, and the FBI's database of 30 million fingerprints have in common? Wavelet analysis. As of Version 8, wavelet analysis is an integral part of Mathematica. Wavelets themselves are short-lived wave-like oscillations. Taking the Morlet wavelet, for example, we can see that unlike sines and cosines, this wave-like oscillation is localized in the sense that it does not stretch out to infinity.
Samuel Chen, Product Manager, Technical Communication & Strategy
Announcements & Events

Thank You from the Wolfram Mathematica Virtual Conference Team

The very first Wolfram Mathematica Virtual Conference was a great success! Held in two sessions at different times to accommodate global attendees, this free event included 25 talks with Q&A and access to virtual networking. The conference started with Stephen Wolfram's keynote speech, which provided insights into the background and vision of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the new Computable Document Format (CDF).
Wolfram Blog Team
Announcements & Events

The Background and Vision of Mathematica

Opening keynote of the Wolfram Mathematica Virtual Conference 2011, September 26–27. Hi. I’m pleased to be with you. I’ve been asked to talk a bit about the background and vision of Mathematica. You know, this month it’s exactly 25 years since I started building Mathematica. It’s been really exciting seeing Mathematica grow and prosper over […]

Stephen Wolfram
Announcements & Events

Steve Jobs: A Few Memories

I’m so sad this evening—as millions are—to hear of Steve Jobs’s death. Scattered over the last quarter century, I learned much from Steve Jobs, and was proud to consider him a friend. And indeed, he contributed in various ways to all three of my major life projects so far: Mathematica, A New Kind of Science […]

Stephen Wolfram
Products

Mathematica Q&A Series: Generating Random Numbers

Got questions about Mathematica? The Wolfram Blog has answers! We'll regularly answer selected questions from users around the web. You can submit your question directly to the Q&A Team. This week's question comes from Peter, a secondary school teacher: How can I generate random integers between -10 and 10, but excluding 0? Read below or watch this screencast for the answer (we recommend viewing it in full-screen mode):
Andrew Moylan, Technical Content Specialist, Technical Communication and Strategy Group
Announcements & Events

Announcing the FULL Schedule for the Wolfram Technology Conference 2011

Only four weeks to go until the Wolfram Technology Conference 2011 in Champaign, Illinois, and in order to help you prepare, the full conference schedule is now available online—fully interactive and customizable. As of this year, you can create your schedule, network with fellow attendees, arrange meetings with Wolfram staff and other participants, and rate talks and share comments throughout the conference.
Wolfram Blog Team
Computation & Analysis

From Pi to Puzzles

Neil Bickford calculated the first 458 million terms for the continued fraction of pi, breaking the previous record of 180 million. He used Mathematica to develop his code and verify his results—which he posted shortly after he turned 13.

Bickford, who broke the record last fall, said creating the early version of the pi continued-fraction generator was “the best thing I’ve ever used Mathematica for.”

Elizabeth Shack, Technical Marketing Project Manager, Project Management
Show More