A mathematician has solved a 200-year-old maths problem after figuring out a way to crack higher-degree polynomial equations without using radicals or irrational numbers. The method developed by ...

Van der Waerden’s conjecture mystified mathematicians for 85 years. Its solution shows how polynomial roots relate to one another. The equation x 2 – 5 = 0 is a bit trickier. The polynomial can’t be ...