The Birthday of Carl Sagan (1934) – Mathematics of Cosmos

Carl Sagan popularised science. He used mathematics to explain the Drake equation (N = R* × f_p × n_e × f_l × f_i × f_c × L), which estimates the number of communicative civilisations in the galaxy. Each term is a probability factor. The equation is a product of estimates, so the uncertainty is enormous (logarithmic). Sagan also worked on the mathematics of planetary atmospheres (greenhouse effect) and the ‘Nuclear winter’ model (climate catastrophe). He believed that mathematics is the language of the cosmos.