Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs

Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs PDF Author: Richard Elwes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781780873220
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs presents a series of essays explaining the fundamentals of the most important maths concepts you really need to know. Richard Elwes profiles the groundbreaking and front-of-mind discoveries that have had a profound influence on our way of life and understanding. From the origins of counting some 35,000 years ago, right up to the very latest breakthroughs - such as Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and Cook & Wolfram's Rule 110 - Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs tells a story of discovery, invention, painstaking progress and inspired leaps of the imagination.

Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs

Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs PDF Author: Richard Elwes
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781780873220
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs presents a series of essays explaining the fundamentals of the most important maths concepts you really need to know. Richard Elwes profiles the groundbreaking and front-of-mind discoveries that have had a profound influence on our way of life and understanding. From the origins of counting some 35,000 years ago, right up to the very latest breakthroughs - such as Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and Cook & Wolfram's Rule 110 - Maths in 100 Key Breakthroughs tells a story of discovery, invention, painstaking progress and inspired leaps of the imagination.

Math in 100 Key Breakthroughs

Math in 100 Key Breakthroughs PDF Author: Richard Elwes
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 9781623650544
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Richard Elwes is a writer, teacher and researcher in Mathematics, visiting fellow at the University of Leeds, and contributor to numerous popular science magazines. He is a committed and recognized popularizer of mathematics. Of Elwes, Sonder Books 2011 Standouts said, "Dr. Elwes is brilliant at giving the reader the broad perspective, with enough details to fascinate, rather than confuse." Math in 100 Key Breakthroughs offers a series of short, clear-eyed essays explaining the fundamentals of the mathematical concepts everyone should know. Professor Richard Elwes profiles the most important, groundbreaking, and astonishing discoveries, which together have profoundly influenced our understanding of the universe. From the origins of counting--traced back to more than 35,000 years ago--to such contemporary breakthroughs as Wiles' Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and Cook & Woolfram's Rule 110, this compulsively readable book tells the story of discovery, invention, and inspiration that have led to humankind's most important mathematical achievements.

Science in 100 Key Breakthroughs

Science in 100 Key Breakthroughs PDF Author: Paul Parsons
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1623652685
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
Science in 100 Key Breakthroughs presents a series of clear and concise essays that explain the fundamentals of some of the most exciting and important science concepts you really need to know. Paul Parsons profiles the important, ground-breaking, and front-of-mind scientific discoveries that have had a profound influence on our way of life and will grow in importance with our advancing understanding. In 100 sections, this book provides an overview of the history of Western science, from astronomy and physics to geology, biology and psychology and everything in between. Starting with the origins of counting more than 35,000 years ago, Science tells a rich and fascinating story of discovery, invention, gradual progress and inspired leaps of the imagination. Many key concepts and discoveries are defined and discussed including: The circumference of the Earth, Chaos theory, Algebra, Relativity, Newton's Principia, Brownian motion, Pi, Wave/particle duality, Germ theory, The computer, X-rays, The double helix, Viruses, The human genome Readable, informative and thought-provoking, this is the ideal introduction to cutting-edge science and the essential overview for anyone who wants to learn more about these often daunting but increasingly essential subjects.

Mathematics: All That Matters

Mathematics: All That Matters PDF Author: Mike Askew
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1473601754
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Mathematics often gets a bad press. Describing someone as 'calculating' or 'rational' is hardly as flattering as being labelled 'artistic' or 'creative' and mathematicians in movies or novels are often portrayed as social misfits who rarely get the guy or girl. No wonder some folks say 'oh I don't care for mathematics, I was never any good at it' with a wistful sense of pride. Yet professional mathematicians talk of the subject differently. They look for elegant solutions to problems, revel in playing around with mathematical ideas and talk of the creative nature of mathematics. As the Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalevskaya said "It is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul." So why is there such a gap between the views of everyday folks and professional mathematicians? Part of the problem lies in how most of us were taught mathematics in school. The mathematics served up there is presented as a series of de-contextualised, abstract ideas, wrested from the human struggles and interactions that gave birth to the ideas. Through looking at some of the history of mathematics, psychological studies into how we come to know mathematics and key ideas in mathematics itself, the intent of this book is, if not to make the reader fall in love with mathematics, then at least to come to understand its nature a little better, and perhaps care a little more for it. In short, this book explores the human side of maths.

Proofs from THE BOOK

Proofs from THE BOOK PDF Author: Martin Aigner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662223430
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
According to the great mathematician Paul Erdös, God maintains perfect mathematical proofs in The Book. This book presents the authors candidates for such "perfect proofs," those which contain brilliant ideas, clever connections, and wonderful observations, bringing new insight and surprising perspectives to problems from number theory, geometry, analysis, combinatorics, and graph theory. As a result, this book will be fun reading for anyone with an interest in mathematics.

Unknown Quantity

Unknown Quantity PDF Author: John Derbyshire
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030909657X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
Prime Obsession taught us not to be afraid to put the math in a math book. Unknown Quantity heeds the lesson well. So grab your graphing calculators, slip out the slide rules, and buckle up! John Derbyshire is introducing us to algebra through the ages-and it promises to be just what his die-hard fans have been waiting for. "Here is the story of algebra." With this deceptively simple introduction, we begin our journey. Flanked by formulae, shadowed by roots and radicals, escorted by an expert who navigates unerringly on our behalf, we are guaranteed safe passage through even the most treacherous mathematical terrain. Our first encounter with algebraic arithmetic takes us back 38 centuries to the time of Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Ur and Haran, Sodom and Gomorrah. Moving deftly from Abel's proof to the higher levels of abstraction developed by Galois, we are eventually introduced to what algebraists have been focusing on during the last century. As we travel through the ages, it becomes apparent that the invention of algebra was more than the start of a specific discipline of mathematics-it was also the birth of a new way of thinking that clarified both basic numeric concepts as well as our perception of the world around us. Algebraists broke new ground when they discarded the simple search for solutions to equations and concentrated instead on abstract groups. This dramatic shift in thinking revolutionized mathematics. Written for those among us who are unencumbered by a fear of formulae, Unknown Quantity delivers on its promise to present a history of algebra. Astonishing in its bold presentation of the math and graced with narrative authority, our journey through the world of algebra is at once intellectually satisfying and pleasantly challenging.

Making up Numbers: A History of Invention in Mathematics

Making up Numbers: A History of Invention in Mathematics PDF Author: Ekkehard Kopp
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1800640978
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Making up Numbers: A History of Invention in Mathematics offers a detailed but accessible account of a wide range of mathematical ideas. Starting with elementary concepts, it leads the reader towards aspects of current mathematical research. The book explains how conceptual hurdles in the development of numbers and number systems were overcome in the course of history, from Babylon to Classical Greece, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and so to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The narrative moves from the Pythagorean insistence on positive multiples to the gradual acceptance of negative numbers, irrationals and complex numbers as essential tools in quantitative analysis. Within this chronological framework, chapters are organised thematically, covering a variety of topics and contexts: writing and solving equations, geometric construction, coordinates and complex numbers, perceptions of ‘infinity’ and its permissible uses in mathematics, number systems, and evolving views of the role of axioms. Through this approach, the author demonstrates that changes in our understanding of numbers have often relied on the breaking of long-held conventions to make way for new inventions at once providing greater clarity and widening mathematical horizons. Viewed from this historical perspective, mathematical abstraction emerges as neither mysterious nor immutable, but as a contingent, developing human activity. Making up Numbers will be of great interest to undergraduate and A-level students of mathematics, as well as secondary school teachers of the subject. In virtue of its detailed treatment of mathematical ideas, it will be of value to anyone seeking to learn more about the development of the subject.

Republic of Numbers

Republic of Numbers PDF Author: David Lindsay Roberts
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421433087
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This fascinating narrative history of math in America introduces readers to the diverse and vibrant people behind pivotal moments in the nation's mathematical maturation. Once upon a time in America, few knew or cared about math. In Republic of Numbers, David Lindsay Roberts tells the story of how all that changed, as America transformed into a powerhouse of mathematical thinkers. Covering more than 200 years of American history, Roberts recounts the life stories of twenty-three Americans integral to the evolution of mathematics in this country. Beginning with self-taught Salem mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch's unexpected breakthroughs in ocean navigation and closing with the astounding work Nobel laureate John Nash did on game theory, this book is meant to be read cover to cover. Revealing the marvelous ways in which America became mathematically sophisticated, the book introduces readers to Kelly Miller, the first black man to attend Johns Hopkins, who brilliantly melded mathematics and civil rights activism; Izaak Wirszup, a Polish immigrant who survived the Holocaust and proceeded to change the face of American mathematical education; Grace Hopper, the "Machine Whisperer," who pioneered computer programming; and many other relatively unknown but vital figures. As he brings American history and culture to life, Roberts also explains key mathematical concepts, from the method of least squares, propositional logic, quaternions, and the mean-value theorem to differential equations, non-Euclidean geometry, group theory, statistical mechanics, and Fourier analysis. Republic of Numbers will appeal to anyone who is interested in learning how mathematics has intertwined with American history.

How to Build a Brain

How to Build a Brain PDF Author: Richard Elwes
Publisher: Quercus Books
ISBN: 9781849164801
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Can you outrun a bullet? How do you build an electronic brain? Is it possible to create an unbreakable code? Could you slow down time? How do you unleash chaos? If you thought mathematics was all about measuring angles in a triangle or factorizing equations, think again... How to Build a Brain and 34 other really interesting uses of mathematics demystifies the astonishing world of maths in a series of intriguing, entertaining and often extraordinary scenarios - that explain key concepts in plain and simple language. You'll find out how to unknot your DNA, how to count like a supercomputer and how to become famous for solving mathematics most challenging problem. You'll learn essential survival skills such as how to survive in a whirlpool, how to slay a mathematical monster and how to be alive and dead at the same time. And along the way you'll discover some plain old cool stuff like how to unleash chaos, how to create an unbreakable code and how to use the mathematics to win at roulette or avoid going to prison. So if you want to get to grips with the great questions of number theory and geometry, the mysteries of the prime numbers or Plato's classification of regular polyhedra, or if you are really more interested in learning how to have beautiful children or how to make a million on the stock market, this is the perfect introduction to the fascinating world of modern mathematics.

Essential Math Skills for Engineers

Essential Math Skills for Engineers PDF Author: Clayton R. Paul
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118211103
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Just the math skills you need to excel in the study or practice of engineering Good math skills are indispensable for all engineers regardless of their specialty, yet only a relatively small portion of the math that engineering students study in college mathematics courses is used on a frequent basis in the study or practice of engineering. That's why Essential Math Skills for Engineers focuses on only these few critically essential math skills that students need in order to advance in their engineering studies and excel in engineering practice. Essential Math Skills for Engineers features concise, easy-to-follow explanations that quickly bring readers up to speed on all the essential core math skills used in the daily study and practice of engineering. These fundamental and essential skills are logically grouped into categories that make them easy to learn while also promoting their long-term retention. Among the key areas covered are: Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, complex arithmetic, and differential and integral calculus Simultaneous, linear, algebraic equations Linear, constant-coefficient, ordinary differential equations Linear, constant-coefficient, difference equations Linear, constant-coefficient, partial differential equations Fourier series and Fourier transform Laplace transform Mathematics of vectors With the thorough understanding of essential math skills gained from this text, readers will have mastered a key component of the knowledge needed to become successful students of engineering. In addition, this text is highly recommended for practicing engineers who want to refresh their math skills in order to tackle problems in engineering with confidence.