Author: Robert Woodhouse
Publisher: American Mathematical Society
ISBN: 0821836471
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 170
Book Description
Shortly after the invention of differential and integral calculus, the calculus of variations was developed. The new calculus looks for functions that minimize or maximize some quantity, such as the brachistochrone problem, which was solved by Johann Bernoulli, Leibniz, Newton, Jacob Bernoulli and l'Hopital and is sometimes considered as the starting point of the calculus of variations. In Woodhouse's book, first published in 1810, he has interwoven the historical progress with the scientific development of the subject. The reader will have the opportunity to see how calculus, during its first one hundred years, developed by seemingly tiny increments to become the highly polished subject that we know today. Here, Woodhouse's interweaving of history and science gives his special point of view on the mathematics. As he states in his preface: ""Indeed the authors who write near the beginnings of science are, in general, the most instructive; they take the reader more along with them, show him the real difficulties and, which is the main point, teach him the subject, the way they themselves learned it.
A History of the Calculus of Variations in the Eighteenth Century
Author: Robert Woodhouse
Publisher: American Mathematical Society
ISBN: 0821836471
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 170
Book Description
Shortly after the invention of differential and integral calculus, the calculus of variations was developed. The new calculus looks for functions that minimize or maximize some quantity, such as the brachistochrone problem, which was solved by Johann Bernoulli, Leibniz, Newton, Jacob Bernoulli and l'Hopital and is sometimes considered as the starting point of the calculus of variations. In Woodhouse's book, first published in 1810, he has interwoven the historical progress with the scientific development of the subject. The reader will have the opportunity to see how calculus, during its first one hundred years, developed by seemingly tiny increments to become the highly polished subject that we know today. Here, Woodhouse's interweaving of history and science gives his special point of view on the mathematics. As he states in his preface: ""Indeed the authors who write near the beginnings of science are, in general, the most instructive; they take the reader more along with them, show him the real difficulties and, which is the main point, teach him the subject, the way they themselves learned it.
Publisher: American Mathematical Society
ISBN: 0821836471
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 170
Book Description
Shortly after the invention of differential and integral calculus, the calculus of variations was developed. The new calculus looks for functions that minimize or maximize some quantity, such as the brachistochrone problem, which was solved by Johann Bernoulli, Leibniz, Newton, Jacob Bernoulli and l'Hopital and is sometimes considered as the starting point of the calculus of variations. In Woodhouse's book, first published in 1810, he has interwoven the historical progress with the scientific development of the subject. The reader will have the opportunity to see how calculus, during its first one hundred years, developed by seemingly tiny increments to become the highly polished subject that we know today. Here, Woodhouse's interweaving of history and science gives his special point of view on the mathematics. As he states in his preface: ""Indeed the authors who write near the beginnings of science are, in general, the most instructive; they take the reader more along with them, show him the real difficulties and, which is the main point, teach him the subject, the way they themselves learned it.
A History of the Calculus of Variations from the 17th through the 19th Century
Author: H. H. Goldstine
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461381061
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 427
Book Description
The calculus of variations is a subject whose beginning can be precisely dated. It might be said to begin at the moment that Euler coined the name calculus of variations but this is, of course, not the true moment of inception of the subject. It would not have been unreasonable if I had gone back to the set of isoperimetric problems considered by Greek mathemati cians such as Zenodorus (c. 200 B. C. ) and preserved by Pappus (c. 300 A. D. ). I have not done this since these problems were solved by geometric means. Instead I have arbitrarily chosen to begin with Fermat's elegant principle of least time. He used this principle in 1662 to show how a light ray was refracted at the interface between two optical media of different densities. This analysis of Fermat seems to me especially appropriate as a starting point: He used the methods of the calculus to minimize the time of passage cif a light ray through the two media, and his method was adapted by John Bernoulli to solve the brachystochrone problem. There have been several other histories of the subject, but they are now hopelessly archaic. One by Robert Woodhouse appeared in 1810 and another by Isaac Todhunter in 1861.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461381061
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 427
Book Description
The calculus of variations is a subject whose beginning can be precisely dated. It might be said to begin at the moment that Euler coined the name calculus of variations but this is, of course, not the true moment of inception of the subject. It would not have been unreasonable if I had gone back to the set of isoperimetric problems considered by Greek mathemati cians such as Zenodorus (c. 200 B. C. ) and preserved by Pappus (c. 300 A. D. ). I have not done this since these problems were solved by geometric means. Instead I have arbitrarily chosen to begin with Fermat's elegant principle of least time. He used this principle in 1662 to show how a light ray was refracted at the interface between two optical media of different densities. This analysis of Fermat seems to me especially appropriate as a starting point: He used the methods of the calculus to minimize the time of passage cif a light ray through the two media, and his method was adapted by John Bernoulli to solve the brachystochrone problem. There have been several other histories of the subject, but they are now hopelessly archaic. One by Robert Woodhouse appeared in 1810 and another by Isaac Todhunter in 1861.
A History of the Calculus of Variations in the Eighteenth Century
Author: Robert Whoodhouse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences
Author: Ivor Grattan-Guiness
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134887485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 856
Book Description
First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134887485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 856
Book Description
First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences
Author: I. Grattan-Guinness
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801873973
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 980
Book Description
The second book of a two-volume encyclopaedia which makes the vast and varied history of mathematics available in a reasonably compact format. The book offers in-depth accounts of the principal areas of activity up to the 1930s and touches on related topics, including ethnomathematics.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801873973
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 980
Book Description
The second book of a two-volume encyclopaedia which makes the vast and varied history of mathematics available in a reasonably compact format. The book offers in-depth accounts of the principal areas of activity up to the 1930s and touches on related topics, including ethnomathematics.
The Early Period of the Calculus of Variations
Author: Paolo Freguglia
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3319389459
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
This monograph explores the early development of the calculus of variations in continental Europe during the Eighteenth Century by illustrating the mathematics of its founders. Closely following the original papers and correspondences of Euler, Lagrange, the Bernoullis, and others, the reader is immersed in the challenge of theory building. We see what the founders were doing, the difficulties they faced, the mistakes they made, and their triumphs. The authors guide the reader through these works with instructive commentaries and complements to the original proofs, as well as offering a modern perspective where useful. The authors begin in 1697 with Johann Bernoulli’s work on the brachystochrone problem and the events leading up to it, marking the dawn of the calculus of variations. From there, they cover key advances in the theory up to the development of Lagrange’s δ-calculus, including: • The isoperimetrical problems • Shortest lines and geodesics • Euler’s Methodus Inveniendi and the two Additamenta Finally, the authors give the readers a sense of how vast the calculus of variations has become in centuries hence, providing some idea of what lies outside the scope of the book as well as the current state of affairs in the field. This book will be of interest to anyone studying the calculus of variations who wants a deeper intuition for the techniques and ideas that are used, as well as historians of science and mathematics interested in the development and evolution of modern calculus and analysis.
Publisher: Birkhäuser
ISBN: 3319389459
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
This monograph explores the early development of the calculus of variations in continental Europe during the Eighteenth Century by illustrating the mathematics of its founders. Closely following the original papers and correspondences of Euler, Lagrange, the Bernoullis, and others, the reader is immersed in the challenge of theory building. We see what the founders were doing, the difficulties they faced, the mistakes they made, and their triumphs. The authors guide the reader through these works with instructive commentaries and complements to the original proofs, as well as offering a modern perspective where useful. The authors begin in 1697 with Johann Bernoulli’s work on the brachystochrone problem and the events leading up to it, marking the dawn of the calculus of variations. From there, they cover key advances in the theory up to the development of Lagrange’s δ-calculus, including: • The isoperimetrical problems • Shortest lines and geodesics • Euler’s Methodus Inveniendi and the two Additamenta Finally, the authors give the readers a sense of how vast the calculus of variations has become in centuries hence, providing some idea of what lies outside the scope of the book as well as the current state of affairs in the field. This book will be of interest to anyone studying the calculus of variations who wants a deeper intuition for the techniques and ideas that are used, as well as historians of science and mathematics interested in the development and evolution of modern calculus and analysis.
The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 4, Eighteenth-Century Science
Author: David C. Lindberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521572439
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 956
Book Description
The fullest and most complete survey of the development of science in the eighteenth century.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521572439
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 956
Book Description
The fullest and most complete survey of the development of science in the eighteenth century.
The Mathematical Monthly
Author: John Daniel Runkle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 490
Book Description
"A complete catalogue of the writings of Sir John Herschel": v. 3, p. 220-227.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 490
Book Description
"A complete catalogue of the writings of Sir John Herschel": v. 3, p. 220-227.
The Mathematical Monthly
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 1266
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 1266
Book Description
Mathematical monthly
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 420
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 420
Book Description