Maths 3000BC To 1070AD

Maths 3000BC to 1070AD
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Contents
Articles
Number Fraction (mathematics) Quadratic equation Frustum Pi Pythagoreanism Pythagoras Pythagorean theorem Irrational number Perfect number Regular polygon Platonic solid Golden ratio Compass and straightedge constructions Doubling the cube Squaring the circle Zeno's paradoxes Platonism Plato Conic section Euclid's Elements Parallel postulate Euclidean geometry Fundamental theorem of arithmetic Prime number Sphere The Quadrature of the Parabola The Sand Reckoner Trigonometry Negative number Ptolemy 0 (number) The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm 1 10 22 35 38 60 66 77 98 107 112 118 129 151 158 160 165 172 177 200 213 223 228 242 246 263 271 274 277 283 291 301 311 314
Cubic function
324
References
Article Sources and Contributors Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 340 351
Article Licenses
License 357
Number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count, label, and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers. Mathematical operations are certain procedures that take one or more numbers as input and produce a number as output. Unary operations take a single input number and produce a single output number. For example, the successor operation adds one to an integer, thus the successor of 4 is 5. Binary operations take two input numbers and produce a single output number. Examples of binary operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation. The study of numerical operations is called arithmetic. A notational symbol that represents a number is called a numeral. In addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels (telephone numbers), for ordering (serial numbers), and for codes (e.g., ISBNs). In common use, the word number can mean the abstract object, the symbol, or the word for the number.
Classification of numbers
Different types of numbers are used in many cases. Numbers can be classified into sets, called number systems. (For different methods of expressing numbers with symbols, such as the Roman numerals, see numeral systems.)
Important number systems

Natural Integers Rational Real
a
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... or 1, 2, 3, 4, ... ..., 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... b where a and b are integers and b is not zero
The limit of a convergent sequence of rational numbers
Complex a + bi or a + ib where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of1
Natural numbers
The most familiar numbers are the natural numbers or counting numbers: one, two, three, and so on. Traditionally, the sequence of natural numbers started with 1 (0 was not even considered a number for the Ancient Greeks.) However, in the 19th century, set theorists and other mathematicians started including 0 (cardinality of the empty set, i.e. 0 elements, where 0 is thus the smallest cardinal number) in the set of natural numbers. Today, different mathematicians use the term to describe both sets, including zero or not. The mathematical symbol for the set of all natural numbers is N, also written , and sometimes or when it is necessary to indicate whether the set should start with 0 or 1, respectively. In the base ten numeral system, in almost universal use today for mathematical operations, the symbols for natural numbers are written using ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. In this base ten system, the rightmost digit of a natural number has a place value of one, and every other digit has a place value ten times that of the place value of the digit to its right. In set theory, which is capable of acting as an axiomatic foundation for modern mathematics,[1] natural numbers can be represented by classes of equivalent sets. For instance, the number 3 can be represented as the class of all sets that have exactly three elements. Alternatively, in Peano Arithmetic, the number 3 is represented as sss0, where s is the "successor" function (i.e., 3 is the third successor of 0). Many different representations are possible; all that is needed to formally represent 3 is to inscribe a certain symbol or pattern of symbols three times.
Number
Integers
The negative of a positive integer is defined as a number that produces zero when it is added to the corresponding positive integer. Negative numbers are usually written with a negative sign (a minus sign). As an example, the negative of 7 is written 7, and 7 + (7) = 0. When the set of negative numbers is combined with the set of natural numbers (which includes zero), the result is defined as the set of integer numbers, also called integers, Z also written . Here the letter Z comes from German Zahl, meaning "number". The set of integers forms a ring with operations addition and multiplication.[2]
Rational numbers
A rational number is a number that can be expressed as a fraction with an integer numerator and a non-zero natural number denominator. Fractions are written as two numbers, the numerator and the denominator, with a dividing bar between them. In the fraction written mn or
m represents equal parts, where n equal parts of that size make up m wholes. Two different fractions may correspond to the same rational number; for example 12 and 24 are equal, that is:
If the absolute value of m is greater than n, then the absolute value of the fraction is greater than 1. Fractions can be greater than, less than, or equal to 1 and can also be positive, negative, or zero. The set of all rational numbers includes the integers, since every integer can be written as a fraction with denominator 1. For example 7 can be written 71. The symbol for the rational numbers is Q (for quotient), also written .
Real numbers
The real numbers include all of the measuring numbers. Real numbers are usually written using decimal numerals, in which a decimal point is placed to the right of the digit with place value one. Each digit to the right of the decimal point has a place value one-tenth of the place value of the digit to its left. Thus
represents 1 hundred, 2 tens, 3 ones, 4 tenths, 5 hundredths, and 6 thousandths. In saying the number, the decimal is read "point", thus: "one two three point four five six ". In the US and UK and a number of other countries, the decimal point is represented by a period, whereas in continental Europe and certain other countries the decimal point is represented by a comma. Zero is often written as 0.0 when it must be treated as a real number rather than an integer. In the US and UK a number between 1 and 1 is always written with a leading zero to emphasize the decimal. Negative real numbers are written with a preceding minus sign:
Every rational number is also a real number. It is not the case, however, that every real number is rational. If a real number cannot be written as a fraction of two integers, it is called irrational. A decimal that can be written as a fraction either ends (terminates) or forever repeats, because it is the answer to a problem in division. Thus the real number 0.5 can be written as 12 and the real number 0.333... (forever repeating threes, otherwise written 0.3) can be written as 13. On the other hand, the real number (pi), the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter, is Since the decimal neither ends nor forever repeats, it cannot be written as a fraction, and is an example of an irrational number. Other irrational numbers include
(the square root of 2, that is, the positive number whose square is 2).
Number Thus 1.0 and 0.999... are two different decimal numerals representing the natural number 1. There are infinitely many other ways of representing the number 1, for example 22, 33, 1.00, 1.000, and so on. Every real number is either rational or irrational. Every real number corresponds to a point on the number line. The real numbers also have an important but highly technical property called the least upper bound property. The symbol for the real numbers is R, also written as . When a real number represents a measurement, there is always a margin of error. This is often indicated by rounding or truncating a decimal, so that digits that suggest a greater accuracy than the measurement itself are removed. The remaining digits are called significant digits. For example, measurements with a ruler can seldom be made without a margin of error of at least 0.001 meters. If the sides of a rectangle are measured as 1.23 meters and 4.56 meters, then multiplication gives an area for the rectangle of 5.6088 square meters. Since only the first two digits after the decimal place are significant, this is usually rounded to 5.61. In abstract algebra, it can be shown that any complete ordered field is isomorphic to the real numbers. The real numbers are not, however, an algebraically closed field.
Complex numbers
Moving to a greater level of abstraction, the real numbers can be extended to the complex numbers. This set of numbers arose, historically, from trying to find closed formulas for the roots of cubic and quartic polynomials. This led to expressions involving the square roots of negative numbers, and eventually to the definition of a new number: the square root of negative one, denoted by i, a symbol assigned by Leonhard Euler, and called the imaginary unit. The complex numbers consist of all numbers of the form or
where a and b are real numbers. In the expression a + bi, the real number a is called the real part and b is called the imaginary part. If the real part of a complex number is zero, then the number is called an imaginary number or is referred to as purely imaginary; if the imaginary part is zero, then the number is a real number. Thus the real numbers are a subset of the complex numbers. If the real and imaginary parts of a complex number are both integers, then the number is called a Gaussian integer. The symbol for the complex numbers is C or . In abstract algebra, the complex numbers are an example of an algebraically closed field, meaning that every polynomial with complex coefficients can be factored into linear factors. Like the real number system, the complex number system is a field and is complete, but unlike the real numbers it is not ordered. That is, there is no meaning in saying that i is greater than 1, nor is there any meaning in saying that i is less than 1. In technical terms, the complex numbers lack the trichotomy property. Complex numbers correspond to points on the complex plane, sometimes called the Argand plane. Each of the number systems mentioned above is a proper subset of the next number system. Symbolically, .
Computable numbers
Moving to problems of computation, the computable numbers are determined in the set of the real numbers. The computable numbers, also known as the recursive numbers or the computable reals, are the real numbers that can be computed to within any desired precision by a finite, terminating algorithm. Equivalent definitions can be given using -recursive functions, Turing machines or -calculus as the formal representation of algorithms. The computable numbers form a real closed field and can be used in the place of real numbers for many, but not all, mathematical purposes.
Number
Other types
Algebraic numbers are those that can be expressed as the solution to a polynomial equation with integer coefficients. The complement of the algebraic numbers are the transcendental numbers. Hyperreal numbers are used in non-standard analysis. The hyperreals, or nonstandard reals (usually denoted as *R), denote an ordered field that is a proper extension of the ordered field of real numbers R and satisfies the transfer principle. This principle allows true first-order statements about R to be reinterpreted as true first-order statements about *R. Superreal and surreal numbers extend the real numbers by adding infinitesimally small numbers and infinitely large numbers, but still form fields. The p-adic numbers may have infinitely long expansions to the left of the decimal point, in the same way that real numbers may have infinitely long expansions to the right. The number system that results depends on what base is used for the digits: any base is possible, but a prime number base provides the best mathematical properties. For dealing with infinite collections, the natural numbers have been generalized to the ordinal numbers and to the cardinal numbers. The former gives the ordering of the collection, while the latter gives its size. For the finite set, the ordinal and cardinal numbers are equivalent, but they differ in the infinite case. A relation number is defined as the class of relations consisting of all those relations that are similar to one member of the class.[3] Sets of numbers that are not subsets of the complex numbers are sometimes called hypercomplex numbers. They include the quaternions H, invented by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, in which multiplication is not commutative, and the octonions, in which multiplication is not associative. Elements of function fields of non-zero characteristic behave in some ways like numbers and are often regarded as numbers by number theorists.
Specific uses
There are also other sets of numbers with specialized uses. Some are subsets of the complex numbers. For example, algebraic numbers are the roots of polynomials with rational coefficients. Complex numbers that are not algebraic are called transcendental numbers. An even number is an integer that is "evenly divisible" by 2, i.e., divisible by 2 without remainder; an odd number is an integer that is not evenly divisible by 2. (The old-fashioned term "evenly divisible" is now almost always shortened to "divisible".) A formal definition of an odd number is that it is an integer of the form n = 2k + 1, where k is an integer. An even number has the form n = 2k where k is an integer. A perfect number is a positive integer that is the sum of its proper positive divisorsthe sum of the positive divisors not including the number itself. Equivalently, a perfect number is a number that is half the sum of all of its positive divisors, or (n) = 2n. The first perfect number is 6, because 1, 2, and 3 are its proper positive divisors and 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. The next perfect number is 28 = 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14. The next perfect numbers are 496 and 8128 (sequence A000396 in OEIS). These first four perfect numbers were the only ones known to early Greek mathematics. A figurate number is a number that can be represented as a regular and discrete geometric pattern (e.g. dots). If the pattern is polytopic, the figurate is labeled a polytopic number, and may be a polygonal number or a polyhedral number. Polytopic numbers for r = 2, 3, and 4 are: P2(n) = 12 n(n + 1) (triangular numbers) P3(n) = 16 n(n + 1)(n + 2) (tetrahedral numbers) P4(n) = 124 n(n + 1)(n + 2)(n + 3) (pentatopic numbers)
Number
Numerals
Numbers should be distinguished from numerals, the symbols used to represent numbers. Boyer showed that Egyptians created the first ciphered numeral system. Greeks followed by mapping their counting numbers onto Ionian and Doric alphabets. The number five can be represented by both the base ten numeral "5", by the Roman numeral "" and ciphered letters. Notations used to represent numbers are discussed in the article numeral systems. An important development in the history of numerals was the development of a positional system, like modern decimals, which can represent very large numbers. The Roman numerals require extra symbols for larger numbers.
History
First use of numbers
Bones and other artifacts have been discovered with marks cut into them that many believe are tally marks.[4] These tally marks may have been used for counting elapsed time, such as numbers of days, lunar cycles or keeping records of quantities, such as of animals. A tallying system has no concept of place value (as in modern decimal notation), which limits its representation of large numbers. Nonetheless tallying systems are considered the first kind of abstract numeral system. The first known system with place value was the Mesopotamian base 60 system (ca. 3400BC) and the earliest known base 10 system dates to 3100BC in Egypt.[5]
Zero
The use of zero as a number should be distinguished from its use as a placeholder numeral in place-value systems. Many ancient texts used zero. Babylonian (Modern Iraq) and Egyptian texts used it. Egyptians used the word nfr to denote zero balance in double entry accounting entries. Indian texts used a Sanskrit word Shunye to refer to the concept of void. In mathematics texts this word often refers to the number zero.[6] Records show that the Ancient Greeks seemed unsure about the status of zero as a number: they asked themselves "how can 'nothing' be something?" leading to interesting philosophical and, by the Medieval period, religious arguments about the nature and existence of zero and the vacuum. The paradoxes of Zeno of Elea depend in large part on the uncertain interpretation of zero. (The ancient Greeks even questioned whether 1 was a number.) The late Olmec people of south-central Mexico began to use a true zero (a shell glyph) in the New World possibly by the 4th century BC but certainly by 40BC, which became an integral part of Maya numerals and the Maya calendar. Mayan arithmetic used base 4 and base 5 written as base 20. Sanchez in 1961 reported a base 4, base 5 "finger" abacus. By 130 AD, Ptolemy, influenced by Hipparchus and the Babylonians, was using a symbol for zero (a small circle with a long overbar) within a sexagesimal numeral system otherwise using alphabetic Greek numerals. Because it was used alone, not as just a placeholder, this Hellenistic zero was the first documented use of a true zero in the Old World. In later Byzantine manuscripts of his Syntaxis Mathematica (Almagest), the Hellenistic zero had morphed into the Greek letter omicron (otherwise meaning 70). Another true zero was used in tables alongside Roman numerals by 525 (first known use by Dionysius Exiguus), but as a word, nulla meaning nothing, not as a symbol. When division produced zero as a remainder, nihil, also meaning nothing, was used. These medieval zeros were used by all future medieval computists (calculators of Easter). An isolated use of their initial, N, was used in a table of Roman numerals by Bede or a colleague about 725, a true zero symbol. An early documented use of the zero by Brahmagupta (in the Brhmasphuasiddhnta) dates to 628. He treated zero as a number and discussed operations involving it, including division. By this time (the 7thcentury) the concept had clearly reached Cambodia as Khmer numerals, and documentation shows the idea later spreading to China and the
Number Islamic world.
Negative numbers
The abstract concept of negative numbers was recognized as early as 100 BC 50 BC. The Chinese Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (Chinese: Jiu-zhang Suanshu) contains methods for finding the areas of figures; red rods were used to denote positive coefficients, black for negative.[7] This is the earliest known mention of negative numbers in the East; the first reference in a Western work was in the 3rdcentury in Greece. Diophantus referred to the equation equivalent to (the solution is negative) in Arithmetica, saying that the equation gave an absurd result. During the 600s, negative numbers were in use in India to represent debts. Diophantus' previous reference was discussed more explicitly by Indian mathematician Brahmagupta, in Brhmasphuasiddhnta 628, who used negative numbers to produce the general form quadratic formula that remains in use today. However, in the 12thcentury in India, Bhaskara gives negative roots for quadratic equations but says the negative value "is in this case not to be taken, for it is inadequate; people do not approve of negative roots." European mathematicians, for the most part, resisted the concept of negative numbers until the 17thcentury, although Fibonacci allowed negative solutions in financial problems where they could be interpreted as debts (chapter 13 of Liber Abaci, 1202) and later as losses (in Flos). At the same time, the Chinese were indicating negative numbers either by drawing a diagonal stroke through the right-most nonzero digit of the corresponding positive number's numeral.[8] The first use of negative numbers in a European work was by Chuquet during the 15thcentury. He used them as exponents, but referred to them as "absurd numbers". As recently as the 18th century, it was common practice to ignore any negative results returned by equations on the assumption that they were meaningless, just as Ren Descartes did with negative solutions in a Cartesian coordinate system.
Rational numbers
It is likely that the concept of fractional numbers dates to prehistoric times. The Ancient Egyptians used their Egyptian fraction notation for rational numbers in mathematical texts such as the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus and the Kahun Papyrus. Classical Greek and Indian mathematicians made studies of the theory of rational numbers, as part of the general study of number theory. The best known of these is Euclid's Elements, dating to roughly 300BC. Of the Indian texts, the most relevant is the Sthananga Sutra, which also covers number theory as part of a general study of mathematics. The concept of decimal fractions is closely linked with decimal place-value notation; the two seem to have developed in tandem. For example, it is common for the Jain math sutras to include calculations of decimal-fraction approximations to pi or the square root of two. Similarly, Babylonian math texts had always used sexagesimal (base 60) fractions with great frequency.
Irrational numbers
The earliest known use of irrational numbers was in the Indian Sulba Sutras composed between 800500BC.[9] The first existence proofs of irrational numbers is usually attributed to Pythagoras, more specifically to the Pythagorean Hippasus of Metapontum, who produced a (most likely geometrical) proof of the irrationality of the square root of two. The story goes that Hippasus discovered irrational numbers when trying to represent the square root of 2 as a fraction. However Pythagoras believed in the absoluteness of numbers, and could not accept the existence of irrational numbers. He could not disprove their existence through logic, but he could not accept irrational numbers, so he sentenced Hippasus to death by drowning.
Number The 16th century brought final European acceptance of negative integral and fractional numbers. By the 17thcentury, mathematicians generally used decimal fractions with modern notation. It was not, however, until the 19thcentury that mathematicians separated irrationals into algebraic and transcendental parts, and once more undertook scientific study of irrationals. It had remained almost dormant since Euclid. 1872 brought publication of the theories of Karl Weierstrass (by his pupil Kossak), Heine (Crelle, 74), Georg Cantor (Annalen, 5), and Richard Dedekind. In 1869, Mray had taken the same point of departure as Heine, but the theory is generally referred to the year 1872. Weierstrass's method was completely set forth by Salvatore Pincherle (1880), and Dedekind's has received additional prominence through the author's later work (1888) and endorsement by Paul Tannery (1894). Weierstrass, Cantor, and Heine base their theories on infinite series, while Dedekind founds his on the idea of a cut (Schnitt) in the system of real numbers, separating all rational numbers into two groups having certain characteristic properties. The subject has received later contributions at the hands of Weierstrass, Kronecker (Crelle, 101), and Mray. Continued fractions, closely related to irrational numbers (and due to Cataldi, 1613), received attention at the hands of Euler, and at the opening of the 19thcentury were brought into prominence through the writings of Joseph Louis Lagrange. Other noteworthy contributions have been made by Druckenmller (1837), Kunze (1857), Lemke (1870), and Gnther (1872). Ramus (1855) first connected the subject with determinants, resulting, with the subsequent contributions of Heine, Mbius, and Gnther, in the theory of Kettenbruchdeterminanten. Dirichlet also added to the general theory, as have numerous contributors to the applications of the subject.
Transcendental numbers and reals

The first results concerning transcendental numbers were Lambert's 1761 proof that cannot be rational, and also that en is irrational if n is rational (unless n = 0). (The constant e was first referred to in Napier's 1618 work on logarithms.) Legendre extended this proof to show that is not the square root of a rational number. The search for roots of quintic and higher degree equations was an important development, the AbelRuffini theorem (Ruffini 1799, Abel 1824) showed that they could not be solved by radicals (formula involving only arithmetical operations and roots). Hence it was necessary to consider the wider set of algebraic numbers (all solutions to polynomial equations). Galois (1832) linked polynomial equations to group theory giving rise to the field of Galois theory. The existence of transcendental numbers[10] was first established by Liouville (1844, 1851). Hermite proved in 1873 that e is transcendental and Lindemann proved in 1882 that is transcendental. Finally Cantor shows that the set of all real numbers is uncountably infinite but the set of all algebraic numbers is countably infinite, so there is an uncountably infinite number of transcendental numbers.
Infinity and infinitesimals

The earliest known conception of mathematical infinity appears in the Yajur Veda, an ancient Indian script, which at one point states, "If you remove a part from infinity or add a part to infinity, still what remains is infinity." Infinity was a popular topic of philosophical study among the Jain mathematicians c. 400BC. They distinguished between five types of infinity: infinite in one and two directions, infinite in area, infinite everywhere, and infinite perpetually. Aristotle defined the traditional Western notion of mathematical infinity. He distinguished between actual infinity and potential infinitythe general consensus being that only the latter had true value. Galileo's Two New Sciences discussed the idea of one-to-one correspondences between infinite sets. But the next major advance in the theory was made by Georg Cantor; in 1895 he published a book about his new set theory, introducing, among other things, transfinite numbers and formulating the continuum hypothesis. This was the first mathematical model that represented infinity by numbers and gave rules for operating with these infinite numbers. In the 1960s, Abraham Robinson showed how infinitely large and infinitesimal numbers can be rigorously defined and used to develop the field of nonstandard analysis. The system of hyperreal numbers represents a rigorous method of treating the ideas about infinite and infinitesimal numbers that had been used casually by mathematicians,
Number scientists, and engineers ever since the invention of infinitesimal calculus by Newton and Leibniz. A modern geometrical version of infinity is given by projective geometry, which introduces "ideal points at infinity", one for each spatial direction. Each family of parallel lines in a given direction is postulated to converge to the corresponding ideal point. This is closely related to the idea of vanishing points in perspective drawing.
Complex numbers
The earliest fleeting reference to square roots of negative numbers occurred in the work of the mathematician and inventor Heron of Alexandria in the 1st century AD, when he considered the volume of an impossible frustum of a pyramid. They became more prominent when in the 16thcentury closed formulas for the roots of third and fourth degree polynomials were discovered by Italian mathematicians such as Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia and Gerolamo Cardano. It was soon realized that these formulas, even if one was only interested in real solutions, sometimes required the manipulation of square roots of negative numbers. This was doubly unsettling since they did not even consider negative numbers to be on firm ground at the time. When Ren Descartes coined the term "imaginary" for these quantities in 1637, he intended it as derogatory. (See imaginary number for a discussion of the "reality" of complex numbers.) A further source of confusion was that the equation
seemed capriciously inconsistent with the algebraic identity
which is valid for positive real numbers a and b, and was also used in complex number calculations with one of a, b positive and the other negative. The incorrect use of this identity, and the related identity
in the case when both a and b are negative even bedeviled Euler. This difficulty eventually led him to the convention of using the special symbol i in place of to guard against this mistake. The 18th century saw the work of Abraham de Moivre and Leonhard Euler. de Moivre's formula (1730) states:
and to Euler (1748) Euler's formula of complex analysis:
The existence of complex numbers was not completely accepted until Caspar Wessel described the geometrical interpretation in 1799. Carl Friedrich Gauss rediscovered and popularized it several years later, and as a result the theory of complex numbers received a notable expansion. The idea of the graphic representation of complex numbers had appeared, however, as early as 1685, in Wallis's De Algebra tractatus. Also in 1799, Gauss provided the first generally accepted proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra, showing that every polynomial over the complex numbers has a full set of solutions in that realm. The general acceptance of the theory of complex numbers is due to the labors of Augustin Louis Cauchy and Niels Henrik Abel, and especially the latter, who was the first to boldly use complex numbers with a success that is well-known. Gauss studied complex numbers of the form a + bi, where a and b are integral, or rational (and i is one of the two roots of x2 + 1 = 0). His student, Gotthold Eisenstein, studied the type a + b, where is a complex root of x3 1 = 0. Other such classes (called cyclotomic fields) of complex numbers derive from the roots of unity xk 1 = 0 for higher values of k. This generalization is largely due to Ernst Kummer, who also invented ideal numbers, which were expressed as geometrical entities by Felix Klein in 1893. The general theory of fields was created by variste Galois, who studied the fields generated by the roots of any polynomial equation F(x) = 0.
Number In 1850 Victor Alexandre Puiseux took the key step of distinguishing between poles and branch points, and introduced the concept of essential singular points. This eventually led to the concept of the extended complex plane.
Prime numbers
Prime numbers have been studied throughout recorded history. Euclid devoted one book of the Elements to the theory of primes; in it he proved the infinitude of the primes and the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, and presented the Euclidean algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor of two numbers. In 240 BC, Eratosthenes used the Sieve of Eratosthenes to quickly isolate prime numbers. But most further development of the theory of primes in Europe dates to the Renaissance and later eras. In 1796, Adrien-Marie Legendre conjectured the prime number theorem, describing the asymptotic distribution of primes. Other results concerning the distribution of the primes include Euler's proof that the sum of the reciprocals of the primes diverges, and the Goldbach conjecture, which claims that any sufficiently large even number is the sum of two primes. Yet another conjecture related to the distribution of prime numbers is the Riemann hypothesis, formulated by Bernhard Riemann in 1859. The prime number theorem was finally proved by Jacques Hadamard and Charles de la Valle-Poussin in 1896. Goldbach and Riemann's conjectures remain unproven and unrefuted.
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] Suppes, Patrick (1972). Axiomatic Set Theory. Courier Dover Publications. p.1. ISBN0-486-61630-4. Weisstein, Eric W., " Integer (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Integer. html)" from MathWorld. Russell, Bertrand (1919). Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy. Routledge. p.56. ISBN0-415-09604-9. Marshak, A., The Roots of Civilisation; Cognitive Beginnings of Mans First Art, Symbol and Notation, (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London: 1972), 81ff. [5] "Egyptian Mathematical Papyri - Mathematicians of the African Diaspora" (http:/ / www. math. buffalo. edu/ mad/ Ancient-Africa/ mad_ancient_egyptpapyrus. html#berlin). Math.buffalo.edu. . Retrieved 2012-01-30. [6] "Historia Matematica Mailing List Archive: Re: [HM] The Zero Story: a question" (http:/ / sunsite. utk. edu/ math_archives/ . http/ hypermail/ historia/ apr99/ 0197. html). Sunsite.utk.edu. 1999-04-26. . Retrieved 2012-01-30. [7] Staszkow, Ronald; Robert Bradshaw (2004). The Mathematical Palette (3rd ed.). Brooks Cole. p.41. ISBN0-534-40365-4. [8] Smith, David Eugene (1958). History of Modern Mathematics. Dover Publications. p.259. ISBN0-486-20429-4. [9] Selin, Helaine, ed. (2000). Mathematics across cultures: the history of non-Western mathematics. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p.451. ISBN0-7923-6481-3. [10] Bogomolny, A.. "What's a number?" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ do_you_know/ numbers. shtml). Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles. . Retrieved 11 July 2010.
References
Tobias Dantzig, Number, the language of science; a critical survey written for the cultured non-mathematician, New York, The Macmillan company, 1930. Erich Friedman, What's special about this number? (http://www.stetson.edu/~efriedma/numbers.html) Steven Galovich, Introduction to Mathematical Structures, Harcourt Brace Javanovich, 23 January 1989, ISBN 0-15-543468-3. Paul Halmos, Naive Set Theory, Springer, 1974, ISBN 0-387-90092-6. Morris Kline, Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times, Oxford University Press, 1972. Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell, Principia Mathematica to *56, Cambridge University Press, 1910. George I. Sanchez, Arithmetic in Maya,Austin-Texas, 1961.
Number
10
External links
Nechaev, V.I. (2001), "Number" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Number), in Hazewinkel, Michiel, Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 Important Concepts and Formulas - Numbers (http://www.careerbless.com/aptitude/qa/numbers_imp.php) Mesopotamian and Germanic numbers (http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~catshaman/13comp/0numer. htm) BBC Radio 4, In Our Time: Negative Numbers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/ inourtime_20060309.shtml) '4000 Years of Numbers' (http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=622), lecture by Robin Wilson, 07/11/07, Gresham College (available for download as MP3 or MP4, and as a text file). http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/MayanMath2.html "What's the World's Favorite Number?" (http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/07/22/138493147/ what-s-your-favorite-number-world-wide-survey-v1). 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2011-09-17.; "Cuddling With 9, Smooching With 8, Winking At 7" (http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript. php?storyId=139797360). 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
Fraction (mathematics)
A fraction (from Latin: fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. A common, vulgar, or simple fraction (for example , , and 3/17)
consists of an integer numerator, displayed above a line (or before a slash), and a non-zero integer denominator, displayed below (or after) that line. The numerator represents a number of equal parts and the denominator indicates how many of those parts make up a whole. For example, in the fraction 3/4, the numerator, 3, tells us that the fraction represents 3 equal parts, and the denominator, 4, tells us that 4 parts make up a whole. The picture to the right illustrates or 3/4 of a cake. Numerators and denominators are also used in fractions that are not simple, including compound fractions, complex fractions, and mixed numerals.
A cake with one fourth (a quarter) removed. The remaining three fourths are shown. Dotted lines indicate where the cake may be cut in order to divide it into equal parts. Each fourth of the cake is denoted by the fraction .
Fractional numbers can also be written without using explicit numerators or denominators, by using decimals, percent signs, or negative exponents (as in 0.01, 1%, and 102 respectively, all of which are equivalent to 1/100). An integer such as the number 7 can be thought of as having an implied denominator of one: 7 equals 7/1. Other uses for fractions are to represent ratios and to represent division.[1] Thus the fraction 3/4 is also used to represent the ratio 3:4 (the ratio of the part to the whole) and the division 3 4 (three divided by four). In mathematics the set of all numbers which can be expressed in the form a/b, where a and b are integers and b is not zero, is called the set of rational numbers and is represented by the symbol Q, which stands for quotient. The test for a number being a rational number is that it can be written in that form (i.e., as a common fraction). However, the word fraction is also used to describe mathematical expressions that are not rational numbers, for example algebraic fractions (quotients of algebraic expressions), and expressions that contain irrational numbers, such as 2/2 (see square root of 2) and /4 (see proof that is irrational).
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Forms of fractions
Common, vulgar, or simple fractions
A common fraction (also known as a vulgar fraction or simple fraction) is a rational number written as a/b or , where the integers a and b are called the numerator and the denominator, respectively.[2] The numerator represents a number of equal parts, and the denominator, which cannot be zero, indicates how many of those parts make up a unit or a whole. In the examples 2/5 and 7/3, the slanting line is called a solidus or forward slash. In the examples and , the horizontal line is called a vinculum or, informally, a "fraction bar". Writing simple fractions In computer displays and typography, simple fractions are sometimes printed as a single character, e.g. (one half). See the article on Number Forms for information on doing this in Unicode. Scientific publishing distinguishes four ways to set fractions, together with guidelines on use:[3] special fractions: fractions that are presented as a single character with a slanted bar, with roughly the same height and width as other characters in the text. Generally used for simple fractions, such as: , , , , and . Since the numerals are smaller, legibility can be an issue, especially for small-sized fonts. These are not used in modern mathematical notation, but in other contexts; case fractions: similar to special fractions, but with a horizontal bar, thus making them upright. An example would be , but rendered with the same height as other characters; shilling fractions: 1/2, so called because this notation was used for pre-decimal British currency (sd), as in 2/6 for a half crown, meaning two shillings and six pence. While the notation "two shillings and six pence" did not represent a fraction, the forward slash is now used in fractions, especially for fractions inline with prose (rather than displayed), to avoid uneven lines. It is also used for fractions within fractions (complex fractions) or within exponents to increase legibility; built-up fractions: . This notation uses two or more lines of ordinary text, and results in a variation in spacing
between lines when included within other text. While large and legible, these can be disruptive, particularly for simple fractions or within complex fractions.
Ratios
A ratio is a relationship between two or more numbers that can be sometimes expressed as a fraction. Typically, a number of items are grouped and compared in a ratio, specifying numerically the relationship between each group. Ratios are expressed as "group 1 to group 2 ... to group n". For example, if a car lot had 12 vehicles of which 2 are white, 6 are red, 4 are yellow The ratio of red to white to yellow cars is 6 to 2 to 4. The ratio of yellow cars to white cars is 4 to 2 and may be expressed as 4:2 or 2:1. A ratio may be typically converted to a fraction when it is expressed as a ratio to the whole. In the above example, the ratio of yellow cars to the total cars in the lot is 4:12 or 1:3. We can convert these ratios to a fraction and say that 4/12 of the cars or 1/3 of the cars in the lot are yellow.
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Proper and improper common fractions

Common fractions can be classified as either proper or improper. When the numerator and the denominator are both positive, the fraction is called proper if the numerator is less than the denominator, and improper otherwise.[4][5] In general, a common fraction is said to be a proper fraction if the absolute value of the fraction is strictly less than onethat is, if the fraction is between -1 and 1 (but not equal to -1 or 1).[6][7] It is said to be an improper fraction (U.S., British or Australian) or top-heavy fraction (British, occasionally North America) if the absolute value of the fraction is greater than or equal to 1. Examples of proper fractions are 2/3, -3/4, and 4/9; examples of improper fractions are 9/4, -4/3, and 8/3.
Mixed numbers
A mixed numeral (often called a mixed number, also called a mixed fraction) is the sum of a non-zero integer and a proper fraction. This sum is implied without the use of any visible operator such as "+". For example, in referring to two entire cakes and three quarters of another cake, the whole and fractional parts of the number are written next to each other: . This is not to be confused with the algebra rule of implied multiplication. When two algebraic expressions are written next to each other, the operation of multiplication is said to be "understood". In algebra, for example is not a mixed number. Instead, multiplication is understood: . An improper fraction is another way to write a whole plus a part. A mixed number can be converted to an improper fraction as follows: 1. Write the mixed number as a sum . . .
2. Convert the whole number to an improper fraction with the same denominator as the fractional part, 3. Add the fractions. The resulting sum is the improper fraction. In the example, Similarly, an improper fraction can be converted to a mixed number as follows:
1. Divide the numerator by the denominator. In the example, , divide 11 by 4. 11 4 = 2 with remainder 3. 2. The quotient (without the remainder) becomes the whole number part of the mixed number. The remainder becomes the numerator of the fractional part. In the example, 2 is the whole number part and 3 is the numerator of the fractional part. 3. The new denominator is the same as the denominator of the improper fraction. In the example, they are both 4. Thus . Mixed numbers can also be negative, as in , which equals .
Reciprocals and the "invisible denominator"

The reciprocal of a fraction is another fraction with the numerator and denominator reversed. The reciprocal of , for instance, is . The product of a fraction and its reciprocal is 1, hence the reciprocal is the multiplicative inverse of a fraction. Any integer can be written as a fraction with the number one as denominator. For example, 17 can be written as , where 1 is sometimes referred to as the invisible denominator. Therefore, every fraction or integer except for zero has a reciprocal. The reciprocal of 17 is .
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Complex fractions
In a complex fraction, either the numerator, or the denominator, or both, is a fraction or a mixed number,[8][9] corresponding to division of fractions. For example, and are complex fractions. To reduce a complex
fraction to a simple fraction, treat the longest fraction line as representing division. For example:
If, in a complex fraction, there is no clear way to tell which fraction line takes precedence, then the expression is improperly formed, and meaningless.
Compound fractions
A compound fraction is a fraction of a fraction, or any number of fractions connected with the word of,[8][9] corresponding to multiplication of fractions. To reduce a compound fraction to a simple fraction, just carry out the multiplication (see the section on multiplication). For example, of is a compound fraction, corresponding to . The terms compound fraction and complex fraction are closely related and sometimes one is used as a synonym for the other.
Decimal fractions and percentages

A decimal fraction is a fraction whose denominator is not given explicitly, but is understood to be an integer power of ten. Decimal fractions are commonly expressed using decimal notation in which the implied denominator is determined by the number of digits to the right of a decimal separator, the appearance of which (e.g., a period, a raised period (), a comma) depends on the locale (for examples, see decimal separator). Thus for 0.75 the numerator is 75 and the implied denominator is 10 to the second power, viz. 100, because there are two digits to the right of the decimal separator. In decimal numbers greater than 1 (such as 3.75), the fractional part of the number is expressed by the digits to the right of the decimal (with a value of 0.75 in this case). 3.75 can be written either as an improper fraction, 375/100, or as a mixed number, . Decimal fractions can also be expressed using scientific notation with negative exponents, such as 6023107, which represents 0.0000006023. The 107 represents a denominator of 107. Dividing by 107 moves the decimal point 7 places to the left. Decimal fractions with infinitely many digits to the right of the decimal separator represent an infinite series. For example, 1/3 = 0.333... represents the infinite series 3/10 + 3/100 + 3/1000 + ... . Another kind of fraction is the percentage (Latin per centum meaning "per hundred", represented by the symbol %), in which the implied denominator is always 100. Thus, 51% means 51/100. Percentages greater than 100 or less than zero are treated in the same way, e.g. 311% equals 311/100, and -27% equals -27/100. The related concept of permille or parts per thousand has an implied denominator of 1000, while the more general parts-per notation, as in 75 parts per million, means that the proportion is 75/1,000,000. Whether common fractions or decimal fractions are used is often a matter of taste and context. Common fractions are used most often when the denominator is relatively small. By mental calculation, it is easier to multiply 16 by 3/16
Fraction (mathematics) than to do the same calculation using the fraction's decimal equivalent (0.1875). And it is more accurate to multiply 15 by 1/3, for example, than it is to multiply 15 by any decimal approximation of one third. Monetary values are commonly expressed as decimal fractions, for example $3.75. However, as noted above, in pre-decimal British currency, shillings and pence were often given the form (but not the meaning) of a fraction, as, for example 3/6 (read "three and six") meaning 3 shillings and 6 pence, and having no relationship to the fraction 3/6.
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Special cases
A unit fraction is a vulgar fraction with a numerator of 1, e.g. . Unit fractions can also be expressed using negative exponents, as in 21 which represents 1/2, and 22 which represents 1/(22) or 1/4. An Egyptian fraction is the sum of distinct positive unit fractions, for example . This definition derives from the fact that the ancient Egyptians expressed all fractions except , and in this manner. Every positive rational number can be expanded as an Egyptian fraction. For example, can be written as Any
positive rational number can be written as a sum of unit fractions in infinitely many ways. Two ways to write are and . A dyadic fraction is a vulgar fraction in which the denominator is a power of two, e.g. .
Arithmetic with fractions

Like whole numbers, fractions obey the commutative, associative, and distributive laws, and the rule against division by zero.
Equivalent fractions
Multiplying the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same (non-zero) number results in a fraction that is equivalent to the original fraction. This is true because for any non-zero number , the fraction . Therefore, multiplying by is equivalent to multiplying by one, and any number multiplied by one has the same value as the original number. By way of an example, start with the fraction . When the numerator and denominator are both multiplied by 2, the result is , which has the same value (0.5) as . To picture this visually, imagine cutting a cake into four pieces; two of the pieces together ( ) make up half the cake ( ). Dividing the numerator and denominator of a fraction by the same non-zero number will also yield an equivalent fraction. This is called reducing or simplifying the fraction. A simple fraction in which the numerator and denominator are coprime [that is, the only positive integer that goes into both the numerator and denominator evenly is 1) is said to be irreducible, in lowest terms, or in simplest terms. For example, is not in lowest terms because both 3 and 9 can be exactly divided by 3. In contrast, both 3 and 8 evenly is 1. Using these rules, we can show that = = = . A common fraction can be reduced to lowest terms by dividing both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common divisor. For example, as the greatest common divisor of 63 and 462 is 21, the fraction can be reduced to lowest terms by dividing the numerator and denominator by 21: is in lowest termsthe only positive integer that goes into
The Euclidean algorithm gives a method for finding the greatest common divisor of any two positive integers.
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Comparing fractions
Comparing fractions with the same denominator only requires comparing the numerators. because 3>2. If two positive fractions have the same numerator, then the fraction with the smaller denominator is the larger number. When a whole is divided into equal pieces, if fewer equal pieces are needed to make up the whole, then each piece must be larger. When two positive fractions have the same numerator, they represent the same number of parts, but in the fraction with the smaller denominator, the parts are larger. One way to compare fractions with different numerators and denominators is to find a common denominator. To compare and , these are converted to and . Then bd is a common denominator and the numerators ad and bc can be compared. ? gives It is not necessary to determine the value of the common denominator to compare fractions. This short cut is known as "cross multiplying" you can just compare ad and bc, without computing the denominator. ? Multiply top and bottom of each fraction by the denominator of the other fraction, to get a common denominator: ? The denominators are now the same, but it is not necessary to calculate their value only the numerators need to be compared. Since 517 (=85) is greater than 418 (=72), . Also note that every negative number, including negative fractions, is less than zero, and every positive number, including positive fractions, is greater than zero, so every negative fraction is less than any positive fraction.
Addition
The first rule of addition is that only like quantities can be added; for example, various quantities of quarters. Unlike quantities, such as adding thirds to quarters, must first be converted to like quantities as described below: Imagine a pocket containing two quarters, and another pocket containing three quarters; in total, there are five quarters. Since four quarters is equivalent to one (dollar), this can be represented as follows: .
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Adding unlike quantities To add fractions containing unlike quantities (e.g. quarters and thirds), it is necessary to convert all amounts to like quantities. It is easy to work out the chosen type of fraction to convert to; simply multiply together the two denominators (bottom number) of each fraction. For adding quarters to thirds, both types of fraction are converted to twelfths, thus: . Consider adding the following two quantities:
If of a cake is to be added to of a cake, the pieces need to be
First, convert the
into twelfths by multiplying both
numerator and denominator by three: . Since equals 1, multiplication by
converted into comparable quantities, such as cake-eighths or cake-quarters.
does not change the value of the fraction. Second, convert into twelfths by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by four: Now it can be seen that: .
is equivalent to:
This method can be expressed algebraically:
And for expressions consisting of the addition of three fractions:
This method always works, but sometimes there is a smaller denominator that can be used (a least common denominator). For example, to add and the denominator 48 can be used (the product of 4 and 12), but the smaller denominator 12 may also be used, being the least common multiple of 4 and 12.
Subtraction
The process for subtracting fractions is, in essence, the same as that of adding them: find a common denominator, and change each fraction to an equivalent fraction with the chosen common denominator. The resulting fraction will have that denominator, and its numerator will be the result of subtracting the numerators of the original fractions. For instance,
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Multiplication
Multiplying a fraction by another fraction To multiply fractions, multiply the numerators and multiply the denominators. Thus:
Why does this work? First, consider one third of one quarter. Using the example of a cake, if three small slices of equal size make up a quarter, and four quarters make up a whole, twelve of these small, equal slices make up a whole. Therefore a third of a quarter is a twelfth. Now consider the numerators. The first fraction, two thirds, is twice as large as one third. Since one third of a quarter is one twelfth, two thirds of a quarter is two twelfth. The second fraction, three quarters, is three times as large as one quarter, so two thirds of three quarters is three times as large as two thirds of one quarter. Thus two thirds times three quarters is six twelfths. A short cut for multiplying fractions is called "cancellation". In effect, we reduce the answer to lowest terms during multiplication. For example:
A two is a common factor in both the numerator of the left fraction and the denominator of the right and is divided out of both. Three is a common factor of the left denominator and right numerator and is divided out of both. Multiplying a fraction by a whole number Place the whole number over one and multiply.
This method works because the fraction 6/1 means six equal parts, each one of which is a whole. Mixed numbers When multiplying mixed numbers, it's best to convert the mixed number into an improper fraction. For example:
In other words,
is the same as
, making 11 quarters in total (because 2 cakes, each split into quarters , since 8 cakes, each made of quarters, is 32 quarters in total.
makes 8 quarters total) and 33 quarters is
Division
To divide a fraction by a whole number, you may either divide the numerator by the number, if it goes evenly into the numerator, or multiply the denominator by the number. For example, equals and also equals , which reduces to . To divide a number by a fraction, multiply that number by the reciprocal of that fraction. Thus, .
Converting between decimals and fractions

To change a common fraction to a decimal, divide the denominator into the numerator. Round the answer to the desired accuracy. For example, to change 1/4 to a decimal, divide 4 into 1.00, to obtain 0.25. To change 1/3 to a decimal, divide 3 into 1.0000..., and stop when the desired accuracy is obtained. Note that 1/4 can be written exactly with two decimal digits, while 1/3 cannot be written exactly with any finite number of decimal digits. To change a decimal to a fraction, write in the denominator a 1 followed by as many zeroes as there are digits to the right of the decimal point, and write in the numerator all the digits in the original decimal, omitting the decimal point. Thus 12.3456 = 123456/10000.
Fraction (mathematics) Converting repeating decimals to fractions Decimal numbers, while arguably more useful to work with when performing calculations, sometimes lack the precision that common fractions have. Sometimes an infinite number of repeating decimals is required to convey the same kind of precision. Thus, it is often useful to convert repeating decimals into fractions. The preferred way to indicate a repeating decimal is to place a bar over the digits that repeat, for example 0.789 = 0.789789789 For repeating patterns where the repeating pattern begins immediately after the decimal point, a simple division of the pattern by the same number of nines as numbers it has will suffice. For example: 0.5 = 5/9 0.62 = 62/99 0.264 = 264/999 0.6291 = 6291/9999 In case leading zeros precede the pattern, the nines are suffixed by the same number of trailing zeros: 0.05 = 5/90 0.000392 = 392/999000 0.0012 = 12/9900 In case a non-repeating set of decimals precede the pattern (such as 0.1523987), we can write it as the sum of the non-repeating and repeating parts, respectively: 0.1523 + 0.0000987 Then, convert the repeating part to a fraction: 0.1523 + 987/9990000
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Fractions in abstract mathematics

In addition to being of great practical importance, fractions are also studied by mathematicians, who check that the rules for fractions given above are consistent and reliable. Mathematicians define a fraction as an ordered pair (a, b) of integers a and b 0, for which the operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are defined as follows:[10]
(when c 0) In addition, an equivalence relation is specified as follows: ~ if and only if . These definitions agree in every case with the definitions given above; only the notation is different. More generally, a and b may be elements of any integral domain R, in which case a fraction is an element of the field of fractions of R. For example, when a and b are polynomials in one indeterminate, the field of fractions is the field of rational fractions (also known as the field of rational functions). When a and b are integers, the field of fractions is the field of rational numbers.
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Algebraic fractions
An algebraic fraction is the indicated quotient of two algebraic expressions. Two examples of algebraic fractions are and . Algebraic fractions are subject to the same laws as arithmetic fractions.
If the numerator and the denominator are polynomials, as in
, the algebraic fraction is called a
rational fraction (or rational expression). An irrational fraction is one that contains the variable under a fractional exponent or root, as in .
The terminology used to describe algebraic fractions is similar to that used for ordinary fractions. For example, an algebraic fraction is in lowest terms if the only factors common to the numerator and the denominator are 1 and 1. An algebraic fraction whose numerator or denominator, or both, contain a fraction, such as complex fraction. Rational numbers are the quotient field of integers. Rational expressions are the quotient field of the polynomials (over some integral domain). Since a coefficient is a polynomial of degree zero, a radical expression such as 2/2 is a rational fraction. Another example (over the reals) is , the radian measure of a right angle. The term partial fraction is used when decomposing rational expressions into sums. The goal is to write the rational expression as the sum of other rational expressions with denominators of lesser degree. For example, the rational expression can be rewritten as the sum of two fractions: + . This is useful in many areas such as integral calculus and differential equations. , is called a
Radical expressions
A fraction may also contain radicals in the numerator and/or the denominator. If the denominator contains radicals, it can be helpful to rationalize it (compare Simplified form of a radical expression), especially if further operations, such as adding or comparing that fraction to another, are to be carried out. It is also more convenient if division is to be done manually. When the denominator is a monomial square root, it can be rationalized by multiplying both the top and the bottom of the fraction by the denominator:
The process of rationalization of binomial denominators involves multiplying the top and the bottom of a fraction by the conjugate of the denominator so that the denominator becomes a rational number. For example:
Even if this process results in the numerator being irrational, like in the examples above, the process may still facilitate subsequent manipulations by reducing the number of irrationals one has to work with in the denominator.
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Pronunciation and spelling

When reading fractions, it is customary in English to pronounce the denominator using ordinal nomenclature, as in "fifths" for fractions with a 5 in the denominator. Thus, for 3/5, we would say "three-fifths" and for 5/32, we would say "five thirty-seconds". This generally applies to whole number denominators greater than 2, though large denominators that are not powers of ten are often read using the cardinal number. Therefore, 1/123 might be read "one one hundred twenty-third" but is often read "one over one hundred twenty-three". In contrast, because one million is a power of ten, 1/1,000,000 is commonly read "one-millionth" or "one one-millionth". The denominators 1, 2, and 4 are special cases. The fraction 3/1 may be read "three wholes". The fraction 3/2 is usually read "three-halves", but never "three seconds". The fraction 3/4 may be read either "three fourths" or "three-quarters". Furthermore, since most fractions are used grammatically as adjectives of a noun, the fractional modifier is hyphenated. This is evident in standard prose in which one might write about "every two-tenths of a mile", "the quarter-mile run", or the Three-Fifths Compromise. When the fraction's numerator is one, then the word "one" may be omitted, such as "every tenth of a second" or "during the final quarter of the year".
Denominator 2 in words half (or halves) 3 third(s) 4 5 6 sixth(s) 7 seventh(s) 8 eighth(s) 9 ninth(s)
fourth(s) or fifth(s) quarter(s) 12 twelfth(s) 1,000,000 13
Denominator 10 in words tenth(s)
11 eleventh(s) 1,000
14
15
16
22
thirteenth(s) fourteenth(s) fifteenth(s) sixteenth(s) twenty-second(s)
Denominator 100 in words
hundredth(s) thousandth(s) millionth(s)
History
The earliest fractions were reciprocals of integers: ancient symbols representing one part of two, one part of three, one part of four, and so on.[11] The Egyptians used Egyptian fractions ca. 1000 BC. About 4,000 years ago Egyptians divided with fractions using slightly different methods. They used least common multiples with unit fractions. Their methods gave the same answer as modern methods.[12] The Egyptians also had a different notation for dyadic fractions in the Akhmim Wooden Tablet and several Rhind Mathematical Papyrus problems. The Greeks used unit fractions and later continued fractions and followers of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, ca. 530 BC, discovered that the square root of two cannot be expressed as a fraction. In 150 BC Jain mathematicians in India wrote the "Sthananga Sutra", which contains work on the theory of numbers, arithmetical operations, operations with fractions. The method of putting one number below the other and computing fractions first appeared in Aryabhatta's work around 499 CE. In Sanskrit literature, fractions, or rational numbers were always expressed by an integer followed by a fraction. When the integer is written on a line, the fraction is placed below it and is itself written on two lines, the numerator called amsa part on the first line, the denominator called cheda divisor on the second below. If the fraction is written without any particular additional sign, one understands that it is added to the integer above it. If it is marked by a small circle or a cross (the shape of the plus sign in the West) placed on its right, one understands that it is subtracted from the integer. For example, Bhaskara I writes[13] That is,
Fraction (mathematics) 612 1 1 1 459 to denote 6+1/4, 1+1/5, and 21/9 Al-Hassr, a Muslim mathematician from Fez, Morocco specializing in Islamic inheritance jurisprudence during the 12th century, first mentions the use of a fractional bar, where numerators and denominators are separated by a horizontal bar. In his discussion he writes, "... for example, if you are told to write three-fifths and a third of a fifth, write thus, 13th century.[15] In discussing the origins of decimal fractions, Dirk Jan Struik states:[16] "The introduction of decimal fractions as a common computational practice can be dated back to the Flemish pamphlet De Thiende, published at Leyden in 1585, together with a French translation, La Disme, by the Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin (1548-1620), then settled in the Northern Netherlands. It is true that decimal fractions were used by the Chinese many centuries before Stevin and that the Persian astronomer Al-Ksh used both decimal and sexagesimal fractions with great ease in his Key to arithmetic (Samarkand, early fifteenth century).[17]" While the Persian mathematician Jamshd al-Ksh claimed to have discovered decimal fractions himself in the 15th century, J. Lennart Berggren notes that he was mistaken, as decimal fractions were first used five centuries before him by the Baghdadi mathematician Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi as early as the 10th century.[18][19] ."[14] This same fractional notation appears soon after in the work of Leonardo Fibonacci in the
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Pedagogical tools
In primary schools, fractions have been demonstrated through Cuisenaire rods, fraction bars, fraction strips, fraction circles, paper (for folding or cutting), pattern blocks, pie-shaped pieces, plastic rectangles, grid paper, dot paper, geoboards, counters and computer software.
References
[1] H. Wu, The Mis-Education of Mathematics Teachers, Notices of the American Mathematical Society, Volume 58, Issue 03 (March 2011), page 374 (http:/ / www. ams. org/ notices/ 201103/ rtx110300372p. pdf#page374) [2] Weisstein, Eric W., " Common Fraction (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CommonFraction. html)" from MathWorld. [3] Galen, Leslie Blackwell (March 2004), "Putting Fractions in Their Place" (http:/ / www. integretechpub. com/ research/ papers/ monthly238-242. pdf), American Mathematical Monthly 111 (3), [4] World Wide Words: Vulgar fractions (http:/ / www. worldwidewords. org/ qa/ qa-vul1. htm) [5] Weisstein, Eric W., " Improper Fraction (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ ImproperFraction. html)" from MathWorld. [6] Math Forum - Ask Dr. Math:Can Negative Fractions Also Be Proper or Improper? (http:/ / mathforum. org/ library/ drmath/ view/ 65128. html) [7] New England Compact Math Resources (http:/ / www. necompact. org/ ea/ gle_support/ Math/ resources_number/ prop_fraction. htm) [8] Trotter, James (1853). A complete system of arithmetic (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=a0sDAAAAQAAJ& pg=PA65& dq=+ "complex+ fraction"+ + "compound+ fraction"& hl=sv& ei=kN-6TuKZIITc0QHStb3eCQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=4& ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage& q="complex fraction"& f=false). p.65. . [9] Barlow, Peter (1814). A new mathematical and philosophical dictionary (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=BBowAAAAYAAJ& pg=PT329& dq=+ "complex+ fraction"+ + "compound+ fraction"& hl=sv& ei=kN-6TuKZIITc0QHStb3eCQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=10& ved=0CFwQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage& q=+ "complex fraction" + "compound fraction"& f=false). . [10] "Fraction - Encyclopedia of Mathematics" (http:/ / www. encyclopediaofmath. org/ index. php/ Fraction). Encyclopediaofmath.org. 2012-04-06. . Retrieved 2012-08-15. [11] Eves, Howard ; with cultural connections by Jamie H. (1990). An introduction to the history of mathematics (6th ed. ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders College Pub.. ISBN0-03-029558-0. [12] Milo Gardner (December 19, 2005). "Math History" (http:/ / egyptianmath. blogspot. com). . Retrieved 2006-01-18. See for examples and an explanation. [13] (Filliozat 2004, p.152)
[14] Cajori, Florian (1928), A History of Mathematical Notations (Vol.1) (http:/ / ia700506. us. archive. org/ 9/ items/ historyofmathema031756mbp/ historyofmathema031756mbp. pdf), La Salle, Illinois: The Open Court Publishing Company, p.269, [15] (Cajori 1928, pg.89) [16] D.J. Struik, A Source Book in Mathematics 1200-1800, page 7, (Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1986). ISBN 0-691-02397-2 [17] P. Luckey, Die Rechenkunst bei amd b. Mas'd al-K (Steiner, Wiesbaden, 1951). [18] Berggren, J. Lennart (2007). "Mathematics in Medieval Islam". The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam: A Sourcebook. Princeton University Press. p.518. ISBN978-0-691-11485-9. [19] While there is some disagreement among history of mathematics scholars as to the primacy of al-Uqlidisi's contribution, there is no question as to his major contribution to the concept of decimal fractions. (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Al-Uqlidisi. html) "MacTutor's al-Uqlidisi biography". Retrieved 2011-11-22.
22
External links
"Fraction, arithmetical" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php/Fraction). The Online Encyclopaedia of Mathematics. Weisstein, Eric W., " Fraction (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Fraction.html)" from MathWorld. "Fraction" (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/215508/fraction). Encyclopedia Britannica. "Fraction (mathematics)" (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Fraction_(mathematics)). Citizendium. "Fraction" (http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/Fraction.html). PlanetMath.
Quadratic equation
In mathematics, a quadratic equation is a univariate polynomial equation of the second degree. A general quadratic equation can be written in the form
where x represents a variable or an unknown, and a, b, and c are constants with a0. (If a=0, the equation is a linear equation.) The constants a, b, and c are called respectively, the quadratic coefficient, the linear coefficient and the constant term or free term. The term "quadratic" comes from quadratus, which is the Latin word for "square". Quadratic equations can be solved by factoring, completing the square, graphing, Newton's method, and using the quadratic formula (given below).
Quadratic formula
A quadratic equation with real or complex coefficients has two solutions, called roots. These two solutions may or may not be distinct, and they may or may not be real. Having
the roots are given by the quadratic formula[1]
where the symbol "" indicates that both
Plots of quadratic function y = ax2 + bx + c, varying each coefficient separately while the other coefficients are fixed (at values a = 1, b = 0, c = 0)
Quadratic equation are solutions of the quadratic equation.[2]
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Discriminant
In the above formula, the expression underneath the square root sign is called the discriminant of the quadratic equation, and is often represented using an upper case D or an upper case Greek delta, the initial of the Greek word , Diakrnousa, discriminant:
A quadratic equation with real coefficients can have either one or two distinct real roots, or two distinct complex roots. In this case the discriminant determines the number and nature of the roots. There are three cases: If the discriminant is positive, then there are two distinct roots, both of which are real numbers:
For quadratic equations with rational coefficients, if the discriminant is a square number, then the roots are rationalin other cases they may be quadratic irrationals.
Example discriminant signs <0: x2+12 =0: 43x2+43x13 >0: 32x2+12x43
If the discriminant is zero, then there is exactly one distinct real root, sometimes called a double root:
If the discriminant is negative, then there are no real roots. Rather, there are two distinct (non-real) complex roots, which are complex conjugates of each other:[3]
where i is the imaginary unit. Thus the roots are distinct if and only if the discriminant is non-zero, and the roots are real if and only if the discriminant is non-negative.
Monic form
Dividing the quadratic equation by the quadratic coefficient a gives the simplified monic form of
where p = b/a and q = c/a. This in turn simplifies the root and discriminant equations somewhat to
and
Quadratic equation
24
History
Babylonian mathematicians, as early as 2000 BC (displayed on Old Babylonian clay tablets) could solve a pair of simultaneous equations of the form: which are equivalent to the equation:[4]
The original pair of equations were solved as follows: 1. Form 2. Form 3. Form 4. Form (where x y is assumed)
5. Find x and y by inspection of the values in (1) and (4).[5] There is evidence pushing this back as far as the Ur III dynasty.[6] In the Sulba Sutras in ancient India circa 8th century BC quadratic equations of the form ax2 = c and ax2 + bx = c were explored using geometric methods. Babylonian mathematicians from circa 400 BC and Chinese mathematicians from circa 200 BC used the method of completing the square to solve quadratic equations with positive roots, but did not have a general formula. Euclid, the Greek mathematician, produced a more abstract geometrical method around 300 BC. Pythagoras and Euclid used a strictly geometric approach, and found a general procedure to solve the quadratic equation. In his work Arithmetica, the Greek mathematician Diophantus solved the quadratic equation, but giving only one root, even when both roots were positive.[7] In 628 AD, Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, gave the first explicit (although still not completely general) solution of the quadratic equation
as follows: To the absolute number multiplied by four times the [coefficient of the] square, add the square of the [coefficient of the] middle term; the square root of the same, less the [coefficient of the] middle term, being divided by twice the [coefficient of the] square is the value. (Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Colebrook translation, 1817, page 346)[5] This is equivalent to:
The Bakhshali Manuscript written in India in the 7th century AD contained an algebraic formula for solving quadratic equations, as well as quadratic indeterminate equations (originally of type ax/c=y). Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (Persia, 9th century), inspired by Brahmagupta, developed a set of formulas that worked for positive solutions. Al-Khwarizmi goes further in providing a full solution to the general quadratic equation, accepting one or two numerical answers for every quadratic equation, while providing geometric proofs in the process.[8] He also described the method of completing the square and recognized that the discriminant must be positive,[9] which was proven by his contemporary 'Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk (Central Asia, 9th century) who gave geometric figures to prove that if the discriminant is negative, a quadratic equation has no solution.[10] While
Quadratic equation al-Khwarizmi himself did not accept negative solutions, later Islamic mathematicians that succeeded him accepted negative solutions,[11] as well as irrational numbers as solutions.[12] Ab Kmil Shuj ibn Aslam (Egypt, 10th century) in particular was the first to accept irrational numbers (often in the form of a square root, cube root or fourth root) as solutions to quadratic equations or as coefficients in an equation.[13] The Jewish mathematician Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi (12th century, Spain) authored the first European book to include the full solution to the general quadratic equation.[14] His solution was largely based on Al-Khwarizmi's work.[15] The writing of the Chinese mathematician Yang Hui (1238-1298 AD) represents the first in which quadratic equations with negative coefficients of 'x' appear, although he attributes this to the earlier Liu Yi. By 1545 Gerolamo Cardano compiled the works related to the quadratic equations. The quadratic formula covering all cases was first obtained by Simon Stevin in 1594.[16] In 1637 Ren Descartes published La Gomtrie containing the quadratic formula in the form we know today. The first appearance of the general solution in the modern mathematical literature appeared in a 1896 paper by Henry Heaton.[17]
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Examples of use
Geometry
The solutions of the quadratic equation are also the roots of the quadratic function:[18]
since they are the values of x for which
If a, b, and c are real numbers and the domain of f is the set of real numbers, then the roots of f are exactly the x-coordinates of the points where the graph touches the x-axis. It follows from the above that, if the discriminant is positive, the graph touches the x-axis at two points, if zero, the graph touches at one point, and if negative, the graph does not touch the x-axis.
For the quadratic function:
f (x) = x2 x 2 = (x + 1)(x 2) of a real variable x,

the x-coordinates of the points where the graph intersects the x-axis, x = 1 and x = 2, are the solutions of the quadratic equation: x2 x 2 = 0.
Quadratic factorization
The term
is a factor of the polynomial
if and only if r is a root of the quadratic equation
It follows from the quadratic formula that
In the special case (
) where the quadratic has only one distinct root (i.e. the discriminant is zero), the
quadratic polynomial can be factored as
Quadratic equation
26
Application to higher-degree equations

Certain higher-degree equations can be brought into quadratic form and solved that way. For example, the 6th-degree equation in x:
can be rewritten as:
or, equivalently, as a quadratic equation in a new variable u:
where
Solving the quadratic equation for u results in the two solutions:
Thus
Concentrating on finding the three cube roots of 2 + 2i the other three solutions for x (the three cube roots of 2 - 2i ) will be their complex conjugates rewriting the right-hand side using Euler's formula: (since e2ki = 1), gives the three solutions:
Using Eulers' formula again together with trigonometric identities such as cos(/12) = (2 + 6) / 4, and adding the complex conjugates, gives the complete collection of solutions as:
and
Derivations of the quadratic formula

By completing the square
The quadratic formula can be derived by the method of completing the square,[19] so as to make use of the algebraic identity:
Dividing the quadratic equation
by a (which is allowed because a is non-zero), gives:
Quadratic equation
27
or
The quadratic equation is now in a form to which the method of completing the square can be applied. To "complete the square" is to add a constant to both sides of the equation such that the left hand side becomes a complete square:
which produces
The right side can be written as a single fraction, with common denominator 4a2. This gives
Taking the square root of both sides yields
Isolating x, gives
By shifting ax2
The quadratic formula can be derived by starting with equation which describes the parabola as ax2 with the vertex shifted from the origin to (xV, yV). Solving this equation for x is straightforward and results in
Using Vieta's formulas for the vertex coordinates
ax2 with vertex shifted from the origin to (xV, yV). a=-1 in this example.
the values of x can be written as
Note. The formulas for xV and yV can be derived by comparing the coefficients in
Quadratic equation
28
and
Rewriting the latter equation as
and comparing with the former results in
from which Vieta's expressions for xV and yV can be derived.
By Lagrange resolvents
An alternative way of deriving the quadratic formula is via the method of Lagrange resolvents, which is an early part of Galois theory.[20] This method can be generalized to give the roots of cubic polynomials and quartic polynomials, and leads to Galois theory, which allows one to understand the solution of algebraic equations of any degree in terms of the symmetry group of their roots, the Galois group. This approach focuses on the roots more than on rearranging the original equation. Given a monic quadratic polynomial
assume that it factors as
Expanding yields
where
and
Since the order of multiplication does not matter, one can switch and and the values of p and q will not change: one says that p and q are symmetric polynomials in and . In fact, they are the elementary symmetric polynomials any symmetric polynomial in and can be expressed in terms of + and . The Galois theory approach to analyzing and solving polynomials is: given the coefficients of a polynomial, which are symmetric functions in the roots, can one "break the symmetry" and recover the roots? Thus solving a polynomial of degree n is related to the ways of rearranging ("permuting") n terms, which is called the symmetric group on n letters, and denoted For the quadratic polynomial, the only way to rearrange two terms is to swap them ("transpose" them), and thus solving a quadratic polynomial is simple. To find the roots and , consider their sum and difference:
These are called the Lagrange resolvents of the polynomial; notice that one of these depends on the order of the roots, which is the key point. One can recover the roots from the resolvents by inverting the above equations:
Thus, solving for the resolvents gives the original roots.
Quadratic equation Formally, the resolvents are called the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of order 2, and the transform can be expressed by the matrix matrix or Vandermonde matrix. Now is a symmetric function in and , so it can be expressed in terms of p and q, and in fact as noted above. But is not symmetric, since switching and yields with inverse matrix The transform matrix is also called the DFT
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(formally, this is termed a group action of the symmetric group of the roots). Since is not symmetric, it cannot be expressed in terms of the polynomials p and q, as these are symmetric in the roots and thus so is any polynomial expression involving them. However, changing the order of the roots only changes by a factor of and thus the square yields is symmetric in the roots, and thus expressible in terms of p and q. Using the equation
and thus . If one takes the positive root, breaking symmetry, one obtains:
and thus
Thus the roots are
which is the quadratic formula. Substituting resolvents can be recognized as
yields the usual form for when a quadratic is not monic. The being the vertex, and is the discriminant (of a monic
polynomial). A similar but more complicated method works for cubic equations, where one has three resolvents and a quadratic equation (the "resolving polynomial") relating and which one can solve by the quadratic equation, and similarly for a quartic (degree 4) equation, whose resolving polynomial is a cubic, which can in turn be solved. However, the same method for a quintic equation yields a polynomial of degree 24, which does not simplify the problem, and in fact solutions to quintic equations in general cannot be expressed using only roots.
Other methods of root calculation

Alternative parameters
Some sources,[21]:2 particularly older ones,[22] use the alternative parameterization
which results in a value of b one half of the more common one. This produces a simpler formula
where the discriminant
is one quarter of the common value. It is otherwise equlivant.
Quadratic equation
30
Alternative quadratic formula

In some situations it is preferable to express the roots in an alternative form.
This alternative requires c to be nonzero; for, if c is zero, the formula correctly gives zero as one root, but fails to give any second, non-zero root. Instead, one of the two choices for produces the indeterminate form 0/0, which is undefined. However, the alternative form works when a is zero (giving the unique solution as one root and division by zero again for the other), which the normal form does not (instead producing division by zero both times). The roots are the same regardless of which expression we use; the alternative form is merely an algebraic variation of the common form:
The alternative formula can reduce loss of precision in the numerical evaluation of the roots, which may be a problem if one of the roots is much smaller than the other in absolute magnitude. In this case, b is very close to , and the subtraction in the numerator causes loss of significance. A mixed approach avoids both all cancellation problems (only numbers of the same sign are added), and the problem of c being zero:
Here sgn denotes the sign function.
Floating-point implementation
A careful floating point computer implementation differs a little from both forms to produce a robust result. Assuming the discriminant, b2 4ac, is positive and b is nonzero, the code will be something like the following:[23]
Here sgn(b) is the sign function, where sgn(b) is 1 if b is positive and 1 if b is negative; its use ensures that the quantities added are of the same sign, avoiding catastrophic cancellation. The computation of x2 uses the fact that the product of the roots is c/a. Note that while the above formulation avoids catastrophic cancellation between b and , there remains a form of cancellation between the terms b2 and 4ac of the discriminant, which can still lead to loss of up to half of correct significant figures.[21][24] The discriminant b24ac needs to be computed in arithmetic of twice the precision of the result to avoid this (e.g. quad precision if the final result is to be accurate to full double precision).[25] This can be in the form of a fused multiply-add operation.[21]
Quadratic equation
31
Vieta's formulas
Vieta's formulas give a simple relation between the roots of a polynomial and its coefficients. In the case of the quadratic polynomial, they take the following form:
and
These results follow immediately from the relation:
which can be compared term by term with:
The first formula above yields a convenient expression when graphing a quadratic function. Since the graph is symmetric with respect to a vertical line through the vertex, when there are two real roots the vertexs x-coordinate is located at the average of the roots (or intercepts). Thus the x-coordinate of the vertex is given by the expression:
The y-coordinate can be obtained by substituting the above result into the given quadratic equation, giving
As a practical matter, Vieta's formulas provide a useful method for finding the roots of a quadratic in the case where one root is much smaller than the other. If |x 2| << |x 1|, then x 1 + x 2 x , and we have the estimate: 1
The second Vieta's formula then provides:

Graph of two evaluations of the smallest root of a quadratic: direct evaluation using the quadratic formula (accurate at smaller b) and an approximation for widely spaced roots (accurate for larger b). The difference reaches a minimum at the large dots, and rounding causes squiggles in the curves beyond this minimum.
These formulas are much easier to evaluate than the quadratic formula under the condition of one large and one small root, because the quadratic formula evaluates the small root as the difference of two very nearly equal numbers (the case of large b), which causes round-off error in a numerical evaluation. The figure shows the difference between (i) a direct evaluation using the quadratic formula (accurate when the roots are near each other in value) and (ii) an evaluation based upon the above approximation of Vieta's formulas (accurate when the roots are widely spaced). As the linear coefficient b increases, initially the quadratic formula is accurate, and the approximate formula improves in accuracy, leading to a smaller difference between the methods as b increases. However, at some point the quadratic formula begins to lose accuracy because of round off error, while the approximate method continues to improve. Consequently the difference between the methods begins to increase as the quadratic formula becomes worse and worse.
Quadratic equation This situation arises commonly in amplifier design, where widely separated roots are desired to ensure a stable operation (see step response).
32
Trigonometric solution for complex roots

In the case of complex roots the roots can also be found trigonometrically.[26]
Geometric solution
The quadratic equation may be solved geometrically in a number of ways. One way is via Lill's method. The three coefficients a, b, c are drawn with right angles between them as in SA, AB, and BC in the accompanying diagram. A circle is drawn with the start and end point SC as a diameter. If this cuts the middle line AB of the three then the equation has a solution, and the solutions are given by negative of the distance along this line from A divided by the first coefficient a or SA. If a is 1 the coefficients may be read off directly. Thus the solutions in the diagram are AX1/SA and AX2/SA.[27]
Generalization of quadratic equation
The formula and its derivation remain correct if the coefficients a, b and c are complex numbers, or more generally members of any field whose characteristic is not 2. (In a field of characteristic 2, the element 2a is zero and it is impossible to divide by it.) The symbol in the formula should be understood as "either of the two elements whose square is b24ac, if such elements exist". In some fields, some elements have no square roots and some have two; only zero has just one square root, except in fields of characteristic 2. Note that even if a field does not contain a square root of some number, there is always a quadratic extension field which does, so the quadratic formula will always make sense as a formula in that extension field.
Geometric solution of ax2+bx+c using Lill's method. Solutions are AX1/SA, AX2/SA
Characteristic 2
In a field of characteristic 2, the quadratic formula, which relies on 2 being a unit, does not hold. Consider the monic quadratic polynomial
over a field of characteristic 2. If b = 0, then the solution reduces to extracting a square root, so the solution is
and note that there is only one root since
In summary,
See quadratic residue for more information about extracting square roots in finite fields. In the case that b 0, there are two distinct roots, but if the polynomial is irreducible, they cannot be expressed in terms of square roots of numbers in the coefficient field. Instead, define the 2-root R(c) of c to be a root of the polynomial x2 + x + c, an element of the splitting field of that polynomial. One verifies that R(c) + 1 is also a root. In
Quadratic equation terms of the 2-root operation, the two roots of the (non-monic) quadratic ax2 + bx + c are
33
and
For example, let a denote a multiplicative generator of the group of units of F4, the Galois field of order four (thus a and a + 1 are roots of x2 + x + 1 over F4). Because (a + 1)2 = a, a + 1 is the unique solution of the quadratic equation x2 + a = 0. On the other hand, the polynomial x2 + ax + 1 is irreducible over F4, but it splits over F16, where it has the two roots ab and ab + a, where b is a root of x2 + x + a in F16. This is a special case of Artin-Schreier theory.
References
[1] Crilly, Tony (2007), 50 mathematical ideas you really need to know, Quercus Publishing, p.58, ISBN978-1-84724-008-8 [2] Sterling, Mary Jane (2010), Algebra I For Dummies (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=2toggaqJMzEC& pg=PA219& dq=quadratic+ formula#v=onepage& q=quadratic formula& f=false), Wiley Publishing, p.219, ISBN978-0-470-55964-2, [3] Achatz, Thomas; Anderson, John G.; McKenzie, Kathleen (2005). Technical Shop Mathematics (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=YOdtemSmzQQC& pg=PA276& dq=quadratic+ formula& hl=en& sa=X& ei=mG_8T9-PMuPC0QXOmZigBw& ved=0CEEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q=quadratic formula& f=false). Industrial Press. p.277. ISBN0-8311-3086-5. . [4] Stillwell 2004, p.86 [5] Stillwell 2004, p.87 [6] (http:/ / cdli. ucla. edu/ pubs/ cdlj/ 2009/ cdlj2009_003. html) Jran Friberg, A Geometric Algorithm with Solutions to Quadratic Equations in a Sumerian Juridical Document from Ur III Umma, CDLI, 2009. [7] David Eugene Smith (1958). " History of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=12qdOZ0gsWoC& pg=PA134& dq& hl=en#v=onepage& q=& f=false)". Courier Dover Publications. p.134. ISBN 0-486-20429-4 [8] Katz & Barton 2007, pp.190191 [9] (Boyer & Merzbach 1991, p.230) "Al-Khwarizmi here calls attention to the fact that what we designate as the discriminant must be positive: "You ought to understand also that when you take the half of the roots in this form of equation and then multiply the half by itself; if that which proceeds or results from the multiplication is less than the units above mentioned as accompanying the square, you have an equation." [...] Once more the steps in completing the square are meticulously indicated, without justification," [10] (Boyer & Merzbach 1991, p.234) "The Algebra of al-Khwarizmi usually is regarded as the first work on the subject, but a recent publication in Turkey raises some questions about this. A manuscript of a work by 'Abd-al-Hamid ibn-Turk, entitled "Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations," was part of a book on Al-jabr wa'l muqabalah which was evidently very much the same as that by al-Khwarizmi and was published at about the same time - possibly even earlier. The surviving chapters on "Logical Necessities" give precisely the same type of geometric demonstration as al-Khwarizmi's Algebra and in one case the same illustrative example x2 + 21 = 10x. In one respect 'Abd-al-Hamad's exposition is more thorough than that of al-Khwarizmi for he gives geometric figures to prove that if the discriminant is negative, a quadratic equation has no solution. Similarities in the works of the two men and the systematic organization found in them seem to indicate that algebra in their day was not so recent a development as has usually been assumed. When textbooks with a conventional and well-ordered exposition appear simultaneously, a subject is likely to be considerably beyond the formative stage. [...] Note the omission of Diophantus and Pappus, authors who evidently were not at first known in Arabia, although the Diophantine Arithmetica became familiar before the end of the tenth century." [11] Katz & Barton 2007, p.191 [12] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Arabic mathematics: forgotten brilliance?" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ HistTopics/ Arabic_mathematics. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . "Algebra was a unifying theory which allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers, geometrical magnitudes, etc., to all be treated as "algebraic objects"." [13] Jacques Sesiano, "Islamic mathematics", p. 148, in Selin, Helaine; D'Ambrosio, Ubiratan, eds. (2000), Mathematics Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Mathematics, Springer, ISBN1-4020-0260-2 [14] The Equation that Couldn't be Solved (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=veQ9a3nixDUC& pg=PA62& lpg=PA62& dq=Abraham+ bar+ Hiyya+ Ha-Nasi+ quadratic& source=bl& ots=85JwJi8y4q& sig=UvI5MOdfntTgYwJgR_-5yEZuvEI& hl=en& ei=yGSjSe7eB4iQngf9p52kBQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& resnum=2& ct=result) [15] Katz & Barton 2007, pp.190193 [16] Struik, D. J.; Stevin, Simon (1958), The Principal Works of Simon Stevin, Mathematics (http:/ / www. dwc. knaw. nl/ pub/ bronnen/ Simon_Stevin-[II_B]_The_Principal_Works_of_Simon_Stevin,_Mathematics. pdf), II-B, C. V. Swets & Zeitlinger, p.470, [17] Heaton, H. (1896) A Method of Solving Quadratic Equations (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ info/ 2971099), American Mathematical Monthly 3(10), 236237.
Quadratic equation
[18] Wharton, P. (2006). Essentials of Edexcel Gcse Math/Higher (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=LMmKq-feEUoC& pg=PA63& dq="Quadratic+ function"+ "Quadratic+ equation"& hl=en& sa=X& ei=bnT8T-6AKIWX8gP13bCzBw& ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q="Quadratic function" "Quadratic equation"& f=false). Lonsdale. p.63. ISBN978-1-905-129-78-2. . [19] Rich, Barnett; Schmidt, Philip (2004), Schaum's Outline of Theory and Problems of ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=8PRU9cTKprsC), The McGraw-Hill Companies, ISBN0-07-141083-X, , Chapter 13 4.4, p. 291 (http:/ / books. google. be/ books?id=8PRU9cTKprsC& pg=PA291) [20] Prasolov, Viktor; Solovyev, Yuri (1997), Elliptic functions and elliptic integrals (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=fcp9IiZd3tQC), AMS Bookstore, ISBN978-0-8218-0587-9, , 6.2, p. 134 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=fcp9IiZd3tQC& pg=PA134#PPA134,M1) [21] Kahan, Willian (November 20, 2004), On the Cost of Floating-Point Computation Without Extra-Precise Arithmetic (http:/ / www. cs. berkeley. edu/ ~wkahan/ Qdrtcs. pdf), [22] "Quadratic Equation" (http:/ / www. proofwiki. org/ wiki/ Quadratic_Equation#Also_defined_as), Proof Wiki, , retrieved 2012-12-25 [23] Press, William H.; Flannery, Brian P.; Teukolsky, Saul A.; Vetterling, William T. (1992), Numerical Recipes in C (http:/ / www. nrbook. com/ a/ bookcpdf. php) (Second ed.), , Section 5.6: "Quadratic and Cubic Equations. [24] Higham, Nicholas (2002), Accuracy and Stability of Numerical Algorithms (2nd ed.), SIAM, p.10, ISBN978-0-89871-521-7 [25] Hough, David (March 1981), "Applications of the proposed IEEE 754 standard for floating point arithmetic", IEEE Computer 14 (3): 7074, doi:10.1109/C-M.1981.220381. [26] Simons, Stuart, "Alternative approach to complex roots of real quadratic equations", Mathematical Gazette 93, March 2009, 91-92. [27] Bixby, William Herbert (1879), Graphical Method for finding readily the Real Roots of Numerical Equations of Any Degree, West Point N. Y.
34
Boyer, Carl B.; Merzbach, Uta C. (1991), "The Arabic Hegemony", A History of Mathematics (2nd ed.), Wiley, ISBN0-471-54397-7 Katz, Victor J.; Barton, Bill (October 2007), "Stages in the History of Algebra with Implications for Teaching", Educational Studies in Mathematics (Springer Netherlands) 66 (2): 185201, doi:10.1007/s10649-006-9023-7 Stillwell, John (January 27, 2004), Mathematics and Its History (2nd ed.), Springer, ISBN0-387-95336-1
External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Quadratic equation" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index. php?title=p/q076050), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 Weisstein, Eric W., " Quadratic equations (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/QuadraticEquation.html)" from MathWorld. 101 uses of a quadratic equation (http://plus.maths.org/issue29/features/quadratic/index-gifd.html) 101 uses of a quadratic equation: Part II (http://plus.maths.org/issue30/features/quadratic/index-gifd.html) Step-by-step instructions on using the quadratic formula for any input (http://www.gandraxa.com/ using_the_quadratic_formula.xml?Var1=3;Var2=1/4;Var3=4)
Frustum
35
Frustum
Set of pyramidal frustums
Examples: Pentagonal and square frustum Faces Edges Vertices Symmetry group Properties n trapezoids, 2 n-gons 3n 2n Cnv, [1,n], (*nn) convex
In geometry, a frustum[1] (plural: frusta or frustums) is the portion of a solid (normally a cone or pyramid) that lies between two parallel planes cutting it. The term is commonly used in computer graphics to describe the three-dimensional region which is visible on the screen, the "viewing frustum", which is formed by a clipped pyramid; in particular, frustum culling is a method of hidden surface determination. In the aerospace industry, frustum is the common term for the fairing between two stages of a multistage rocket (such as the Saturn V), which is shaped like a truncated cone.
Elements, special cases, and related concepts

Each plane section is a floor or base of the frustum. Its axis if any, is that of the original cone or pyramid. A frustum is circular if it has circular bases; it is right if the axis is perpendicular to both bases, and oblique otherwise. The height of a frustum is the perpendicular distance between the planes of the two bases. Cones and pyramids can be viewed as degenerate cases of frusta, where one of the cutting planes passes through the apex (so that the corresponding base reduces to a point). The pyramidal frusta are a subclass of the prismatoids. Two frusta joined at their bases make a bifrustum.
Formula
Volume
The volume of a conical or pyramidal frustum is the volume of the solid before slicing the apex off, minus the volume of the apex:
where B1 is the area of one base, B2 is the area of the other base, and h1, h2 are the perpendicular heights from the apex to the planes of the two bases. Considering that
Frustum
36
the formula for the volume can be expressed in terms of this proportionality /3 and a difference of cubes of heights h1 and h2 only, with factor (h2h1) = h, the height of the frustum, and (h12 + h1h2 + h22)/3, on distributing , giving the Heronian mean of areas B1 and B2. The alternative formula is therefore
Heron of Alexandria is noted for deriving this formula and with it encountering the imaginary number, the square root of negative one.[2] In particular, the volume of a circular cone frustum is
where is 3.14159265..., and R1, R2 are the radii of the two bases. The volume of a pyramidal frustum whose bases are n-sided regular polygons is
where a1 and a2 are the sides of the two bases.
Surface area
For a right circular conical frustum[3]
and
where R1 and R2 are the base and top radii respectively, and s is the slant height of the frustum. The surface area of a right frustum whose bases are similar regular n-sided polygons is
where a1 and a2 are the sides of the two bases.
Examples
A notable example of a pyramidal frustum appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States on the back of the United States one-dollar bill, the "unfinished pyramid" being surmounted by the Eye of Providence. Certain ancient Native American mounds also form the frustum of a pyramid. Chinese pyramids The John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois is a frustum whose bases are rectangles. The Washington Monument is a narrow pyramidal frustum (with square bases) with a pyramid attached to the top base. The viewing frustum in 3D computer graphics is the usable field of view of a virtual photographic or video camera modeled as a pyramidal frustum.
Frustum The poem Love and tensor algebra, in the English translation of Stanislaw Lem's short-story collection The Cyberiad, claims that every frustum longs to be a cone. A bucket is an everyday example of a conical frustum. The bottom internal diameter is usually smaller than the upper internal diameter. The stereotypical lampshade is a frustum.
37
Notes
[1] The term comes from Latin frustum meaning "piece" or "crumb". The English word is often misspelled as frustrum, probably because of a similarity with the common words "frustrate" and "frustration", also of Latin origin, or "fulcrum" [2] Nahin, Paul. "An Imaginary Tale: The story of [the square root of minus one]." Princeton University Press. 1998 [3] "Mathwords.com: Frustum" (http:/ / www. mathwords. com/ f/ frustum. htm). . Retrieved 17 July 2011.
External links
Derivation of formula for the volume of frustums of pyramid and cone (http://www.mathalino.com/reviewer/ derivation-of-formulas/derivation-of-formula-for-volume-of-a-frustum) (Mathalino.com) Weisstein, Eric W., " Pyramidal frustum (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PyramidalFrustum.html)" from MathWorld. Weisstein, Eric W., " Conical frustum (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ConicalFrustum.html)" from MathWorld. Paper models of frustums (truncated pyramids) (http://www.korthalsaltes.com/model.php?name_en=truncated pyramids of the same height) Paper model of frustum (truncated cone) (http://www.korthalsaltes.com/model.php?name_en=tapared cylinder) Design paper models of conical frustum (truncated cones) (http://www.verbacom.com/cone/cone.php)
Pi
38
Pi
The number (/pa/) is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and is approximately equal to 3.14159. It has been represented by the Greek letter "" since the mid-18th century, though it is also sometimes written as pi. is an irrational number, which means that it cannot be expressed exactly as a ratio of two integers (such as 22/7 or other fractions that are commonly used to approximate ); consequently, its decimal representation never ends and never settles into a permanent repeating pattern. The digits appear to be randomly distributed, although no proof of this has yet been discovered. is a transcendental number a number that is not the root of any nonzero polynomial having rational coefficients. The transcendence of implies that it is impossible to solve the ancient challenge of squaring the circle with a compass and straight-edge. For thousands of years, mathematicians have attempted to extend their understanding of , sometimes by computing its value to a high degree of accuracy. Before the 15th century, mathematicians such as Archimedes and Liu Hui used geometrical techniques, based on polygons, to estimate the value of . Starting around the 15th century, new algorithms based on infinite series revolutionized the computation of , and were used by mathematicians including Madhava of Sangamagrama, Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler, Carl Friedrich Gauss, and Srinivasa Ramanujan. In the 20th and 21st centuries, mathematicians and computer scientists discovered new approaches that when combined with increasing computational power extended the decimal representation of to, as of late 2011, over 10 trillion (1013) digits. Scientific applications generally require no more than 40 digits of , so the primary motivation for these computations is the human desire to break records, but the extensive calculations involved have been used to test supercomputers and high-precision multiplication algorithms. Because its definition relates to the circle, is found in many formulae in trigonometry and geometry, especially those concerning circles, ellipses, or spheres. It is also found in formulae from other branches of science, such as cosmology, number theory, statistics, fractals, thermodynamics, mechanics, and electromagnetism. The ubiquitous nature of makes it one of the most widely known mathematical constants, both inside and outside the scientific community: Several books devoted to it have been published; the number is celebrated on Pi Day; and news headlines often contain reports about record-setting calculations of the digits of . Several people have endeavored to memorize the value of with increasing precision, leading to records of over 67,000 digits.
Fundamentals
Definition
Pi
39 is commonly defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference C to its diameter d:[1]
The ratio C/d is constant, regardless of the circle's size. For example, if a circle has twice the diameter of another circle it will also have twice the circumference, preserving the ratio C/d. This definition of is not universal, because it is only valid in flat (Euclidean) geometry and is not valid in curved (non-Euclidean) geometries.[1] For this reason, some mathematicians prefer definitions of based on calculus or trigonometry that do not rely on the circle. One such definition is: is twice the smallest positive x for which cos(x) equals 0.[1][2]
The circumference of a circle is slightly more than three times as long as its diameter. The exact ratio is called .
Name
The symbol used by mathematicians to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is the Greek letter . That letter (and therefore the number itself) can be denoted by the Latin word pi.[3] In English, is pronounced as "pie" ( /pa/, /pa/).[4] The lower-case letter (or in sans-serif font) is not to be confused with the capital letter , which denotes a product of a sequence. The first mathematician to use the Greek letter to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter was William Jones, who used it in his work Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos; or, a New Introduction to the Mathematics, of 1706.[5] Jones' first use of the Greek letter was in the phrase "1/2 Periphery ()" in the discussion of a circle with radius one. He may have chosen because it was the first letter in the Greek spelling of the word periphery.[6] Jones writes that his equations for are from the "ready pen of the truly ingenious Mr. John Machin", leading to speculation that Machin may have employed the Greek letter before Jones.[7] The Greek letter had been used earlier for geometric concepts. For example, in 1631 it was used by William Oughtred to represent the half-circumference of a circle.[7]
Leonhard Euler popularized the use of the Greek letter in a work he published in 1748.
After Jones introduced the Greek letter in 1706, it was not adopted by other mathematicians until Euler used it in 1736. Before then, mathematicians sometimes used letters such as c or p instead.[7] Because Euler corresponded heavily with other mathematicians in Europe, the use of the Greek letter spread rapidly.[7] In 1748, Euler used in his widely read work Introductio in analysin infinitorum (he wrote: "for the sake of brevity we will write this number as ; thus is equal to half the circumference of a circle of radius 1") and the practice was universally adopted thereafter in the Western world.[7]
Pi
40
Properties
is an irrational number, meaning that it cannot be written as the ratio of two integers, such as 22/7 or other fractions that are commonly used to approximate .[8] Since is irrational, it has an infinite number of digits in its decimal representation, and it does not end with an infinitely repeating pattern of digits. There are several proofs that is irrational; they generally require calculus and rely on the reductio ad absurdum technique. The degree to which can be approximated by rational numbers (called the irrationality measure) is not precisely known; estimates have established that the irrationality measure is larger than the measure of e or ln(2), but smaller than the measure of Liouville numbers.[9] is a transcendental number, which means that it is not the solution of any non-constant polynomial with rational coefficients, such as [10][11] The transcendence of has two important consequences: First, cannot be expressed using any combination of rational numbers and square roots or n-th roots such as or Second, since no transcendental number can be constructed with compass and straightedge, it is not possible to "square the circle". In other words, it is impossible to construct, using compass and straightedge alone, a square whose area is equal to the area of a given circle.[12] Squaring a circle was one of the important geometry problems of the classical antiquity.[13] Amateur mathematicians in modern times have sometimes attempted to square the circle, and sometimes claim success, despite the fact that it is impossible.[14]
The digits of have no apparent pattern and pass tests for statistical randomness including tests for normality; a number of infinite length is called normal when all possible sequences of digits (of any given length) appear equally often.[15] The hypothesis that is normal has not been proven or disproven.[15] Since the advent of computers, a large number of digits of have been available on which to perform statistical analysis. Yasumasa Kanada has performed detailed statistical analyses on the decimal digits of , and found them consistent with normality; for example, the frequency of the ten digits 0 to 9 were subjected to statistical significance tests, and no evidence of a pattern was found.[16] Despite the fact that 's digits pass statistical tests for randomness, contains some sequences of digits that may appear non-random to non-mathematicians, such as the Feynman point, which is a sequence of six consecutive 9s that begins at the 762nd decimal place of the decimal representation of .[17]
Because is a transcendental number, squaring the circle is not possible in a finite number of steps using the classical tools of compass and straightedge.
Continued fractions
Like all irrational numbers, cannot be represented as a simple fraction. But every irrational number, including , can be represented by an infinite series of nested fractions, called a continued fraction:
The constant is represented in this mosaic outside the mathematics building at the Technische Universitt Berlin.
Pi
41
A001203 Truncating the continued fraction at any point generates a fraction that provides an approximation for ; two such fractions (22/7 and 355/113) have been used historically to approximate the constant. Each approximation generated in this way is a best rational approximation; that is, each is closer to than any other fraction with the same or a smaller denominator.[18] Although the simple continued fraction for (shown above) does not exhibit a pattern,[19] mathematicians have discovered several generalized continued fractions that do, such as:[20]
Approximate value
Some approximations of include: Fractions: Approximate fractions include (in order of increasing accuracy) 227, 333106, 355113, 5216316604, and [18] 10399333102. Decimal: The first 100 decimal digits are 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 ....[21] A000796 Binary: 11.001001000011111101101010100010001000010110100011 .... Hexadecimal: The base 16 approximation to 20 digits is 3.243F6A8885A308D31319 ....[22] Sexagesimal: A base 60 approximation is 3:8:29:44:1
History
Antiquity
The Great Pyramid at Giza, constructed c.25892566BC, was built with a perimeter of about 1760 cubits and a height of about 280 cubits; the ratio 1760/2806.2857 is approximately equal to 26.2832. Based on this ratio, some Egyptologists concluded that the pyramid builders had knowledge of and deliberately designed the pyramid to incorporate the proportions of a circle.[23] Others maintain that the suggested relationship to is merely a coincidence, because there is no evidence that the pyramid builders had any knowledge of , and because the dimensions of the pyramid are based on other factors.[24] The earliest written approximations of are found in Egypt and Babylon, both within 1 percent of the true value. In Babylon, a clay tablet dated 19001600BC has a geometrical statement that, by implication, treats as 25/8=3.1250.[25] In Egypt, the Rhind Papyrus, dated around 1650BC, but copied from a document dated to 1850BC has a formula for the area of a circle that treats as (16/9)23.1605.[25] In India around 600BC, the Shulba Sutras (Sanskrit texts that are rich in mathematical contents) treat as (9785/5568)23.088.[26] In 150BC, or perhaps earlier, Indian sources treat as 3.1622.[27] Two verses in the Hebrew Bible (written between the 8th and 3rd centuriesBC) describe a ceremonial pool in the Temple of Solomon with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits; the verses imply is about three if the pool is circular.[28][29] Rabbi Nehemiah explained the discrepancy as being due to the thickness of the
Pi vessel. His early work of geometry, Mishnat ha-Middot, was written around 150 AD and takes the value of to be three and one seventh.[30]
42
Polygon approximation era

The first recorded algorithm for rigorously calculating the value of was a geometrical approach using polygons, devised around 250BC by the Greek mathematician [31] Archimedes. This polygonal algorithm dominated for over 1,000 years, and as a result is sometimes can be estimated by computing the perimeters of circumscribed and inscribed polygons. referred to as "Archimedes' [32] constant". Archimedes computed upper and lower bounds of by drawing a regular hexagon inside and outside a circle, and successively doubling the number of sides until he reached a 96-sided regular polygon. By calculating the perimeters of these polygons, he proved that 223/71<<22/7 (3.1408<<3.1429).[33] Archimedes' upper bound of 22/7 may have led to a widespread popular belief that is equal to 22/7.[34] Around 150 AD, Greek-Roman scientist Ptolemy, in his Almagest, gave a value for of 3.1416, which he may have obtained from Archimedes or from Apollonius of Perga.[35] Mathematicians using polygonal algorithms reached 39 digits of in 1630, a record only broken in 1699 when infinite series were used to reach 71 digits.[36] In ancient China, values for included 3.1547 (around 1 AD), (100 AD, approximately 3.1623), and 142/45 (3rd century, approximately 3.1556).[37] Around 265 AD, the Wei Kingdom mathematician Liu Hui created a polygon-based iterative algorithm and used it with a 3,072-sided polygon to obtain a value of of3.1416.[38][39] Liu later invented a faster method of calculating and obtained a value of 3.14 with a 96-sided polygon, by taking advantage of the fact that the differences in area of successive polygons form a geometric series with a factor of4.[38] The Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi, around 480 AD, calculated that 355/113 (a fraction that goes by the name Mil in Chinese), using Liu Hui's algorithm applied to a 12,288-sided polygon. With a correct value for its seven first decimal digits, this value of 3.141592920... remained the most accurate approximation of available for the next 800 years.[40]
Archimedes developed the polygonal approach to
The Indian astronomer Aryabhata used a value of 3.1416 in his approximating . ryabhaya (499 AD).[41] Fibonacci in c.1220 computed 3.1418 using a polygonal method, independent of Archimedes.[42] Italian author Dante apparently employed the value 3.14142.[42] The Persian astronomer Jamshd al-Ksh produced 16 digits in 1424 using a polygon with 3228 sides,[43][44] which stood as the world record for about 180 years.[45] French mathematician Franois Vite in 1579 achieved 9 digits with a polygon of 3217 sides.[45] Flemish mathematician Adriaan van Roomen arrived at 15 decimal places in 1593.[45] In 1596, Dutch mathematician Ludolph van Ceulen reached 20 digits, a record he later increased to 35 digits (as a result, was called the "Ludolphian number" in Germany until the early 20th century).[46] Dutch scientist Willebrord Snellius reached 34 digits in 1621,[47] and Austrian astronomer Christoph Grienberger arrived at 38 digits
Pi in 1630,[48] which remains the most accurate approximation manually achieved using polygonal algorithms.[47]
43
Infinite series
The calculation of was revolutionized by the development of infinite series techniques in the 16th and 17th centuries. An infinite series is the sum of the terms of an infinite sequence.[49] Infinite series allowed mathematicians to compute with much greater precision than Archimedes and others who used geometrical techniques.[49] Although infinite series were exploited for most notably by European mathematicians such as James Gregory and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the approach was first discovered in India sometime between 1400 and 1500 AD.[50] The first written description of an infinite series that could be used to compute was laid out in Sanskrit verse by Indian astronomer Nilakantha Somayaji in his Tantrasamgraha, around 1500 AD.[51] The series are presented without proof, but proofs are presented in a later Indian work, Yuktibh, from around 1530 AD. Nilakantha attributes the series to an earlier Indian mathematician, Madhava of Sangamagrama, who lived c.1350 c.1425.[51] Several infinite series are described, including series for sine, tangent, and cosine, which are now referred to as the Madhava series or GregoryLeibniz series.[51] Madhava used infinite series to estimate to 11 digits around 1400, but that record was beaten around 1430 by the Persian mathematician Jamshd al-Ksh, using a polygonal algorithm.[52] The first infinite sequence discovered in Europe was an infinite product (rather than an infinite sum, which are more typically used in calculations) found by French mathematician Franois Vite in 1593:[54] A060294 The second infinite sequence found in Europe, by John Wallis in 1655, was also an infinite product.[54] The discovery of calculus, by English scientist Isaac Newton and German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in the 1660s, led to the development of many infinite series for approximating . Newton himself used an arcsin series to compute a 15 digit approximation of in 1665 or 1666, later writing "I am ashamed to tell you to how many figures I carried these computations, having no other business at the time."[53] In Europe, Madhava's formula was rediscovered by Scottish mathematician James Gregory in 1671, and by Leibniz in 1674:[55][56]
Isaac Newton used infinite series to compute to 15 digits, later writing "I am ashamed to tell you to how many figures I carried these [53] computations".
This formula, the GregoryLeibniz series, equals
when evaluated with z=1.[56] In 1699, English mathematician
Abraham Sharp used the GregoryLeibniz series to compute to 71 digits, breaking the previous record of 39 digits, which was set with a polygonal algorithm.[57] The GregoryLeibniz series is simple, but converges very slowly (that is, approaches the answer gradually), so it is not used in modern calculations.[58] In 1706 John Machin used the GregoryLeibniz series to produce an algorithm that converged much faster:[59]
Machin reached 100 digits of with this formula.[60] Other mathematicians created variants, now known as Machin-like formulae, that were used to set several successive records for digits.[60] Machin-like formulae remained the best-known method for calculating well into the age of computers, and were used to set records for 250 years, culminating in a 620-digit approximation in 1946 by Daniel Ferguson the best approximation achieved
Pi without the aid of a calculating device.[61] A remarkable record was set by the calculating prodigy Zacharias Dase, who in 1844 employed a Machin-like formula to calculate 200 decimals of in his head at the behest of German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss.[62] British mathematician William Shanks famously took 15 years to calculate to 707 digits, but made a mistake in the 528th digit, rendering all subsequent digits incorrect.[62] Rate of convergence Some infinite series for converge faster than others. Given the choice of several infinite series for , mathematicians will generally use the one that converges most rapidly because faster convergence reduces the amount of computation needed to calculate to any given accuracy.[63] A simple infinite series for is the GregoryLeibniz series:[64]
44
As individual terms of this infinite series are added to the sum, the total gradually gets closer to , and with a sufficient number of terms can get as close to as desired. It converges quite slowly, though after 500,000 terms, it produces only five correct decimal digits of .[65] An infinite series for (published by Nilakantha Somayaji in the 15th century) that converges more rapidly than the GregoryLeibniz series is:[66]
Another that converges even more rapidly is the arcsine series:
The following table compares the convergence rates of these three series:
Infinite series for After 1 term After 2 terms After 3 terms After 4 terms After 5 terms Converges to: 4.00000 3.00000 3.00000 2.66666... 3.16666... 3.12500... 3.46666... 3.13333... 3.13906... 2.89523... 3.14523... 3.14115... 3.33968... 3.13968... 3.14151... = 3.14159...
After five terms, the sum of the GregoryLeibniz series is within 0.2 of the correct value of , whereas the sum of Nilakantha's series is within 0.002 of the correct value of , and the arcsine formula is within 0.0001 of the correct value of . Nilakantha's series converges faster, but the arcsine series is the fastest and most useful of the three for computing digits of . Series that converge even faster include Machin's series and Chudnovsky's series, the latter producing 14 correct decimal digits per term.[63]
Irrationality and transcendence

Not all mathematical advances relating to were aimed at increasing the accuracy of approximations. When Euler solved the Basel problem in 1735, finding the exact value of the sum of the reciprocal squares, he established a connection between and the prime numbers that later contributed to the development and study of the Riemann zeta function:[67]
Swiss scientist Johann Heinrich Lambert in 1761 proved that is irrational, meaning it is not equal to the quotient of any two whole numbers.[8] Lambert's proof exploited a continued-fraction representation of the tangent function.[68] French mathematician Adrien-Marie Legendre proved in 1794 that 2 is also irrational. In 1882, German
Pi mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that is transcendental, confirming a conjecture made by both Legendre and Euler.[69]
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Computer era and iterative algorithms

The development of computers in the mid-20th century again revolutionized the hunt for digits of . American mathematicians John Wrench and Levi Smith reached 1,120 digits in 1949 using a desk calculator.[70] Using an arctan infinite series, a team led by George Reitwiesner and John von Neumann achieved 2,037 digits with a calculation that took 70 hours of computer time on the ENIAC computer.[71] The record, always relying on arctan series, was broken repeatedly (7,480 digits in 1957; 10,000 digits in 1958; 100,000 digits in 1961) until 1 million digits was reached in 1973.[72] Two additional developments around 1980 once again accelerated the ability to compute . First, the discovery of new iterative algorithms for computing , which were much faster than the infinite series; and second, the invention of fast multiplication algorithms that could multiply large numbers very rapidly.[73] Such algorithms are particularly important in modern computations, because most of the computer's time is devoted to multiplication.[74] They include the Karatsuba algorithm, ToomCook multiplication, and Fourier
John von Neumann was part of the team that first used a digital computer, ENIAC, to compute .
transform-based methods.[75]
The GaussLegendre iterative algorithm: Initialize
Iterate
Then an estimate for is given by
The iterative algorithms were independently published in 19751976 by American physicist Eugene Salamin and Australian scientist Richard Brent.[76] These avoid reliance on infinite series. An iterative algorithm repeats a specific calculation, each iteration using the outputs from prior steps as its inputs, and produces a result in each step that converges to the desired value. The approach was actually invented over 160 years earlier by Carl Friedrich Gauss, in what is now termed the arithmeticgeometric mean method (AGM method) or GaussLegendre algorithm.[76] As modified by Salamin and Brent, it is also referred to as the BrentSalamin algorithm. The iterative algorithms were widely used after 1980 because they are faster than infinite series algorithms: whereas infinite series typically increase the number of correct digits additively in successive terms, iterative algorithms generally multiply the number of correct digits at each step. For example, the Brent-Salamin algorithm doubles the number of digits in each iteration. In 1984, the Canadian brothers John and Peter Borwein produced an iterative algorithm that quadruples the number of digits in each step; and in 1987, one that increases the number of digits five times in each step.[77] Iterative methods were used by Japanese mathematician Yasumasa Kanada to set several records for computing between 1995 and 2002.[78] This rapid convergence comes at a price: the iterative algorithms require significantly more memory than infinite series.[78]
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Motivations for computing

For most numerical calculations involving , a handful of digits provide sufficient precision. According to Jrg Arndt and Christoph Haenel, thirty-nine digits are sufficient to perform most cosmological calculations, because that is the accuracy necessary to calculate the volume of the known universe with a precision of one atom.[79] Despite this, people have worked strenuously to As mathematicians discovered new algorithms, and computers became available, the compute to thousands and millions number of known decimal digits of increased dramatically. of digits.[80] This effort may be partly ascribed to the human compulsion to break records, and such achievements with often make headlines around the world.[81][82] They also have practical benefits, such as testing supercomputers, testing numerical analysis algorithms (including high-precision multiplication algorithms); and within pure mathematics itself, providing data for evaluating the randomness of the digits of .[83]
Rapidly convergent series

Modern calculators do not use iterative algorithms exclusively. New infinite series were discovered in the 1980s and 1990s that are as fast as iterative algorithms, yet are simpler and less memory intensive.[78] The fast iterative algorithms were anticipated in 1914, when the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan published dozens of innovative new formulae for , remarkable for their elegance, mathematical depth, and rapid convergence.[84] One of his formulae, based on modular equations:
This series converges much more rapidly than most arctan series, including Machin's formula.[85] Bill Gosper was the first to use it for advances in the calculation of , setting a record of 17 million digits in 1985.[86] Ramanujan's formulae anticipated the modern algorithms developed by the Borwein brothers and the Chudnovsky brothers.[87] The Chudnovsky formula developed in 1987 is
Srinivasa Ramanujan, working in isolation in India, produced many innovative series for computing .
It produces about 14 digits of per term,[88] and has been used for several record-setting calculations, including the first to surpass (109) digits in 1989 by the Chudnovsky brothers, 2.7 trillion (2.71012) digits by Fabrice Bellard in 2009, and 10 trillion (1013) digits in 2011 by Alexander Yee and Shigeru Kondo.[89][90] In 2006, Canadian mathematician Simon Plouffe used the PSLQ integer relation algorithm[91] to generate several new formulae for , conforming to the following template:
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where
is e (Gelfond's constant),
[92]
is an odd number, and
are certain rational numbers that Plouffe
computed.
Spigot algorithms
Two algorithms were discovered in 1995 that opened up new avenues of research into . They are called spigot algorithms because, like water dripping from a spigot, they produce single digits of that are not reused after they are calculated.[93][94] This is in contrast to infinite series or iterative algorithms, which retain and use all intermediate digits until the final result is produced.[93] American mathematicians Stan Wagon and Stanley Rabinowitz produced a simple spigot algorithm in 1995.[94][95][96] Its speed is comparable to arctan algorithms, but not as fast as iterative algorithms.[95] Another spigot algorithm, the BBP digit extraction algorithm, was discovered in 1995 by Simon Plouffe:[97][98]
This formula, unlike others before it, can produce any individual hexadecimal digit of without calculating all the preceding digits.[97] Individual octal or binary digits may be extracted from the hexadecimal digits. Variations of the algorithm have been discovered, but no digit extraction algorithm has yet been found that rapidly produces decimal digits.[99] An important application of digit extraction algorithms is to validate new claims of record computations: After a new record is claimed, the decimal result is converted to hexadecimal, and then a digit extraction algorithm is used to calculate several random hexadecimal digits near the end; if they match, this provides a measure of confidence that the entire computation is correct.[90] Between 1998 and 2000, the distributed computing project PiHex used Bellard's formula (a modification of the BBP algorithm) to compute the quadrillionth (1015th) bit of , which turned out to be 0.[100] In September 2010, a Yahoo! employee used the company's Hadoop application on one thousand computers over a 23-day period to compute 256 bits of at the two-quadrillionth (21015th) bit.[101]
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Use
Because is closely related to the circle, it is found in many formulae from the fields of geometry and trigonometry, particularly those concerning circles, spheres, or ellipses. Formulae from other branches of science also include in some of their important formulae, including sciences such as statistics, fractals, thermodynamics, mechanics, cosmology, number theory, and electromagnetism.
Geometry and trigonometry

appears in formulae for areas and volumes of geometrical shapes based on circles, such as ellipses, spheres, cones, and tori. Some of the more common formulae that involve :[102] The circumference of a circle with radius r is The area of a circle with radius r is The volume of a sphere with radius r is The surface area of a sphere with radius r is appears in definite integrals that describe circumference, area, or volume of shapes generated by circles. For example, an integral that specifies half the area of a circle of radius one is given by:[103]
The area of the circle equals times the shaded area.
In that integral the function
represents the top half of a circle (the square root is a consequence of the computes the area between that half a circle and the x axis. The trigonometric functions rely on angles, and mathematicians generally use radians as units of measurement. plays an important role in angles measured in radians, which are defined so that a complete circle spans an angle of 2 radians.[104] The angle measure of 180 is equal to radians, and 1 = /180 radians.[104]
Pythagorean theorem), and the integral
Sine and cosine functions repeat with period 2.
Common trigonometric functions have periods that are multiples of ; for example, sine and cosine have period 2,[105] so for any angle and any integer [105] k, and Monte Carlo methods
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Buffon's needle. Needles a and b are dropped randomly.
Random dots are placed on a square with a circle inscribed in it.
Monte Carlo methods, which evaluate the results of multiple random trials, can be used to create approximations of .[106] Buffon's needle is one such technique: If a needle of length is dropped n times on a surface on which parallel lines are drawn t units apart, and if x of those times it comes to rest crossing a line (x>0), then one may approximate based on the counts:[107]
Another Monte Carlo method for computing is to draw a circle inscribed in a square, and randomly place dots in [108] the square. The ratio of dots inside the circle to the total number of dots will approximately equal Monte Carlo methods for approximating are very slow compared to other methods, and are never used to approximate when speed or accuracy are desired.[109]
Complex numbers and analysis

Any complex number, say z, can be expressed using a pair of real numbers. In the polar coordinate system, one number (radius or r) is used to represent z's distance from the origin of the complex plane and the other (angle or ) to represent a counter-clockwise rotation from [110] the positive real line as follows: where i is the imaginary unit satisfying i2 = 1. The frequent appearance of in complex analysis can be related to the behavior of the exponential function of a complex variable, described by Euler's formula:[111]
The association between imaginary powers of the number e and points on the unit circle centered at where the constant e is the base of the natural logarithm. This formula the origin in the complex plane given by Euler's establishes a correspondence between imaginary powers of e and formula. points on the unit circle centered at the origin of the complex plane. Setting = in Euler's formula results in Euler's identity, celebrated by mathematicians because it contains the five most important mathematical constants:[111][112]
There are n different complex numbers z satisfying are given by this formula:
, and these are called the "n-th roots of unity".[113] They
Pi Cauchy's integral formula governs complex analytic functions and establishes an important relationship between integration and differentiation, including the remarkable fact that the values of a complex function within a closed boundary are entirely determined by the values on the boundary:[114][115]
50
An occurrence of in the Mandelbrot set fractal was discovered by American David Boll in 1991.[116] He examined the behavior of the Mandelbrot set near the "neck" at (0.75, 0). If points with coordinates (0.75, ) are considered, as tends to zero, the number of iterations until divergence for the point multiplied by converges to . The point (0.25, ) at the cusp of the large "valley" on the right side of the Mandelbrot set behaves similarly: the number of iterations until divergence multiplied by the square root of tends to .[116][117]
can be computed from the Mandelbrot set, by counting the number of iterations required before point (0.75, ) diverges.
The gamma function extends the concept of factorial which is normally defined only for whole numbers to all real numbers. When the gamma function is evaluated at half-integers, the result contains ; for example and .[118] The gamma function for large : which is known as Stirling's
can be used to create a simple approximation to approximation.

[119]
Number theory and Riemann zeta function

The Riemann zeta function (s) is used in many areas of mathematics. When evaluated at it can be written as
Finding a simple solution for this infinite series was a famous problem in mathematics called the Basel problem. Leonhard Euler solved it in 1735 when he showed it was equal to .[67] Euler's result leads to the number theory result that the probability of two random numbers being relatively prime (that is, having no shared factors) is equal to .[120][121] This probability is based on the observation that the probability that any number is divisible by a prime is (for example, every 7th integer is divisible by 7.) Hence the probability that two numbers are both , and the probability that at least one of them is not is . For distinct primes, divisible by this prime is
these divisibility events are mutually independent; so the probability that two numbers are relatively prime is given by a product over all primes:[122]
This probability can be used in conjunction with a random number generator to approximate using a Monte Carlo approach.[123]
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Physics
Although not a physical constant, appears routinely in equations describing fundamental principles of the universe, often because of 's relationship to the circle and to spherical coordinate systems. A simple formula from the field of classical mechanics gives the approximate period T of a simple pendulum of length L, swinging with a small amplitude (g is the earth's gravitational acceleration):[124]
One of the key formulae of quantum mechanics is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which shows that the uncertainty in the measurement of a particle's position (x) and momentum (p) cannot both be arbitrarily small at the same time (where h is Planck's constant):[125]
In the domain of cosmology, appears in one of the fundamental formulae: Einstein's field equation, which forms the basis of the general theory of relativity and describes the fundamental interaction of gravitation as a result of spacetime being curved by matter and energy:[126]
where constant, tensor.
is the Ricci curvature tensor,
is the scalar curvature,
is the metric tensor,
is the cosmological is the stressenergy
is Newton's gravitational constant,
is the speed of light in vacuum, and
Coulomb's law, from the discipline of electromagnetism, describes the electric field between two electric charges (q1 and q2) separated by distance r (with 0 representing the vacuum permittivity of free space):[127]
The fact that is approximately equal to 3 plays a role in the relatively long lifetime of orthopositronium. The inverse lifetime to lowest order in the fine structure constant is given by [128]:
where m is the mass of the electron.
Probability and statistics

The fields of probability and statistics frequently use the normal distribution as a simple model for complex phenomena; for example, scientists generally assume that the observational error in most experiments follows a normal distribution.[129] is found in the Gaussian function (which is the probability density function of the normal distribution) with mean and standard deviation :[130]
The area under the graph of the normal distribution curve is given by the Gaussian integral:[130] , while the related integral for the Cauchy distribution is
A graph of the Gaussian function (x) =ex2. The colored region between the function and the x-axis has area .
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Engineering and geology

is present in some structural engineering formulae, such as the buckling formula derived by Euler, which gives the maximum axial load F that a long, slender column of length L, modulus of elasticity E, and area moment of inertia I can carry without buckling:[131]
The field of fluid dynamics contains in Stokes' law, which approximates the frictional force F exerted on small, spherical objects of radius R, moving with velocity v in a fluid with dynamic viscosity :[132]
The Fourier transform is a mathematical operation that expresses time as a function of frequency, known as its frequency spectrum. It has many applications in physics and engineering, particularly in signal processing:[133]
Under ideal conditions (uniform gentle slope on an homogeneously erodible substrate), the sinuosity of a meandering river approaches . The sinuosity is the ratio between the actual length and the straight-line distance from source to mouth. Faster currents along the outside edges of a river's bends cause more erosion than along the inside edges, thus pushing the bends even farther out, and increasing the overall loopiness of the river. However, that loopiness eventually causes the river to double back on itself in places and "short-circuit", creating an ox-bow lake in the process. The balance between these two opposing factors leads to an average ratio of between the actual length and the direct distance between source and mouth.[134][135]
Outside the sciences

Memorizing digits
Many persons have memorized large numbers of digits of , a practice called piphilology.[136] One common technique is to memorize a story or poem, in which the word-lengths represent the digits of : The first word has three letters, the second word has one, the third has four, the fourth has one, the fifth has five, and so on. An early example of a memorization aid, originally devised by English scientist James Jeans, is: "How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics."[136] When a poem is used, it is sometimes referred to as a "piem". Poems for memorizing have been composed in several languages in addition to English.[136] The record for memorizing digits of , certified by Guinness World Records, is 67,890 digits, recited in China by Lu Chao in 24 hours and 4 minutes on 20 November 2005.[137][138] In 2006, Akira Haraguchi, a retired Japanese engineer, claimed to have recited 100,000 decimal places, but the claim was not verified by Guinness World Records.[139] Record-setting memorizers typically do not rely on poems, but instead use methods such as remembering number patterns and the method of loci.[140] A few authors have used the digits of to establish a new form of constrained writing, where the word-lengths are required to represent the digits of . The Cadaeic Cadenza contains the first 3835 digits of in this manner,[141] and the full-length book Not a Wake contains 10,000 words, each representing one digit of .[142]
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In popular culture
Perhaps because of the simplicity of its definition and its ubiquitous presence in formulae, has been represented in popular culture more than other mathematical constructs. In the Palais de la Dcouverte (a science museum in Paris) there is a circular room known as the "pi room". On its wall are inscribed 707 digits of . The digits are large wooden characters attached to the dome-like ceiling. The digits were based on an 1853 calculation by English mathematician William Shanks, which included an error beginning at the 528th digit. The error was detected in 1946 and corrected in 1949.[143]
e to the u, du / dx e to the x, dx Cosine, secant, tangent, sine 3.14159 Integral, radical, mu dv Slipstick, slide rule, MIT! GOOOOOO TECH! MIT cheer
[144] Pi Pie at Delft University
Many schools in the United States observe Pi Day on 14March (March is the third month, hence the date is 3/14).[145] and its digital representation are often used by self-described "math geeks" for inside jokes among mathematically and technologically minded groups. Several college cheers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology include "3.14159".[144] During the 2011 auction for Nortel's portfolio of valuable technology patents, Google made a series of unusually specific bids based on mathematical and scientific constants, including .[146] Proponents of a new mathematical constant tau (), equal to two times , have argued that a constant based on the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius rather than to its diameter would be more natural and would simplify many formulae.[147][148] While their proposals, which include celebrating 28June as "Tau Day", have been reported in the media, they have not been reflected in the scientific literature.[149][150] In Carl Sagan's novel Contact it is suggested that the creator of the universe buried a message deep within the digits of .[151] The digits of have also been incorporated into the lyrics of the song "Pi" from the album Aerial by Kate Bush,[152] and a song by Hard 'n Phirm.[153] In 1897, an amateur mathematician attempted to persuade the Indiana legislature to pass the Indiana Pi Bill, which described a method to square the circle, and contained text which assumes various incorrect values of , including 3.2. The bill is notorious as an attempt to establish scientific truth by legislative fiat. The bill was passed by the Indiana House of Representatives, but rejected by the Senate.[154] In the Doctor Who episode "Midnight", the Doctor encounters the Midnight Entity that takes over the body of various characters. The character Sky Silvestry when taken over mimics the speech patterns of The Doctor by repeating, in synchronism, the square root of pi to 30 decimal places.[155] This involved the actors David Tennant and Leslie Sharp learning the sequence to be able to repeat it.
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Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.8 Rudin, Walter (1976). Principles of Mathematical Analysis. McGraw-Hill. ISBN0-07-054235-X., p 183. Holton, David; Mackridge, Peter (2004). Greek: an Essential Grammar of the Modern Language. Routledge. ISBN0-415-23210-4., p. xi. "pi" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ pi?s=t). Dictionary.reference.com. 2 March 1993. . Retrieved 18 June 2012. Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.165. A facsimile of Jones' text is in Berggren, Borwein & Borwein 1997, pp.108109 See Schepler 1950, p.220: William Oughtred used the letter to represent the periphery (i.e., circumference) of a circle. Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.166 Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.5 Salikhov, V. (2008). "On the Irrationality Measure of pi". Russian Mathematical Survey 53 (3): 570. Bibcode2008RuMaS..63..570S. doi:10.1070/RM2008v063n03ABEH004543. [10] Mayer, Steve. "The Transcendence of " (http:/ / dialspace. dial. pipex. com/ town/ way/ po28/ maths/ docs/ pi. html). . Retrieved 4 November 2007. [11] The polynomial shown is the first few terms of the Taylor series expansion of the sine function. [12] Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, p.25 [13] Eymard & Lafon 1999, p.129 [14] Beckmann 1989, p.37 Schlager, Neil; Lauer, Josh (2001). Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. Gale Group. ISBN0-7876-3933-8., p 185. [15] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.2223 Preuss, Paul (23 July 2001). "Are The Digits of Pi Random? Lab Researcher May Hold The Key" (http:/ / www. lbl. gov/ Science-Articles/ Archive/ pi-random. html). Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. . Retrieved 10 November 2007. [16] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.22, 2830 [17] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.3 [18] Eymard & Lafon 1999, p.78 [19] " Sloane's A001203 : Continued fraction for Pi (http:/ / oeis. org/ A001203)", The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 12 April 2012. [20] Lange, L. J. (May 1999). "An Elegant Continued Fraction for ". The American Mathematical Monthly 106 (5): 456458. doi:10.2307/2589152. JSTOR2589152. [21] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.240 [22] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.242 [23] "We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of , in practice they used it". Verner, M. (2003). The Pyramids: Their Archaeology and History., p. 70. Petrie (1940). Wisdom of the Egyptians., p. 30. See also Legon, J. A. R. (1991). "On Pyramid Dimensions and Proportions" (http:/ / www. legon. demon. co. uk/ pyrprop/ propde. htm). Discussions in Egyptology 20: 2534. .. See also Petrie, W. M. F. (1925). "Surveys of the Great Pyramids". Nature Journal 116 (2930): 942942. Bibcode1925Natur.116..942P. doi:10.1038/116942a0. [24] Egyptologist: Rossi, Corinna, Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp 6070, 200, ISBN 9780521829540. Skeptics: Shermer, Michael, The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience, ABC-CLIO, 2002, pp 407408, ISBN 9781576076538. See also Fagan, Garrett G., Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents The Past and Misleads the Public, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 9780415305938. For a list of explanations for the shape that do not involve , see Roger Herz-Fischler (2000). The Shape of the Great Pyramid (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=066T3YLuhA0C& pg=67,). Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp.6777, 165166. ISBN9780889203242. [25] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.167 [26] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.168169 [27] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.169 [28] The verses are Kings17:23 and Chronicles24:2; see Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.169, Schepler 1950, p.165, and Beckmann 1989, pp.1416. [29] Suggestions that the pool had a hexagonal shape or an outward curving rim have been offered to explain the disparity. See Borwein, Jonathan M.; Bailey, David H. (2008). Mathematics by Experiment: Plausible Reasoning in the 21st century (revised 2nd ed.). A. K. Peters. ISBN978-1-56881-442-1., pp. 103, 136, 137. [30] James A. Arieti, Patrick A. Wilson (2003). The Scientific & the Divine (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=q2MHZTL_s64C& pg=PA9). Rowman & Littlefield. pp.910. ISBN9780742513976. . [31] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.170 [32] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.175, 205 [33] The Computation of Pi by Archimedes: The Computation of Pi by Archimedes - File Exchange - MATLAB Central (http:/ / www. mathworks. com/ matlabcentral/ fileexchange/ 29504-the-computation-of-pi-by-archimedes/ content/ html/ ComputationOfPiByArchimedes.
Pi
html#37) [34] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.171 [35] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.176 Boyer & Merzbach 1991, p.168 [36] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.1516, 175, 184186, 205. Grienberger achieved 39 digits in 1630; Sharp 71 digits in 1699. [37] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.176177 [38] Boyer & Merzbach 1991, p.202 [39] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.177 [40] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.178 [41] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.179 [42] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.180 [43] Azarian, Mohammad K. (2010), "al-Risla al-muhtyya: A Summary" (http:/ / nirmala. home. xs4all. nl/ Azarian2. pdf) (PDF), Missouri Journal of Mathematical Sciences 22 (2): 6485, . [44] OConnor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F. (1999), "Ghiyath al-Din Jamshid Mas'ud al-Kashi" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-and. ac. uk/ history/ Biographies/ Al-Kashi. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, , retrieved August 11, 2012. [45] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.182 [46] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.182183 [47] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.183 [48] Grienbergerus, Christophorus (1630) (in Latin) (PDF). Elementa Trigonometrica[[Category:Articles containing Latin language text (http:/ / librarsi. comune. palermo. it/ gesuiti2/ 06. 04. 01. pdf)]]. . His evaluation was 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 4196 < < 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 4199. [49] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.185191 [50] Roy 1990, pp.101102 Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.185186 [51] Roy 1990, pp.101102 [52] Joseph 1991, p.264 [53] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.188. Newton quoted by Arndt. [54] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.187 [55] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.188189 [56] Eymard & Lafon 1999, pp.5354 [57] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.189 [58] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.156 [59] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.192193 [60] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.7274 [61] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.192196, 205 [62] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.194196 [63] Borwein, J. M.; Borwein, P. B. (1988). "Ramanujan and Pi". Scientific American 256 (2): 112117. Bibcode1988SciAm.258b.112B. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0288-112. Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.1517, 7072, 104, 156, 192197, 201202 [64] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.6972 [65] Borwein, J. M.; Borwein, P. B.; Dilcher, K. (1989). "Pi, Euler Numbers, and Asymptotic Expansions". American Mathematical Monthly 96 (8): 681687. doi:10.2307/2324715. [66] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.223, (formula 16.10). Note that (n1)n(n+1) = n3n. Wells, David (1997). The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers (revised ed.). Penguin. p.35. ISBN978-0-140-26149-3. [67] Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, pp.284 [68] Lambert, Johann, "Mmoire sur quelques proprits remarquables des quantits transcendantes circulaires et logarithmiques", reprinted in Berggren, Borwein & Borwein 1997, pp.129140 [69] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.196 [70] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.205 [71] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.197. See also Reitwiesner 1950. [72] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.197 [73] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.1517 [74] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.131 [75] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.132, 140 [76] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.87 [77] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.111 (5 times); pp. 113114 (4 times). See Borwein & Borwein 1987 for details of algorithms. [78] Bailey, David H. (16 May 2003). "Some Background on Kanadas Recent Pi Calculation" (http:/ / crd-legacy. lbl. gov/ ~dhbailey/ dhbpapers/ dhb-kanada. pdf). . Retrieved 12 April 2012.
55
Pi
[79] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.17. "39 digits of are sufficient to calculate the volume of the universe to the nearest atom." Accounting for additional digits needed to compensate for computational round-off errors, Arndt concludes that a few hundred digits would suffice for any scientific application. [80] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.1719 [81] Schudel, Matt (25 March 2009). "John W. Wrench, Jr.: Mathematician Had a Taste for Pi". The Washington Post: p.B5. [82] "The Big Question: How close have we come to knowing the precise value of pi?" (http:/ / www. independent. co. uk/ news/ science/ the-big-question-how-close-have-we-come-to-knowing-the-precise-value-of-pi-1861197. html). The Independent. 8 January 2010. . Retrieved 14 April 2012. [83] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.18 [84] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.103104 [85] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.104 [86] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.104, 206 [87] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.110111 [88] Eymard & Lafon 1999, p.254 [89] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.110111, 206 Bellard, Fabrice, "Computation of 2700 billion decimal digits of Pi using a Desktop Computer" (http:/ / bellard. org/ pi/ pi2700e9/ pipcrecord. pdf), 11 Feb 2010. [90] "Round 2... 10 Trillion Digits of Pi" (http:/ / www. numberworld. org/ misc_runs/ pi-10t/ details. html), NumberWorld.org, 17 Oct 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2012. [91] PSLQ means Partial Sum of Least Squares. [92] Plouffe, Simon (April 2006). "Identities inspired by Ramanujan's Notebooks (part 2)" (http:/ / plouffe. fr/ simon/ inspired2. pdf). . Retrieved 10 April 2009. [93] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.7784 [94] Gibbons, Jeremy, "Unbounded Spigot Algorithms for the Digits of Pi" (http:/ / www. cs. ox. ac. uk/ jeremy. gibbons/ publications/ spigot. pdf), 2005. Gibbons produced an improved version of Wagon's algorithm. [95] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.77 [96] Rabinowitz, Stanley; Wagon, Stan (March 1995). "A spigot algorithm for the digits of Pi". American Mathematical Monthly 102 (3): 195203. doi:10.2307/2975006. A computer program has been created that implements Wagon's spigot algorithm in only 120 characters of software. [97] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.117, 126128 [98] Bailey, David H.; Borwein, Peter B.; and Plouffe, Simon (April 1997). "On the Rapid Computation of Various Polylogarithmic Constants" (http:/ / crd-legacy. lbl. gov/ ~dhbailey/ dhbpapers/ digits. pdf) (PDF). Mathematics of Computation 66 (218): 903913. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-97-00856-9. . [99] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.128. Plouffe did create a decimal digit extraction algorithm, but it is slower than full, direct computation of all preceding digits. [100] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.20 Bellards formula in: Bellard, Fabrice. "A new formula to compute the nth binary digit of pi" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070912084453/ http:/ / fabrice. bellard. free. fr/ pi/ pi_bin/ pi_bin. html). Archived from the original (http:/ / fabrice. bellard. free. fr/ pi/ pi_bin/ pi_bin. html) on 12 September 2007. . Retrieved 27 October 2007. [101] Palmer, Jason (16 September 2010). "Pi record smashed as team finds two-quadrillionth digit" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ technology-11313194). BBC News. . Retrieved 26 March 2011. [102] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, pp.200, 209 [103] Weisstein, Eric W., " Semicircle (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Semicircle. html)" from MathWorld. [104] Ayers 1964, p.60 [105] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, pp.210211 [106] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.39 [107] Ramaley, J. F. (October 1969). "Buffon's Noodle Problem". The American Mathematical Monthly 76 (8): 916918. doi:10.2307/2317945. JSTOR2317945. [108] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.3940 Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, p.105 [109] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.43 Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, pp.105108 [110] Ayers 1964, p.100 [111] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, p.592 [112] Maor, Eli, E: The Story of a Number, Princeton University Press, 2009, p 160, ISBN 978-0-691-14134-3 ("five most important" constants). [113] Weisstein, Eric W., " Roots of Unity (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ RootofUnity. html)" from MathWorld. [114] Weisstein, Eric W., " Cauchy Integral Formula (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CauchyIntegralFormula. html)" from MathWorld. [115] Joglekar, S. D., Mathematical Physics, Universities Press, 2005, p 166, ISBN 978-81-7371-422-1.
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[116] Klebanoff, Aaron (2001). "Pi in the Mandelbrot set" (http:/ / home. comcast. net/ ~davejanelle/ mandel. pdf). Fractals 9 (4): 393402. doi:10.1142/S0218348X01000828. . Retrieved 14 April 2012. [117] Peitgen, Heinz-Otto, Chaos and fractals: new frontiers of science, Springer, 2004, pp. 801803, ISBN 978-0-387-20229-7. [118] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, pp.191192 [119] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, p.190 [120] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.4143 [121] This theorem was proved by Ernesto Cesro in 1881. For a more rigorous proof than the intuitive and informal one given here, see Hardy, G. H., An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-921986-5, theorem 332. [122] Ogilvy, C. S.; Anderson, J. T., Excursions in Number Theory, Dover Publications Inc., 1988, pp. 2935, ISBN 0-486-25778-9. [123] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.43 [124] Halliday, David; Resnick, Robert; Walker, Jearl, Fundamentals of Physics, 5th Ed., John Wiley & Sons, 1997, p 381, ISBN 0-471-14854-7. [125] Imamura, James M (17 August 2005). "Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20071012060715/ http:/ / zebu. uoregon. edu/ ~imamura/ 208/ jan27/ hup. html). University of Oregon. Archived from the original (http:/ / zebu. uoregon. edu/ ~imamura/ 208/ jan27/ hup. html) on 12 October 2007. . Retrieved 9 September 2007. [126] Yeo, Adrian, The pleasures of pi, e and other interesting numbers, World Scientific Pub., 2006, p 21, ISBN 978-981-270-078-0. Ehlers, Jrgen, Einstein's Field Equations and Their Physical Implications, Springer, 2000, p 7, ISBN 978-3-540-67073-5. [127] Nave, C. Rod (28 June 2005). "Coulomb's Constant" (http:/ / hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/ hbase/ electric/ elefor. html#c3). HyperPhysics. Georgia State University. . Retrieved 9 November 2007. [128] C. Itzykson, J-B. Zuber, Quantum Field Theory, McGraw-Hill, 1980. [129] Feller, W. An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Vol. 1, Wiley, 1968, pp 174190. [130] Bronshten & Semendiaev 1971, pp.106107, 744, 748 [131] Low, Peter, Classical Theory of Structures Based on the Differential Equation, CUP Archive, 1971, pp 116118, ISBN 978-0-521-08089-7. [132] Batchelor, G. K., An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, 1967, p 233, ISBN 0-521-66396-2. [133] Bracewell, R. N., The Fourier Transform and Its Applications, McGraw-Hill, 2000, ISBN 0-07-116043-4. [134] Hans-Henrik Stlum (22 March 1996). "River Meandering as a Self-Organization Process". Science 271 (5256): 17101713. Bibcode1996Sci...271.1710S. doi:10.1126/science.271.5256.1710. [135] Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, pp.140141 [136] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.4445 [137] "Chinese student breaks Guiness record by reciting 67,890 digits of pi" (http:/ / www. newsgd. com/ culture/ peopleandlife/ 200611280032. htm). News Guangdong. 28 November 2006. . Retrieved 27 October 2007. [138] "Most Pi Places Memorized" (http:/ / www. guinnessworldrecords. com/ world-records/ 1/ most-pi-places-memorised), Guinness World Records. Retrieved 3 April 2012. [139] Otake, Tomoko (17 December 2006). "How can anyone remember 100,000 numbers?" (http:/ / www. japantimes. co. jp/ text/ fl20061217x1. html). The Japan Times. . Retrieved 27 October 2007. [140] Raz, A.; Packard, M. G. (2009). "A slice of pi: An exploratory neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval in a superior memorist". Neurocase 6: 112. [141] Keith, Mike. "Cadaeic Cadenza Notes & Commentary" (http:/ / www. cadaeic. net/ comments. htm). . Retrieved 29 July 2009. [142] Keith, Michael; Diana Keith (February 17, 2010) (Paperback). Not A Wake: A dream embodying (pi)'s digits fully for 10000 decimals. Vinculum Press. ISBN978-0963009715. [143] Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, p.118 Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.50 [144] MIT cheers (http:/ / web. mit. edu/ cheer/ 2004-2005SpecificWebPages/ GeneralInformation/ cheers. html). Retrieved 12 April 2012. [145] Pi Day activities (http:/ / www. piday. org/ 2010/ discussions/ 2008-pi-day-activities-for-teachers/ ). [146] "Google's strange bids for Nortel patents" (http:/ / business. financialpost. com/ 2011/ 07/ 05/ googles-strage-bids-for-nortel-patents/ ). FinancialPost.com. Reuters. 5 July 2005. . Retrieved 16 August 2011. [147] Abbott, Stephen (April 2012). "My Conversion to Tauism" (http:/ / www. maa. org/ Mathhorizons/ apr12_aftermath. pdf). Math Horizons 19 (4): 34. doi:10.4169/mathhorizons.19.4.34. . [148] Palais, Robert (2001). " Is Wrong!" (http:/ / www. math. utah. edu/ ~palais/ pi. pdf). The Mathematical Intelligencer 23 (3): 78. doi:10.1007/BF03026846. . [149] Hartl, Michael. "The Tau Manifesto" (http:/ / tauday. com). . Retrieved 28 April 2012. [150] Palmer, Jason (28 June 2011). "'Tau day' marked by opponents of maths constant pi" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ science-environment-13906169). BBC News. . Retrieved 28 April 2012. [151] Arndt & Haenel 2006, p.14. This part of the story was omitted from the film adaptation of the novel. [152] Gill, Andy (4 November 2005). "Review of Aerial" (http:/ / gaffa. org/ reaching/ rev_aer_UK5. html). The Independent. . "the almost autistic satisfaction of the obsessive-compulsive mathematician fascinated by 'Pi' (which affords the opportunity to hear Bush slowly sing vast chunks of the number in question, several dozen digits long)"
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[153] Board, Josh (1 December 2010). "PARTY CRASHER: Laughing With Hard 'N Phirm" (http:/ / local. sandiego. com/ crasher/ party-crasher-laughing-with-hard-n-phirm). SanDiego.com. . "There was one song about Pi. Nothing like hearing people harmonizing over 200 digits." [154] Arndt & Haenel 2006, pp.211212 Posamentier & Lehmann 2004, pp.3637 Hallerberg, Arthur (May 1977). "Indiana's squared circle". Mathematics Magazine 50 (3): 136140. doi:10.2307/2689499. JSTOR2689499. [155] Midnight Entity (http:/ / tardis. wikia. com/ wiki/ Midnight_entity), Tardis Index File. accessed 22 July 2012
58
References
Arndt, Jrg; Haenel, Christoph (2006). Pi Unleashed (http://books.google.com/?id=QwwcmweJCDQC& printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false). Springer-Verlag. ISBN978-3-540-66572-4. English translation by Catriona and David Lischka. Ayers, Frank (1964). Calculus. McGraw-Hill. ISBN978-0-070-02653-7. Berggren, Lennart; Borwein, Jonathan; Borwein, Peter (1997). Pi: a Source Book. Springer-Verlag. ISBN978-0-387-20571-7. Beckmann, Peter (1989) [1974]. History of Pi. St. Martin's Press. ISBN978-0-88029-418-8. Borwein, Jonathan; Borwein, Peter (1987). Pi and the AGM: a Study in Analytic Number Theory and Computational Complexity. Wiley. ISBN978-0-471-31515-5. Boyer, Carl B.; Merzbach, Uta C. (1991). A History of Mathematics (2 ed.). Wiley. ISBN978-0-471-54397-8. Bronshten, Ilia; Semendiaev, K. A. (1971). A Guide Book to Mathematics. H. Deutsch. ISBN978-3-871-44095-3. Eymard, Pierre; Lafon, Jean Pierre (1999). The Number Pi. American Mathematical Society. ISBN978-0-8218-3246-2., English translation by Stephen Wilson. Joseph, George Gheverghese (1991). The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics (http:// books.google.com/?id=c-xT0KNJp0cC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|). Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-13526-7. Posamentier, Alfred S.; Lehmann, Ingmar (2004). Pi: A Biography of the World's Most Mysterious Number. Prometheus Books. ISBN978-1-59102-200-8. Reitwiesner, George (1950). "An ENIAC Determination of pi and e to 2000 Decimal Places". Mathematical Tables and Other Aids to Computation 4 (29): 1115. doi:10.2307/2002695. Roy, Ranjan (1990). "The Discovery of the Series Formula for pi by Leibniz, Gregory, and Nilakantha". Mathematics Magazine 63 (5): 291306. doi:10.2307/2690896. Schepler, H. C. (1950). "The Chronology of Pi". Mathematics Magazine (Mathematical Association of America) 23 (3): 165170 (Jan/Feb), 216228 (Mar/Apr), and 279283 (May/Jun). doi:10.2307/3029284.. issue 3 Jan/Feb (http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3029284), issue 4 Mar/Apr (http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 3029832), issue 5 May/Jun (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3029000)
Further reading
Blatner, David (1999). The Joy of Pi. Walker & Company. ISBN978-0-8027-7562-7. Borwein, Jonathan Michael and Borwein, Peter Benjamin, "The Arithmetic-Geometric Mean and Fast Computation of Elementary Functions", SIAM Review, 26(1984) 351365 Borwein, Jonathan Michael, Borwein, Peter Benjamin, and Bailey, David H., Ramanujan, Modular Equations, and Approximations to Pi or How to Compute One Billion Digits of Pi", The American Mathematical Monthly, 96(1989) 201219 Chudnovsky, David V. and Chudnovsky, Gregory V., "Approximations and Complex Multiplication According to Ramanujan", in Ramanujan Revisited (G.E. Andrews et al. Eds), Academic Press, 1988, pp 375396, 468472 Cox, David A., "The Arithmetic-Geometric Mean of Gauss", L' Ensignement Mathematique, 30(1984) 275330 Engels, Hermann, "Quadrature of the Circle in Ancient Egypt", Historia Mathematica 4(1977) 137140
Pi Euler, Leonhard, "On the Use of the Discovered Fractions to Sum Infinite Series", in Introduction to Analysis of the Infinite. Book I, translated from the Latin by J. D. Blanton, Springer-Verlag, 1964, pp 137153 Heath, T. L., The Works of Archimedes, Cambridge, 1897; reprinted in The Works of Archimedes with The Method of Archimedes, Dover, 1953, pp 9198 Huygens, Christiaan, "De Circuli Magnitudine Inventa", Christiani Hugenii Opera Varia I, Leiden 1724, pp 384388 Lay-Yong, Lam and Tian-Se, Ang, "Circle Measurements in Ancient China", Historia Mathematica 13(1986) 325340 Lindemann, Ferdinand, "Ueber die Zahl pi", Mathematische Annalen 20(1882) 213225 Matar, K. Mukunda, and Rajagonal, C., "On the Hindu Quadrature of the Circle" (Appendix by K. Balagangadharan). Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 20(1944) 7782 Niven, Ivan, "A Simple Proof that pi Is Irrational", Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, 53:7 (July 1947), 507 Ramanujan, Srinivasa, "Modular Equations and Approximations to pi", Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, XLV, 1914, 350372. Reprinted in G.H. Hardy, P.V. Sehuigar, and B. M. Wilson (eds), Srinivasa Ramanujan: Collected Papers, 1962, pp 2329 Shanks, William, Contributions to Mathematics Comprising Chiefly of the Rectification of the Circle to 607 Places of Decimals, 1853, pp. ixvi, 10 Shanks, Daniel and Wrench, John William, "Calculation of pi to 100,000 Decimals", Mathematics of Computation 16(1962) 7699 Tropfke, Johannes, Geschichte Der Elementar-Mathematik in Systematischer Darstellung (The history of elementary mathematics), BiblioBazaar, 2009 (reprint), ISBN 978-1-113-08573-3 Viete, Francois, Variorum de Rebus Mathematicis Reponsorum Liber VII. F. Viete, Opera Mathematica (reprint), Georg Olms Verlag, 1970, pp 398401, 436446 Wagon, Stan, "Is Pi Normal?", The Mathematical Intelligencer, 7:3(1985) 6567 Wallis, John, Arithmetica Infinitorum, sive Nova Methodus Inquirendi in Curvilineorum Quadratum, aliaque difficiliora Matheseos Problemata, Oxford 16556. Reprinted in vol. 1 (pp 357478) of Opera Mathematica, Oxford 1693 Zebrowski, Ernest, A History of the Circle : Mathematical Reasoning and the Physical Universe, Rutgers Univ Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-8135-2898-4
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External links
Digits of Pi (http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Math/Recreations/Specific_Numbers/Pi/Digits//) at the Open Directory Project "Pi" (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Pi.html) at Wolfram Mathworld Representations of Pi (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Representations+of+Pi) at Wolfram Alpha Pi Search Engine (http://www.subidiom.com/pi) 2 billion searchable digits of , 2, and e
Pythagoreanism
60
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagorean cult, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism. Later revivals of Pythagorean doctrines led to what is now called Neopythagoreanism.
Two schools
Arguably Pythagoras' most important contribution to society was the Pythagorean Theorem. This states that in any right triangle with side lengths , , and , where the latter is the length of the hypotenuse, . According to tradition, Pythagoreanism developed at some point into two separate schools of thought: the mathmatikoi (, greek for "learners") and the akousmatikoi (, greek for "listeners").
Bust of Pythagoras
The mathmatikoi
The mathmatikoi were supposed to have extended and developed the more mathematical and scientific work begun by Pythagoras. The mathmatikoi allowed that the akousmatikoi were Pythagorean, but felt that their own group was more representative of Pythagoras.[1]
The akousmatikoi
The akousmatikoi focused on the more religious and ritualistic aspects of his teachings: they claimed that the mathmatikoi were not genuinely Pythagorean, but followers of the "renegade" Pythagorean Hippasus.
Natural philosophy
Pythagorean thought was dominated by mathematics, and it was profoundly mystical. In the area of cosmology there is less agreement about what Pythagoras himself actually taught, but most scholars believe that the Pythagorean idea of the transmigration of the soul is too central to have been added by a later follower of Pythagoras. The Pythagorean conception of substance, on the other hand, is of unknown origin, partly because various accounts of his teachings are conflicting. The
Pythagoreans celebrate sunrise by Fyodor Bronnikov
Pythagoreanism Pythagorean account actually begins with Anaximander's teaching that the ultimate substance of things is "the boundless," or what Anaximander called the "apeiron." The Pythagorean account holds that it is only through the notion of the "limit" that the "boundless" takes form. Pythagoras wrote nothing down, and relying on the writings of Parmenides, Empedocles, Philolaus and Plato (people either considered Pythagoreans, or whose works are thought deeply indebted to Pythagoreanism) results in a very diverse picture in which it is difficult to ascertain what the common unifying Pythagorean themes were. Relying on Philolaus, whom most scholars agree is highly representative of the Pythagorean school, one has a very intricate picture. Aristotle explains how the Pythagoreans (by which he meant the circle around Philolaus) developed Anaximander's ideas about the apeiron and the peiron, the unlimited and limited, by writing that: ... for they [the Pythagoreans] plainly say that when the one had been constructed, whether out of planes or of surface or of seed or of elements which they cannot express, immediately the nearest part of the unlimited began to be drawn in and limited by the limit. Continuing with the Pythagoreans: The Pythagoreans, too, held that void exists, and that it enters the heaven from the unlimited breath it, so to speak, breathes in void. The void distinguishes the natures of things, since it is the thing that separates and distinguishes the successive terms in a series. This happens in the first case of numbers; for the void distinguishes their nature. When the apeiron is inhaled by the peiron it causes separation, which also apparently means that it "separates and distinguishes the successive terms in a series." Instead of an undifferentiated whole we have a living whole of inter-connected parts separated by "void" between them. This inhalation of the apeiron is also what makes the world mathematical, not just possible to describe using maths, but truly mathematical since it shows numbers and reality to be upheld by the same principle. Both the continuum of numbers (that is yet a series of successive terms, separated by void) and the field of reality, the cosmos both are a play of emptiness and form, apeiron and peiron. What really sets this apart from Anaximander's original ideas is that this play of apeiron and peiron must take place according to harmonia (harmony), about which Stobaeus commentated: About nature and harmony this is the position. The being of the objects, being eternal, and nature itself admit of divine, not human, knowledge except that it was not possible for any of the things that exist and are known by us to have come into being, without there existing the being of those things from which the universe was composed, the limited and the unlimited. And since these principles existed being neither alike nor of the same kind, it would have been impossible for them to be ordered into a universe if harmony had not supervened in whatever manner this came into being. Things that were alike and of the same kind had no need of harmony, but those that were unlike and not of the same kind and of unequal order it was necessary for such things to have been locked together by harmony, if they are to be held together in an ordered universe. A musical scale presupposes an unlimited continuum of pitches, which must be limited in some way in order for a scale to arise. The crucial point is that not just any set of limiters will do. One may not simply choose pitches at random along the continuum and produce a scale that will be musically pleasing. The diatonic scale, also known as "Pythagorean," is such that the ratio of the highest to the lowest pitch is 2:1, which produces the interval of an octave. That octave is in turn divided into a fifth and a fourth, which have the ratios of 3:2 and 4:3 respectively and which, when added, make an octave. If we go up a fifth from the lowest note in the octave and then up a fourth from there, we will reach the upper note of the octave. Finally the fifth can be divided into three whole tones, each corresponding to the ratio of 9:8 and a remainder with a ratio of 256:243 and the fourth into two whole tones with the same remainder. This is a good example of a concrete applied use of Philolaus reasoning. In Philolaus' terms the fitting together of limiters and unlimiteds involves their combination in accordance with ratios of numbers (harmony). Similarly the cosmos and the individual things in the cosmos do not arise by a chance combination of limiters and unlimiteds; the limiters and unlimiteds must be fitted together in a "pleasing" (harmonic) way in accordance with number for an order to arise.
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Pythagoreanism This teaching was recorded by Philolaus' pupil Archytas in a lost work entitled On Harmonics or On Mathematics, and this is the influence that can be traced in Plato. Plato's pupil Aristotle made a distinction in his Metaphysics between Pythagoreans and "so-called" Pythagoreans. He also recorded the Table of Opposites, and commented that it might be due to Alcmaeon of the medical school at Croton, who defined health as a harmony of the elements in the body. After attacks on the Pythagorean meeting-places at Croton, the movement dispersed, but regrouped in Tarentum, also in Southern Italy. A collection of Pythagorean writings on ethics collected by Taylor show a creative response to the troubles. The legacy of Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato was claimed by the wisdom tradition of the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria, on the ground that their teachings derived from those of Moses. Through Philo of Alexandria this tradition passed into the Medieval culture, with the idea that groups of things of the same number are related or in sympathy. This idea evidently influenced Hegel in his concept of internal relations. The ancient Pythagorean pentagram was drawn with two points up and represented the doctrine of Pentemychos. Pentemychos means "five recesses" or "five chambers," also known as the pentagonas the five-angle, and was the title of a work written by Pythagoras' teacher and friend Pherecydes of Syros.[2]
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Cosmology
The Pythagoreans are known for their theory of the transmigration of souls, and also for their theory that numbers constitute the true nature of things. They performed purification rites and followed and developed various rules of living which they believed would enable their souls to achieve a higher rank among the gods. Much of their mysticism concerning the soul seems inseparable from the Orphic tradition. The Orphics included various purifactory rites and practices as well as incubatory rites of descent into the underworld. Apart from being linked with this, Pythagoras is also closely linked with Pherecydes of Syros, the man ancient commentators tend to credit as the first Greek to teach a transmigration of souls. Ancient commentators agree that Pherecydes was Pythagoras's most "intimate" teacher. Pherecydes expounded his teaching on the soul in terms of a pentemychos ("five-nooks," or "five hidden cavities") the most likely origin of the Pythagorean use of the pentagram, used by them as a symbol of recognition among members and as a symbol of inner health (eugieia Eudaimonia).
"Wheel of Birth" and scientific contemplation

The Pythagoreans believed that a release from the "wheel of birth" was possible. They followed the Orphic traditions and practices to purify the soul but at the same time they suggested a deeper idea of what such a purification might be. Aristoxenus said that music was used to purify the soul just like medicine was used to purge the body. But in addition to this, Pythagoreans distinguished three kinds of lives: Theoretic, Practical and Apolaustic. Pythagoras is said to have used the example of Olympic games to distinguish between these three kind of lives. Pythagoras suggests that the lowest class of people who come to the games are the people who come to buy or sell. The next higher class comprises people who come to participate in the games. And the highest class contains people who simply come to look on. Thus Pythagoras suggests that the highest purification of a life is in pure contemplation. It is the philosopher who contemplates about science and mathematics who is released from the "cycle of birth." The pure mathematician's life is, according to Pythagoras, the life at the highest plane of existence.[3][4] Thus the root of mathematics and scientific pursuits in Pythagoreanism is also based on a spiritual desire to free oneself from the cycle of birth and death. It is this contemplation about the world that forms the greatest virtue in Pythagorean philosophy.
Pythagoreanism
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Vegetarianism
The Pythagoreans were well known in antiquity for their vegetarianism, which they practised for religious, ethical and ascetic reasons, in particular the idea of metempsychosis the transmigration of souls into the bodies of other animals.[5] "Pythagorean diet" was a common name for the abstention from eating meat and fish, until the coining of "vegetarian" in the 19th century.[6] The Pythagorean code further restricted the diet of its followers, prohibiting the consumption or even touching of any sort of bean. It is probable that this is due to their belief in the soul, and the fact that beans obviously showed the potential for life. Some, for example Cicero,[7] say perhaps the flatulence beans cause, perhaps as protection from potential favism, perhaps because they resemble the genitalia,[8] but most likely for magico-religious reasons,[9] such as the belief that beans and human beings were created from the same material.[10] Most stories of Pythagoras' murder revolve around his aversion to beans. According to legend, enemies of the Pythagoreans set fire to Pythagoras' house, sending the elderly man running toward a bean field, where he halted, declaring that he would rather die than enter the field whereupon his pursuers slit his throat.[11]
Views on women
Women were given equal opportunity to study as Pythagoreans, and learned practical domestic skills in addition to philosophy.[12] Women were held to be different from men, but sometimes in good ways.[12] The priestess, philosopher and mathematician Themistoclea is regarded as Pythagoras' teacher; Theano, Damo and Melissa as female disciples. Pythagoras is also said to have preached that men and women ought not to have sex during the summer, holding that winter was the appropriate time.[13]
Neopythagoreanism
Neopythagoreanism was a revival in the 2nd century BC 2nd century AD period of various ideas traditionally associated with the followers of Pythagoras, the Pythagoreans. Notable Neopythagoreans include Nigidius Figulus, Apollonius of Tyana and Moderatus of Gades. Middle and Neo-Platonists such as Numenius and Plotinus also showed some Neopythagorean influence. They emphasized the distinction between the soul and the body. God must be worshipped spiritually by prayer and the will to be good. The soul must be freed from its material surroundings by an ascetic habit of life. Bodily pleasures and all sensuous impulses must be abandoned as detrimental to the spiritual purity of the soul. God is the principle of good; Matter the groundwork of Evil. The non-material universe was regarded as the sphere of mind or spirit.[14] In 1915, a subterranean basilica where 1st century Neo-Pythagoreans held their meetings was discovered near Porta Maggiore on Via Praenestina, Rome. The groundplan shows a basilica with three naves and an apse similar to early Christian basilicas that did not appear until much later, in the 4th century. The vaults are decorated with white stuccoes symbolizing Neopythagorean beliefs but its exact meaning remains a subject of debate.[15]
Influences
The Pythagorean idea that whole numbers and harmonic (euphonic) sounds are intimately connected in music, must have been well known to lute-player and maker Vincenzo Galilei, father of Galileo Galilei. While possibly following Pythagorean modes of thinking, Vincenzo is known to have discovered a new mathematical relationship between string tension and pitch, thus suggesting a generalization of the idea that music and musical instruments can be mathematically quantified and described. This may have paved the way to his son's crucial insight that all physical phenomena may be described quantitatively in mathematical language (as physical "laws"), thus beginning and defining the era of modern physics.
Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism has had a clear and obvious influence on the texts found in the hermetica corpus and thus flows over into hermeticism, gnosticism and alchemy. The Pythagorean cosmology also inspired the Arab gnostic Monoimus to combine this system with monism and other things to form his own cosmology. The pentagram (five-pointed star) was an important religious symbol used by the Pythagoreans, which is often seen as being related to the elements theorized by Empedocles to comprise all matter. The Pythagorean school doubtless had a monumental impact on the development of numerology and number mysticism, an influence that still resonates today. For example, it is from the Pythagoreans that the number 3 acquires its modern reputation as the noblest of all digits.[16] The Pythagoreans were advised to "speak the truth in all situations," which Pythagoras said he learned from the Magi of Babylon. The Pythagorean theory of harmonic ratios is basis of studies on music theory in Islamic world, for example the al-Farabi's Kitab al-Musiqa al-kabir. Pythagorean philosophy had a marked impact on the thoughts of early modern scholars involved within the Scientific Revolution. Of particular interest is the focus applied to the Platonic Solids derived from the Pythagorean theories of geometry and numbers by Plato. Within the work of Leonardo [17] fascination can be found within manuscripts describing the Platonic Solids, and also within the work of Kepler who supported the Copernican theory of heliocentrism and attempted a theory of the universe based on musical, geometrical harmony.[18]
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References
[1] On the two schools and these differences, see Charles Kahn, p. 15, Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, Hackett 2001. [2] This is actually a lost book whose contents are preserved in Damascius, de principiis, quoted in Kirk and Raven, The Pre-Socratic Philosophers, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1956, page 55. [3] Burnet J. (1892) Early Greek Philosophy A. & C. Black, London, OCLC 4365382 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 4365382), and subsequent editions, 2003 edition published by Kessinger, Whitefish, Montana, ISBN 0-7661-2826-1 [4] Russell, Bertrand, History of Western Philosophy [5] "Vegetarianism" (http:/ / www. oup. com/ us/ brochure/ 0195154371/ samples/ vegetarianism. pdf). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink. OUP. 2004. [6] See for instance the popular treatise by Antonio Cocchi, Del vitto pitagorico per uso della medicina, Firenze 1743, which initiated a debate on the "Pythagorean diet". [7] Cicero, On Divination, I xxx 62, quoted in (http:/ / www. philosophicalmisadventures. com/ ?p=15) [8] Seife, Charles. Zero p 26 [9] Gabrielle Hatfield, review of Frederick J. Simoons, Plants of Life, Plants of Death, University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. ISBN 0-299-15904-3. In Folklore 111:317-318 (2000). [10] Riedweg, Christoph, Pythagoras: his life, teaching, and influence. Ithaca : Cornell University Press, pp. 39, 70. (2005), ISBN 0-8014-4240-0 [11] Seife, p 38 [12] Glenn, Cheryl, Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity Through the Renaissance. Southern Illinois University, 1997. 3031. [13] Seife, Charles. Zero p. 27 [14] This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Neopythagoreanism" (http:/ / www. 1911encyclopedia. org/ Neopythagoreanism). Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. . [15] Ball Platner, Samuel. "Basilicae" (http:/ / penelope. uchicago. edu/ Thayer/ E/ Gazetteer/ Places/ Europe/ Italy/ Lazio/ Roma/ Rome/ _Texts/ PLATOP*/ basilicae. html). penelope.uchicago.edu. . [16] Cohen, Mark, Readings In Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Thales To Aristotle. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 2005. 1520. [17] Zammattio, Carlo, "Leonardo The Scientist." Maidenhead, England: Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, 1980. p.98-99 [18] Koestler, Arthur, "The Sleepwalkers." London, England: Penguin Books, 1959. p.250-251
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Further reading
Jacob, Frank Die Pythagoreer: Wissenschaftliche Schule, religise Sekte oder politische Geheimgesellschaft?, in: Jacob, Frank (Hg.): Geheimgesellschaften: Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien/ Secret Societies: Comparative Studies in Culture, Society and History, Globalhistorische Komparativstudien Bd.1, Comparative Studies from a Global Perspective Vol. 1, Knigshausen&Neumann, Wrzburg 2013, S.17-34. O'Meara, Dominic J. Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy in Late Antiquity , Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1989. ISBN 0-19-823913-0 Riedweg, Christoph Pythagoras : his life, teaching, and influence ; translated by Steven Rendall in collaboration with Christoph Riedweg and Andreas Schatzmann, Ithaca : Cornell University Press, (2005), ISBN 0-8014-4240-0
External links
Pythagoreanism Web Article (http://cyberspacei.com/jesusi/inlight/philosophy/western/Pythagoreanism. htm) Pythagoreanism Discussion Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pythagorean-L) Pythagoreanism Web Site (http://users.ucom.net/~vegan) Pythagoreanism Web Site (http://www.fourfoldpath.org/pita.htm) Pythagoreanism (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoreanism) entry by Carl Huffman in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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Pythagoras
Pythagoras ()
Bust of Pythagoras of Samos in the Capitoline Museums, Rome Born c. 570 BC Samos c. 495 BC (aged around 75) Metapontum Ancient philosophy Western philosophy Pythagoreanism
Died
Era Region School
Maininterests Metaphysics, Music, Mathematics, Ethics, Politics Notableideas Musica universalis, Golden ratio, Pythagorean tuning, Pythagorean theorem
Pythagoras of Samos (Ancient Greek: [ in Ionian Greek]Pythagras ho Smios"Pythagoras the Samian", or simply ; b. about 570 d. about 495 BC)[1][2] was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and might have travelled widely in his youth, visiting Egypt and other places seeking knowledge. Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, a Greek colony in southern Italy, and there set up a religious sect. His followers pursued the religious rites and practices developed by Pythagoras, and studied his philosophical theories. The society took an active role in the politics of Croton, but this eventually led to their downfall. The Pythagorean meeting-places were burned, and Pythagoras was forced to flee the city. He is said to have ended his days in Metapontum. Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist, but he is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than that of the other pre-Socratic philosophers, one can give only a tentative account of his teachings, and some have questioned whether he contributed much to mathematics and natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. Whether or not his disciples believed that
Pythagoras everything was related to mathematics and that numbers were the ultimate reality is unknown. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom,[3] and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato, and through him, all of Western philosophy.
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Biographical sources
Accurate facts about the life of Pythagoras are so few, and most information concerning him is of so late a date, and so untrustworthy, that it is impossible to provide more than a vague outline of his life. The lack of information by contemporary writers, together with the secrecy which surrounded the Pythagorean brotherhood, meant that invention took the place of facts. The stories which were created were eagerly sought by the Neoplatonist writers who provide most of the details about Pythagoras, but who were uncritical concerning anything which related to the gods or which was considered divine.[4] Thus many myths were created such as that Apollo was his father; that Pythagoras gleamed with a supernatural brightness; that he had a golden thigh; that Abaris came flying to him on a golden arrow; that he was seen in different places at one and the same time.[5] With the exception of a few remarks by Xenophanes, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, and Isocrates, we are mainly dependent on Diogenes Lartius, Porphyry, and Iamblichus for the biographical details. Aristotle had written a separate work on the Pythagoreans, which unfortunately has not survived.[6] His disciples Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and Heraclides Ponticus had written on the same subject. These writers, late as they are, were among the best sources from whom Porphyry and Iamblichus drew, besides the legendary accounts and their own inventions. Hence historians are often reduced to considering the statements based on their inherent probability, but even then, if all the credible stories concerning Pythagoras were supposed true, his range of activity would be impossibly vast.[7]
Life
Herodotus, Isocrates, and other early writers all agree that Pythagoras was born on Samos, the Greek island in the eastern Aegean, and we also learn that Pythagoras was the son of Mnesarchus.[8] His father was a gem-engraver or a merchant. His name led him to be associated with Pythian Apollo; Aristippus explained his name by saying, "He spoke (agor-) the truth no less than did the Pythian (Pyth-)," and Iamblichus tells the story that the Pythia prophesied that his pregnant mother would give birth to a man supremely beautiful, wise, and beneficial to humankind.[9] A late source gives his mother's name as Pythais.[10] As to the date of his birth, Aristoxenus stated that Pythagoras left Samos in the reign of Polycrates, at the age of 40, which would give a date of birth around 570 BC.[11] It was natural for the ancient biographers to inquire as to the origins of Pythagoras' remarkable system. In the absence of reliable information, however, a huge range of teachers were assigned to Pythagoras. Some Bust of Pythagoras, Vatican made his training almost entirely Greek, others exclusively Egyptian and Oriental. We find mentioned as his instructors Creophylus,[12] Hermodamas of Samos,[13] Bias,[12] Thales,[12] Anaximander,[14] and Pherecydes of Syros.[15] He is said too, to have been taught by a Delphic priestess named Themistoclea, who introduced him to the principles of ethics.[16][17] The Egyptians are said to have taught him geometry, the Phoenicians arithmetic, the Chaldeans astronomy, the Magians the principles of religion and practical maxims for the conduct of life.[18] Of the various claims regarding his Greek teachers, Pherecydes is mentioned most often.
Pythagoras Diogenes Laertius reported that Pythagoras had undertaken extensive travels, and had visited not only Egypt, but Arabia, Phoenicia, Judaea, Babylon, and even India, for the purpose of collecting all available knowledge, and especially to learn information concerning the secret or mystic cults of the gods.[19] Plutarch asserted in his book On Isis and Osiris that during his visit to Egypt, Pythagoras received instruction from the Egyptian priest Oenuphis of Heliopolis.[20] Other ancient writers asserted his visit to Egypt.[21] Enough of Egypt was known to attract the curiosity of an inquiring Greek, and contact between Samos and other parts of Greece with Egypt is mentioned.[22] It is not easy to say how much Pythagoras learned from the Egyptian priests, or indeed, whether he learned anything at all from them. There was nothing in the symbolism which the Pythagoreans adopted which showed the distinct traces of Egypt. The secret religious rites of the Pythagoreans exhibited nothing but what might have been adopted in the spirit of Greek religion, by those who knew nothing of Egyptian mysteries. The philosophy and the institutions of Pythagoras might easily have been developed by a Greek mind exposed to the ordinary influences of the age. Even the ancient authorities note the similarities between the religious and ascetic peculiarities of Pythagoras with the Orphic or Cretan mysteries,[23] or the Delphic oracle.[24] There is little direct evidence as to the kind and amount of knowledge which Pythagoras acquired, or as to his definite philosophical views. Everything of the kind mentioned by Plato and Aristotle is attributed not to Pythagoras, but to the Pythagoreans. Heraclitus stated that he was a man of extensive learning;[25] and Xenophanes claimed that he believed in the transmigration of souls.[26] Xenophanes mentions the story of his interceding on behalf of a dog that was being beaten, professing to recognise in its cries the voice of a departed friend. Pythagoras is supposed to have claimed that he had been Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, in the Trojan war, as well as various other characters, a tradesman, a courtesan, etc.[27] In his book The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Philostratus wrote that Pythagoras knew not only who he was himself, but also who he had been.[28] Many mathematical and scientific discoveries were attributed to Pythagoras, including his famous theorem,[29] as well as discoveries in the field of music,[30] astronomy,[31] and medicine.[32] But it was the religious element which made the profoundest impression upon his contemporaries. Thus the people of Croton were supposed to have identified him with the Hyperborean Apollo,[33] and he was said to have practised divination and prophecy.[34] In the visits to various places in Greece Delos, Sparta, Phlius, Crete, etc. which are ascribed to him, he usually appears either in his religious or priestly guise, or else as a lawgiver.[35] After his travels, Pythagoras moved (around 530 BC) to Croton, in Italy (Magna Graecia). Possibly the tyranny of Polycrates in Samos made it difficult for him to achieve his schemes there. His later admirers claimed that Pythagoras was so overburdened with public duties in Samos, because of the high estimation in which he was held by his fellow-citizens, that he moved to Croton.[36] On his arrival in Croton, he quickly attained extensive influence, and many people began to follow him. Later biographers tell fantastical stories of the effects of his eloquent speech in leading the people of Croton to abandon their luxurious and corrupt way of life and devote themselves to the purer system which he came to introduce.[37]
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Croton on the southern coast of Italy, to which Pythagoras ventured after feeling overburdened in Samos.
His followers established a select brotherhood or club for the purpose of pursuing the religious and ascetic practices developed by their master. The accounts agree that what was done and taught among the members was kept a profound secret. The esoteric teachings may have concerned the secret religious doctrines and usages, which were undoubtedly prominent in the Pythagorean system, and may have been connected with the worship of Apollo.[38] Temperance of all kinds seems to have been strictly urged. There is disagreement among the biographers as to whether Pythagoras forbade all animal food,[39] or only certain types.[40] The club was in practice at once "a philosophical school, a religious brotherhood, and a political association."[41]
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Such an aristocratic and exclusive club could easily have made many people in Croton jealous and hostile, and this seems to have led to its destruction. The circumstances, however, are uncertain. Conflict seems to have broken out between the towns of Sybaris and Croton. The forces of Croton were headed by the Pythagorean Milo, and it is likely that the members of the brotherhood took a prominent part. After the decisive victory by Croton, a proposal for establishing a more democratic constitution, was unsuccessfully resisted by the Pythagoreans. Their enemies, headed by Cylon and Ninon, the former of whom is said to have been irritated by his exclusion from the brotherhood, roused the populace against them. An attack was made upon them while assembled either in the house of Milo, or in some Pythagoras, depicted on a 3rd-century coin other meeting-place. The building was set on fire, and many of the assembled members perished; only the younger and more active escaping.[42] Similar commotions ensued in the other cities of Magna Graecia in which Pythagorean clubs had been formed. As an active and organised brotherhood the Pythagorean order was everywhere suppressed, and did not again revive. Still the Pythagoreans continued to exist as a sect, the members of which kept up among themselves their religious observances and scientific pursuits, while individuals, as in the case of Archytas, acquired now and then great political influence. Concerning the fate of Pythagoras himself, the accounts varied. Some say that he perished in the temple with his disciples,[43] others that he fled first to Tarentum, and that, being driven from there, he escaped to Metapontum, and there starved himself to death.[44] His tomb was shown at Metapontum in the time of Cicero.[45] According to some accounts Pythagoras married Theano, a lady of Croton. Their children are variously stated to have included a son, Telauges, and three daughters, Damo, Arignote, and Myia.
Writings
No texts by Pythagoras are known to have survived, although forgeries under his name a few of which remain extant did circulate in antiquity. Critical ancient sources like Aristotle and Aristoxenus cast doubt on these writings. Ancient Pythagoreans usually quoted their master's doctrines with the phrase autos ephe ("he himself said") emphasizing the essentially oral nature of his teaching.
Mathematics
The so-called Pythagoreans, who were the first to take up mathematics, not only advanced this subject, but saturated with it, they fancied that the principles of mathematics were the principles of all things. Aristotle,Metaphysics 15 , cc. 350 BC
The Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c).
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Pythagorean theorem
Since the fourth century AD, Pythagoras has commonly been given credit for discovering the Pythagorean theorem, a theorem in geometry that states that in a right-angled triangle the area of the square on the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of the other two sidesthat is, . While the theorem that now bears his name was known and previously utilized by the Babylonians and Indians, he, or his students, are often said to have constructed the first proof. It must, however, be stressed that the way in which the Babylonians handled Pythagorean numbers implies that they knew that the principle was generally applicable, and knew some kind of proof, which has not yet been found in the (still A visual proof of the Pythagorean theorem largely unpublished) cuneiform sources.[46] Because of the secretive nature of his school and the custom of its students to attribute everything to their teacher, there is no evidence that Pythagoras himself worked on or proved this theorem. For that matter, there is no evidence that he worked on any mathematical or meta-mathematical problems. Some attribute it as a carefully constructed myth by followers of Plato over two centuries after the death of Pythagoras, mainly to bolster the case for Platonic meta-physics, which resonate well with the ideas they attributed to Pythagoras. This attribution has stuck down the centuries up to modern times.[47] The earliest known mention of Pythagoras's name in connection with the theorem occurred five centuries after his death, in the writings of Cicero and Plutarch.
Musical theories and investigations

According to legend, the way Pythagoras discovered that musical notes could be translated into mathematical equations was when one day he passed blacksmiths at work, and thought that the sounds emanating from their anvils being hit were beautiful and harmonious and decided that whatever scientific law caused this to happen must be mathematical and could be applied to music. He went to the blacksmiths to learn how this had happened by looking at their tools, he discovered that it was because the hammers were "simple ratios of each other, one was half the size of the first, another was 2/3 the size, and so on." This legend has since proven to be false by virtue of the fact that these ratios are only relevant to string length (such as the string of a monochord), and not to hammer weight.[48][49] However, it may be that Pythagoras was indeed responsible for discovering these properties of string length. Pythagoreans elaborated on a theory of numbers, the exact meaning of and other instruments in Pythagorean tuning which is still debated among scholars. Another belief attributed to Pythagoras was that of the "harmony of the spheres". Thus the planets and stars moved according to mathematical equations, which corresponded to musical notes and thus produced a symphony.[50]
Medieval woodcut showing Pythagoras with bells
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Tetractys
Pythagoras was also credited with devising the tetractys, the triangular figure of four rows, which add up to the perfect number, ten. As a mystical symbol, it was very important to the worship of the Pythagoreans, who would swear oaths by it: And the inventions were so admirable, and so divinised by those who understood them, that the members used them as forms of oath: "By him who handed to our generation the tetractys, source of the roots of ever-flowing nature." Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth., 29
Religion and science

Pythagoras' religious and scientific views were, in his opinion, inseparably interconnected. Religiously, Pythagoras was a believer of metempsychosis. He believed in transmigration, or the reincarnation of the soul again and again into the bodies of humans, animals, or vegetables until it became immortal. His ideas of reincarnation were influenced by ancient Greek religion. Heraclides Ponticus reports the story that Pythagoras claimed that he had lived four previous lives that he could remember in detail.[51] One of his past lives, as reported by Aulus Gellius, was as a beautiful courtesan.[52] According to Xenophanes, Pythagoras heard the cry of his dead friend in the bark of a dog.[53]
Lore
Pythagoras became the subject of elaborate legends surrounding his historic persona. Aristotle described Pythagoras as a wonder-worker and somewhat of a supernatural figure, attributing to him such aspects as a golden thigh, which was a sign of divinity. According to Muslim tradition, Pythagoras was said to have been initiated by Hermes (Egyptian Thoth).[54] According to Aristotle and others' accounts, some ancients believed that he had the ability to travel through space and time, and to communicate with animals and plants.[55] An extract from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable's entry entitled "Golden Thigh": Pythagoras is said to have had a golden thigh, which he showed to Abaris, the Hyperborean priest, and exhibited in the Olympic games.[56] Another legend describes his writing on the moon: Pythagoras asserted he could write on the moon. His plan of operation was to write on a looking-glass in blood, and place it opposite the moon, when the inscription would appear photographed or reflected on the moon's disc.[57]
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Pythagoreans
Both Plato and Isocrates affirm that, above all else, Pythagoras was famous for leaving behind him a way of life.[58] Both Iamblichus and Porphyry give detailed accounts of the organisation of the school, although the primary interest of both writers is not historical accuracy, but rather to present Pythagoras as a divine figure, sent by the gods to benefit humankind.[59] Pythagoras set up an organization which was in some ways a school, in some ways a brotherhood (and here it should be noted that sources indicate that as well as men there were many women among the adherents of Pythagoras),[60] and in some ways a monastery. It was based upon the religious teachings of Pythagoras and was very secretive. The adherents were bound by a vow to Pythagoras and each other, for the purpose of pursuing the religious and ascetic observances, and of studying his religious and philosophical theories. The claim that they put all their property into a common stock is perhaps only a later inference from certain Pythagorean maxims and practices.[61]
Pythagoras, the man in the center with the book, teaching music, in The School of Athens by Raphael
As to the internal arrangements of the sect, we are informed that what was done and taught among the members was kept a profound secret towards all. Porphyry stated that this silence was "of no ordinary kind." Candidates had to pass through a period of probation, in which their powers of maintaining silence (echemythia) were especially tested, as well as their general temper, disposition, and mental capacity.[62] There were also gradations among the members themselves. It was an old Pythagorean maxim, that every thing was not to be told to every body.[63] Thus the Pythagoreans were divided into an inner circle called the mathematikoi ("learners") and an outer circle called the akousmatikoi ("listeners").[64] Iamblichus describes them in terms of esoterikoi and exoterikoi (or alternatively Pythagoreioi and Pythagoristai),[65] according to the degree of intimacy which they enjoyed with Pythagoras. Porphyry wrote "the mathematikoi learned the more detailed and exactly elaborated version of this knowledge, the akousmatikoi (were) those who had heard only the summary headings of his (Pythagoras's) writings, without the more exact exposition." There were ascetic practices (many of which had, perhaps, a symbolic meaning) in the way of life of the sect.[66] Some represent Pythagoras as forbidding all animal food, advocating a plant-based diet, and prohibiting consumption of beans. This may have been due to the doctrine of metempsychosis.[67] Other authorities contradict the statement. According to Aristoxenus,[68] he allowed the use of all kinds of animal food except the flesh of oxen used for ploughing, and rams.[69] There is a similar discrepancy as to the prohibition of fish and beans.[70] But temperance of all kinds seems to have been urged. It is also stated that they had common meals, resembling the Spartan system, at which they met in companies of ten.[71] Considerable importance seems to have been attached to music and gymnastics in the daily exercises of the disciples. Their whole discipline is represented as encouraging a lofty serenity and self-possession, of which, there were various anecdotes in antiquity.[72] Iamblichus (apparently on the authority of Aristoxenus)[73] gives a long description of the daily routine of the members, which suggests many similarities with Sparta. The members of the sect showed a devoted attachment to each other, to the exclusion of those who did not belong to their ranks.[74] There were even stories of secret symbols, by which members of the sect could recognise each other, even if they had never met before.[75]
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Influence
Influence on Plato
Pythagoras, or in a broader sense, the Pythagoreans, allegedly exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. According to R. M. Hare, this influence consists of three points: (1) The platonic Republic might be related to the idea of "a tightly organized community of like-minded thinkers", like the one established by Pythagoras in Croton. (2) There is evidence that Plato possibly took from Pythagoras the idea that mathematics and, generally speaking, abstract thinking is a secure basis for philosophical thinking as well as "for substantial theses in science and morals". (3) Plato and Pythagoras shared a "mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world". It is probable that both were influenced by Orphism.[76]
Pythagoras, depicted as a medieval scholar in the
Aristotle claimed that the philosophy of Plato closely followed the Nuremberg Chronicle teachings of the Pythagoreans,[77] and Cicero repeats this claim: Platonem ferunt didicisse Pythagorea omnia ("They say Plato learned all things Pythagorean").[78] Bertrand Russell, in his A History of Western Philosophy, contended that the influence of Pythagoras on Plato and others was so great that he should be considered the most influential of all Western philosophers.
Influence on esoteric groups

Pythagoras started a secret society called the Pythagorean Brotherhood devoted to the study of mathematics. This had a great effect on future esoteric traditions, such as Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, both of which were scientific/mystical groups dedicated to the study of mathematics/geometry and logical reasoning as opposed to religious dogma. Both Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism have claimed to have evolved out of the Pythagorean Brotherhood. The mystical and occult qualities of Pythagorean mathematics are discussed in a chapter of Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages entitled "Pythagorean Mathematics".[79]
References
[1] "The dates of his life cannot be fixed exactly, but assuming the approximate correctness of the statement of Aristoxenus (ap. Porph. V.P. 9) that he left Samos to escape the tyranny of Polycrates at the age of forty, we may put his birth round about 570 BC, or a few years earlier. The length of his life was variously estimated in antiquity, but it is agreed that he lived to a fairly ripe old age, and most probably he died at about seventy-five or eighty." William Keith Chambers Guthrie, (1978), A history of Greek philosophy, Volume 1: The earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans, page 173. Cambridge University Press [2] Biographies (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ history/ Biographies/ Pythagoras. html) [3] Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, 5.3.89 = Heraclides Ponticus fr. 88 Wehrli, Diogenes Lartius 1.12, 8.8, Iamblichus VP 58. Burkert attempted to discredit this ancient tradition, but it has been defended by C.J. De Vogel, Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism (1966), pp. 97102, and C. Riedweg, Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching, And Influence (2005), p. 92. [4] Iamblichus, Adhort. ad Philos. p. 324, ed. Kiessling. [5] Comp. Herodian, iv. 94, etc. [6] He alludes to it himself, Met. i. 5. p. 986. 12, ed. Bekker. [7] This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Smith, William, ed. (1867). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. [8] Herodotus, iv. 95, Isocrates, Busiris, 289; Later writers called him a Tyrrhenian or Phliasian, and gave Marmacus, or Demaratus, as the name of his father, Diogenes Lartius, viii. 1; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 1, 2; Justin, xx. 4; Pausanias, ii. 13. [9] Riedweg, Christoph (2005). Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching and Influence. Cornell University. pp.56, 59, 73. [10] Apollonius of Tyana ap. Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 2 [11] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 9 [12] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 9
Pythagoras
[13] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 2, Diogenes Lartius, viii. 2 C. Riedweg, S. Rendall (http:/ / books. google. co. uk/ books?id=A8ixyQJA7_MC& pg=PA10& lpg=PA10& dq=teachers+ of+ Pythagoras+ instructors& source=bl& ots=R1Nf9AFGWB& sig=JKF2yU5Gx0pW8ndITfrGlhHpTLU& hl=en& sa=X& ei=jmUyT5ryK4-dOpKE9d8G& sqi=2& ved=0CGUQ6AEwCA#v=onepage& q=teachers of Pythagoras instructors& f=false) ISBN 0-8014-7452-3 Retrieved 2012-02-08 [14] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 9; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 2 [15] Aristoxenus and others in Diogenes Lartius, i. 118, 119; Cicero, de Div. i. 49 [16] Mary Ellen Waithe, Ancient women philosophers, 600 B.C.500 A.D., p. 11 (http:/ / books. google. com. br/ books?id=x7ngECDpxmMC& printsec=frontcover) [17] Malone, John C. (30 June 2009). Psychology: Pythagoras to present (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=e6Qa6cMQj8AC& pg=PA22). MIT Press. p.22. ISBN978-0-262-01296-6. . Retrieved 25 October 2010. [18] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 6 [19] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 2; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 11, 12; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 14, etc. [20] Plutarch, On Isis And Osiris (http:/ / penelope. uchicago. edu/ Thayer/ E/ Roman/ Texts/ Plutarch/ Moralia/ Isis_and_Osiris*/ A. html), ch. 10. [21] Antiphon. ap. Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 7; Isocrates, Busiris, 289; Cicero, de Finibus, v. 27; Strabo, xiv. [22] Herodotus, ii. 134, 135, iii. 39. [23] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 25; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 17; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 3 [24] Ariston. ap. Diogenes Lartius, viii. 8, 21; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 41 [25] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 6, ix. 1, comp. Herodotus, i. 29, ii. 49, iv. 95 [26] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 36, comp. Aristotle, de Anima, i. 3; Herodotus, ii. 123. [27] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 26; Pausanias, ii. 17; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 5; Horace, Od. i. 28,1. 10 [28] Flavius Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana , , trad. F. C. Conybeare, Vol. 2, London, 1912, Book VI, p. 39. [29] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 12 ; Plutarch, Non posse suav. vivi sec. Ep. p. 1094 [30] Porphyry, in Ptol. Harm. p. 213; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 12 [31] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 14 ; Pliny, Hist. Nat. ii. 8 [32] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 12, 14, 32 [33] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 20; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 31, 140; Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 26; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 36. [34] Cicero, de Divin. i. 3, 46; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 29. [35] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 25; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 17; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 3, 13; Cicero, Tusc. Qu. v. 3 [36] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 28; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 9 [37] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 18; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 37, etc. [38] Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 26; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 13; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 8, 91, 141 [39] as Empedocles did afterwards, Aristotle, Rhet. i. 14. 2; Sextus Empiricus, ix. 127. This was also one of the Orphic precepts, Aristoph. Ran. 1032 [40] Aristo ap. Diogenes Lartius, viii. 20; comp. Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 7; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 85, 108 [41] Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vol. ii. p. 148 [42] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 255259; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 5457; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 39; comp. Plutarch, de Gen. Socr. p. 583 [43] Arnob. adv. Gentes, i. p. 23 [44] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 39, 40; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 56; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 249; Plutarch, de Stoic. Rep. 37 [45] Cicero, de Fin. v. 2 [46] There are about 100,000 unpublished cuneiform sources in the British Museum alone. Babylonian knowledge of proof of the Pythagorean Theorem is discussed by J. Hyrup, 'The Pythagorean "Rule" and "Theorem" Mirror of the Relation between Babylonian and Greek Mathematics,' in: J. Renger (red.): Babylon. Focus mesopotamischer Geschichte, Wiege frher Gelehrsamkeit, Mythos in der Moderne (1999). [47] From Christoph Riedweg , Pythagoras, His Life, Teaching and Influence, Cornell: Cornell University Press, 2005: "Had Pythagoras and his teachings not been since the early Academy overwritten with Plato's philosophy, and had this 'palimpsest' not in the course of the Roman Empire achieved unchallenged authority among Platonists, it would be scarcely conceivable that scholars from the Middle Ages and modernity down to the present would have found the Presocratic charismatic from Samos so fascinating. In fact, as a rule it was the image of Pythagoras elaborated by Neopythagoreans and Neoplatonists that determined the idea of what was Pythagorean over the centuries." [48] Weiss, Piero, and Richard Taruskin, eds. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. 2nd ed. N.p.: Thomson Schirmer, 1984. 3. Print. [49] Christensen, Thomas, ed. The Cambridge history of Western music theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 143. Print. (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=ioa9uW2t7AQC& pg=PA143& lpg=PA143& dq=pythagoras+ hammers+ myth& source=bl& ots=wtLXShWfVQ& sig=LlyPLjIoE0O25ieAj9-2h7J1Qq8& hl=en& ei=itsgTduSB8L7lwf6os3UCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=4& ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage& q=pythagoras hammers myth& f=false) [50] Christoph Riedweg, Pythagoras: His Life, Teaching and Influence, Cornell: Cornell University Press, 2005 . [51] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 34 [52] Aulus Gellius, iv. 11 [53] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 36 [54] See Antoine Faivre, in The Eternal Hermes (1995)
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Pythagoras
[55] Huffman, Carl. Pythagoras (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ pythagoras/ #PytWon) [56] Brewer, E. Cobham, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (http:/ / www. infoplease. com/ dictionary/ brewers/ golden-thigh. html) [57] Brewer, E. Cobham, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (http:/ / www. infoplease. com/ dictionary/ brewers/ pythagoras. html) [58] Plato, Republic, 600a, Isocrates, Busiris, 28 [59] John Dillon and Jackson Hershbell, (1991), Iamblichus, On the Pythagorean Way of Life, page 14. Scholars Press.; D. J. O'Meara, (1989), Pythagoras Revived. Mathematics and Philosophy in Late Antiquity, pages 3540. Clarendon Press. [60] Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 19 [61] comp. Cicero, de Leg. i. 12, de Off. i. 7; Diogenes Lartius, viii. 10 [62] Aristonexus ap. Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 94 [63] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 15; Aristonexus ap. Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 31 [64] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 80, cf. Aulus Gellius, i. 9 [65] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 80 [66] comp. Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 32; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 96, etc. [67] Plutarch, de Esu Carn. pp. 993, 996, 997 [68] Aristoxenus ap. Diogenes Lartius, viii. 20 [69] comp. Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 7; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 85, 108 [70] Diogenes Lartius, viii. 19, 34; Aulus Gellius, iv. 11; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 34, de Abst. i. 26; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 98 [71] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 98; Strabo, vi. [72] Athenaeus, xiv. 623; Aelian, Varia Historia, xiv. 18; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 197 [73] Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 96101 [74] Aristonexus ap. Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 94, 101, etc., 229, etc.; comp. the story of Damon and Phintias; Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 60; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 233, etc. [75] Scholion ad Aristophanes, Nub. 611; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 237, 238 [76] R.M. Hare, Plato in C.C.W. Taylor, R.M. Hare and Jonathan Barnes, Greek Philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 (1982), 103189, here 1179. [77] Metaphysics, 1.6.1 (987a) [78] Tusc. Disput. 1.17.39. [79] Hall, Manly The Secrets Teaching of All Ages Tarcher Penguin 2003 pages 191221.
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Sources
Classical secondary sources
Only a few relevant source texts deal with Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, most are available in different translations. Other texts usually build solely on information in these works. Diogenes Lartius, Vitae philosophorum VIII (Lives of Eminent Philosophers), c. 200 AD, which in turn references the lost work Successions of Philosophers by Alexander Polyhistor Life of Pythagoras, translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925). Porphyry, Vita Pythagorae (Life of Pythagoras), c. 270 AD Porphyry, Life of Pythagoras (http://www.ccel. org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_life_of_pythagoras_02_text.htm), translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie (1920) Iamblichus, De Vita Pythagorica (On the Pythagorean Life), c. 300 AD Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras (http:/ /www.completepythagoras.net/mainframeset.html), translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie (1920) Apuleius also writes about Pythagoras in Apologia, c. 150 AD, including a story of him being taught by Babylonian disciples of Zoroaster Hierocles of Alexandria, Golden Verses of Pythagoras, c. 430 AD
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Modern secondary sources

Burkert, Walter. Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism. Harvard University Press, June 1, 1972. ISBN 0-674-53918-4 Burnyeat, M. F. "The Truth about Pythagoras" (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n04/burn02_.html). London Review of Books, 22 February 2007. Guthrie, W. K. A History of Greek Philosophy: Earlier Presocratics and the Pythagoreans, Cambridge University Press, 1979. ISBN 0-521-29420-7 Kingsley, Peter. Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and the Pythagorean Tradition. Oxford University Press, 1995. Hermann, Arnold. To Think Like God: Pythagoras and Parmenidesthe Origins of Philosophy. Parmenides Publishing, 2005. ISBN 978-1-930972-00-1 O'Meara, Dominic J. Pythagoras Revived. Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-19-823913-0 (paperback), ISBN 0-19-824485-1 (hardcover)
External links
Pythagoras (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p693b) on In Our Time at the BBC. ( listen now (http:// www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00p693b/In_Our_Time_Pythagoras)) Pythagoras (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoras) entry by Carl Huffman in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Pythagoras of Samos (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Pythagoras.html), The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, Fragments and Commentary (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/presoc/ pythagor.html), Arthur Fairbanks Hanover Historical Texts Project, Hanover College Department of History Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans (http://www.math.tamu.edu/~don.allen/history/pythag/pythag.html), Department of Mathematics, Texas A&M University Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12587b.htm), The Catholic Encyclopedia Tetraktys (http://www.organelle.org/organelle/tetra/tetraktys.html) Golden Verses of Pythagoras (http://pythagoras.name/golden_verses_of_pythagoras.html) Pythagoras on Vegetarianism (http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-antiquity/pythagoras.htm) Quotes from primary source historical literature on Pythagoras' view on Vegetarianism, Justice and Kindness Homage to Pythagoras (http://users.ucom.net/~vegan/) Occult conception of Pythagoreanism (http://web.archive.org/web/20091027110142/http://geocities.com/ go_darkness/god-pythagorean-pentacle.html) Pythagoreanism Web Article (http://cyberspacei.com/jesusi/inlight/philosophy/western/Pythagoreanism. htm) Wandering Souls: The Doctrine of Transmigration in Pythagorean Philosophy (http://luchte.wordpress.com/ wandering-souls-the-doctrine-of-transmigration-in-pythagorean-philosophy/), by Dr. James Luchte 45-minute documentary (http://freedocumentaries.net/media/164/Pythagoras/) about Pythagoras Io and Pi theatrical play on Pythagoras' life (http://www.regolish.com/Plays.htm) The Symbols (http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gvp/gvp11.htm) of Pythagoras at The Sacred Texts online
Pythagorean theorem
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Pythagorean theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras' theorem is a relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle (right-angled triangle). In terms of areas, it states: In any right-angled triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle). The theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often called the Pythagorean equation:[1]
The Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c).
where c represents the length of the hypotenuse, and a and b represent the lengths of the other two sides.
The Pythagorean theorem is named after the Greek mathematician Pythagoras (ca. 570 BCca. 495 BC), who by tradition is credited with its discovery and proof,[2][3] although it is often argued that knowledge of the theorem predates him. There is evidence that Babylonian mathematicians understood the formula, although there is little surviving evidence that they used it in a mathematical framework.[4][5] The theorem has numerous proofs, possibly the most of any mathematical theorem. These are very diverse, including both geometric proofs and algebraic proofs, with some dating back thousands of years. The theorem can be generalized in various ways, including higher-dimensional spaces, to spaces that are not Euclidean, to objects that are not right triangles, and indeed, to objects that are not triangles at all, but n-dimensional solids. The Pythagorean theorem has attracted interest outside mathematics as a symbol of mathematical abstruseness, mystique, or intellectual power; popular references in literature, plays, musicals, songs, stamps and cartoons abound.
Other forms
As pointed out in the introduction, if c denotes the length of the hypotenuse and a and b denote the lengths of the other two sides, the Pythagorean theorem can be expressed as the Pythagorean equation:
If the length of both a and b are known, then c can be calculated as follows:
If the length of hypotenuse c and one leg (a or b) are known, then the length of the other leg can be calculated with the following equations:
or
The Pythagorean equation relates the sides of a right triangle in a simple way, so that if the lengths of any two sides are known the length of the third side can be found. Another corollary of the theorem is that in any right triangle, the hypotenuse is greater than any one of the legs, but less than the sum of them. A generalization of this theorem is the law of cosines, which allows the computation of the length of the third side of any triangle, given the lengths of two sides and the size of the angle between them. If the angle between the sides is a right angle, the law of cosines reduces to the Pythagorean equation.
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Proofs
This theorem may have more known proofs than any other (the law of quadratic reciprocity being another contender for that distinction); the book The Pythagorean Proposition contains 370 proofs.[6]
Proof using similar triangles

This proof is based on the proportionality of the sides of two similar triangles, that is, upon the fact that the ratio of any two corresponding sides of similar triangles is the same regardless of the size of the triangles. Let ABC represent a right triangle, with the right angle located at C, as shown on the figure. We draw the altitude from point C, and call H its intersection with the side AB. Point H divides the length of the hypotenuse c into parts d and e. The new triangle ACH is similar to triangle ABC, because they both have a right angle (by definition of the Proof using similar triangles altitude), and they share the angle at A, meaning that the third angle will be the same in both triangles as well, marked as in the figure. By a similar reasoning, the triangle CBH is also similar to ABC. The proof of similarity of the triangles requires the Triangle postulate: the sum of the angles in a triangle is two right angles, and is equivalent to the parallel postulate. Similarity of the triangles leads to the equality of ratios of corresponding sides:
The first result equates the cosine of each angle and the second result equates the sines. These ratios can be written as:
Summing these two equalities, we obtain
which, tidying up, is the Pythagorean theorem:
The role of this proof in history is the subject of much speculation. The underlying question is why Euclid did not use this proof, but invented another. One conjecture is that the proof by similar triangles involved a theory of proportions, a topic not discussed until later in the Elements, and that the theory of proportions needed further development at that time.[7][8]
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Euclid's proof
In outline, here is how the proof in Euclid's Elements proceeds. The large square is divided into a left and right rectangle. A triangle is constructed that has half the area of the left rectangle. Then another triangle is constructed that has half the area of the square on the left-most side. These two triangles are shown to be congruent, proving this square has the same area as the left rectangle. This argument is followed by a similar version for the right rectangle and the remaining square. Putting the two rectangles together to reform the square on the hypotenuse, its area is the same as the sum of the area of the other two squares. The details are next. Let A, B, C be the vertices of a right triangle, with a right angle at A. Drop a perpendicular from A to the side opposite the hypotenuse in the square on the hypotenuse. That line divides the square on the hypotenuse into two rectangles, each having the same area as one of the two squares on the legs. For the formal proof, we require four elementary lemmata: 1. If two triangles have two sides of the one equal to two sides of the other, each to each, and the angles included by those sides equal, then the triangles are congruent (side-angle-side). 2. The area of a triangle is half the area of any parallelogram on the same base and having the same altitude. 3. The area of a rectangle is equal to the product of two adjacent sides. 4. The area of a square is equal to the product of two of its sides (follows from 3). Next, each top square is related to a triangle congruent with another triangle related in turn to one of two rectangles making up the lower square.[9] The proof is as follows: 1. Let ACB be a right-angled triangle with right angle CAB. 2. On each of the sides BC, AB, and CA, squares are drawn, CBDE, BAGF, and ACIH, in that order. The construction of squares requires the immediately preceding theorems in Euclid, and depends upon the parallel postulate.[10] 3. From A, draw a line parallel to BD and CE. It will perpendicularly intersect BC and DE at K and L, respectively. 4. Join CF and AD, to form the triangles BCF and BDA. 5. Angles CAB and BAG are both right angles; therefore C, A, and G are collinear. Similarly for B, A, and H. 6. Angles CBD and FBA are both right angles; therefore angle ABD Illustration including the new lines equals angle FBC, since both are the sum of a right angle and angle ABC. 7. Since AB is equal to FB and BD is equal to BC, triangle ABD must be congruent to triangle FBC. 8. Since A-K-L is a straight line, parallel to BD, then rectangle BDLK has twice the area of triangle ABD because they share the base BD and have the same altitude BK, i.e., a line normal to their common base, connecting the parallel lines BD and AL. (lemma 2)
Proof in Euclid's Elements
Pythagorean theorem 9. Since C is collinear with A and G, square BAGF must be twice in area to triangle FBC. 10. Therefore rectangle BDLK must have the same area as square BAGF = AB2. 11. Similarly, it can be shown that rectangle CKLE must have the same area as square ACIH = AC2. 12. Adding these two results, AB2 + AC2 = BD BK + KL KC 13. Since BD = KL, BD BK + KL KC = BD(BK + KC) = BD BC 14. Therefore AB2 + AC2 = BC2, since CBDE is a square. This proof, which appears in Euclid's Elements as that of Proposition47 in Book1,[11] demonstrates that the area of the square on the hypotenuse is the sum of the areas of the other two squares.[12] This is quite distinct from the proof by similarity of triangles, which is conjectured to be the proof that Pythagoras used.[8][13]
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Showing the two congruent triangles of half the area of rectangle BDLK and square BAGF
Proof by rearrangement
The leftmost animation consists of a large square, side a + b, containing four identical right triangles. The triangles are shown in two arrangements, the first of which leaves two squares a2 and b2 uncovered, the second of which leaves square c2 uncovered. The area encompassed by the outer square never changes, and the area of the four triangles is the same at the beginning and the end, so the black square areas must be equal, therefore a2 + b2 = c2. A second proof is given by the middle animation. A large square is formed with area c2, from four identical right triangles with sides a, b and c, fitted around a small central square. Then two rectangles are formed with sides a and b by moving the triangles. Combining the smaller square with these rectangles produces two squares of areas a2 and b2, which must have the same area as the initial large square.[14] The third, rightmost image also gives a proof. The upper two squares are divided as shown by the blue and green shading, into pieces that when rearranged can be made to fit in the lower square on the hypotenuse or conversely the large square can be divided as shown into pieces that fill the other two. This shows the area of the large square equals that of the two smaller ones.[15]
Animation showing proof by rearrangement of four identical right triangles
Animation showing another proof by rearrangement
Proof using an elaborate rearrangement
Pythagorean theorem
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Algebraic proofs
The theorem can be proved algebraically using four copies of a right triangle with sides a, b and c, arranged inside a square with side c as in the top half of the diagram.[16] The triangles are similar with area , while the small square has side b a and area (b a)2. The area of the large square is therefore
But this is a square with side c and area c2, so
A similar proof uses four copies of the same triangle arranged symmetrically around a square with side c, as shown in the lower part of the diagram.[17] This results in a larger square, with side a + b and area (a + b)2. The four triangles and the square side c must have the same area as the larger square,
giving
Diagram of the two algebraic proofs
A related proof was published by former U.S. President James A. Garfield.[18][19] Instead of a square it uses a trapezoid, which can be constructed from the square in the second of the above proofs by bisecting along a diagonal of the inner square, to give the trapezoid as shown in the diagram. The area of the trapezoid can be calculated to be half the area of the square, that is
The inner square is similarly halved, and there are only two triangles so the proof proceeds as above except for a factor of two to give the result. , which is removed by multiplying by
Diagram of Garfield's proof
Pythagorean theorem
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Proof using differentials

One can arrive at the Pythagorean theorem by studying how changes in a side produce a change in the hypotenuse and employing calculus.[20][21][22] The triangle ABC is a right triangle, as shown in the upper part of the diagram, with BC the hypotenuse. At the same time the triangle lengths are measured as shown, with the hypotenuse of length y, the side AC of length x and the side AB of length a, as seen in the lower diagram part. If x is increased by a small amount dx by extending the side AC slightly to D, then y also increases by dy. These form two sides of a triangle, CDE, which (with E chosen so CE is perpendicular to the hypotenuse) is a right triangle approximately similar to ABC. Therefore the ratios of their sides must be the same, that is:
This can be rewritten as follows:
This is a differential equation which is solved to give
And the constant can be deduced from x = 0, y = a to give the equation
This is more of an intuitive proof than a formal one: it can be made more rigorous if proper limits are used in place of dx and dy.
Diagram for differential proof
Converse
The converse of the theorem is also true:[23] For any three positive numbers a, b, and c such that a2 + b2 = c2, there exists a triangle with sides a, b and c, and every such triangle has a right angle between the sides of lengths a and b. An alternative statement is: For any triangle with sides a, b, c, if a2 + b2 = c2, then the angle between a and b measures 90. This converse also appears in Euclid's Elements (Book I, Proposition 48):[24] "If in a triangle the square on one of the sides equals the sum of the squares on the remaining two sides of the triangle, then the angle contained by the remaining two sides of the triangle is right." It can be proven using the law of cosines or as follows: Let ABC be a triangle with side lengths a, b, and c, with a2 + b2 = c2. Construct a second triangle with sides of length a and b containing a right angle. By the Pythagorean theorem, it follows that the hypotenuse of this triangle has length c = a2 + b2, the same as the hypotenuse of the first triangle. Since both triangles' sides are the same lengths a, b and c, the triangles are congruent and must have the same angles. Therefore, the angle between the side of lengths a and b in the original triangle is a right angle. The above proof of the converse makes use of the Pythagorean Theorem itself. The converse can also be proven without assuming the Pythagorean Theorem.[25][26]
Pythagorean theorem A corollary of the Pythagorean theorem's converse is a simple means of determining whether a triangle is right, obtuse, or acute, as follows. Let c be chosen to be the longest of the three sides and a + b > c (otherwise there is no triangle according to the triangle inequality). The following statements apply:[27] If a2 + b2 = c2, then the triangle is right. If a2 + b2 > c2, then the triangle is acute. If a2 + b2 < c2, then the triangle is obtuse. Edsger Dijkstra has stated this proposition about acute, right, and obtuse triangles in this language: sgn( + ) = sgn(a2 + b2 c2), where is the angle opposite to side a, is the angle opposite to side b, is the angle opposite to side c, and sgn is the sign function.[28]
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Consequences and uses of the theorem

Pythagorean triples
A Pythagorean triple has three positive integers a, b, and c, such that a2 + b2 = c2. In other words, a Pythagorean triple represents the lengths of the sides of a right triangle where all three sides have integer lengths.[1] Evidence from megalithic monuments in Northern Europe shows that such triples were known before the discovery of writing. Such a triple is commonly written (a, b, c). Some well-known examples are (3, 4, 5) and (5, 12, 13). A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which a, b and c are coprime (the greatest common divisor of a, b and c is 1). The following is a list of primitive Pythagorean triples with values less than 100: (3, 4, 5), (5, 12, 13), (7, 24, 25), (8, 15, 17), (9, 40, 41), (11, 60, 61), (12, 35, 37), (13, 84, 85), (16, 63, 65), (20, 21, 29), (28, 45, 53), (33, 56, 65), (36, 77, 85), (39, 80, 89), (48, 55, 73), (65, 72, 97)
Incommensurable lengths
One of the consequences of the Pythagorean theorem is that line segments whose lengths are incommensurable (so the ratio of which is not a rational number) can be constructed using a straightedge and compass. Pythagoras' theorem enables construction of incommensurable lengths because the hypotenuse of a triangle is related to the sides by the square root operation. The figure on the right shows how to construct line segments whose lengths are in the ratio of the square root of any positive integer.[29] Each triangle has a side (labeled "1") that is the chosen unit for measurement. In each right triangle, Pythagoras' theorem establishes the length of the hypotenuse in terms of this unit. If a hypotenuse is related to the unit by the square root of a positive integer that is not a perfect square, it is a realization of a length incommensurable with the unit, such as 2, 3, 5. For more detail, see Quadratic irrational.
The spiral of Theodorus: A construction for line segments with lengths whose ratios are the square root of a positive integer
Incommensurable lengths conflicted with the Pythagorean school's concept of numbers as only whole numbers. The Pythagorean school dealt with proportions by comparison of integer multiples of a common subunit.[30] According to one legend, Hippasus of Metapontum (ca. 470B.C.) was drowned at sea for making known the existence of the irrational or incommensurable.[31][32]
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Complex numbers
For any complex number
the absolute value or modulus is given by
So the three quantities, r, x and y are related by the Pythagorean equation,
Note that r is defined to be a positive number or zero but x and y can be negative as well as positive. Geometrically r is the distance of the z from zero or the origin O in the complex plane. This can be generalised to find the distance between two points, z1 and z2 say. The required distance is given by
so again they are related by a version of the Pythagorean equation,
The absolute value of a complex number z is the distance r from z to the origin
Euclidean distance in various coordinate systems

The distance formula in Cartesian coordinates is derived from the Pythagorean theorem.[33] If (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are points in the plane, then the distance between them, also called the Euclidean distance, is given by
More generally, in Euclidean n-space, the Euclidean distance between two points, , is defined, by generalization of the Pythagorean theorem, as:
and
If Cartesian coordinates are not used, for example, if polar coordinates are used in two dimensions or, in more general terms, if curvilinear coordinates are used, the formulas expressing the Euclidean distance are more complicated than the Pythagorean theorem, but can be derived from it. A typical example where the straight-line distance between two points is converted to curvilinear coordinates can be found in the applications of Legendre polynomials in physics. The formulas can be discovered by using Pythagoras' theorem with the equations relating the curvilinear coordinates to Cartesian coordinates. For example, the polar coordinates (r, ) can be introduced as:
Then two points with locations (r1, 1) and (r2, 2) are separated by a distance s: Performing the squares and combining terms, the Pythagorean formula for distance in Cartesian coordinates produces the separation in polar coordinates as:
Pythagorean theorem using the trigonometric product-to-sum formulas. This formula is the law of cosines, sometimes called the Generalized Pythagorean Theorem.[34] From this result, for the case where the radii to the two locations are at right angles, the enclosed angle = /2, and the form corresponding to Pythagoras' theorem is regained: The Pythagorean theorem, valid for right triangles, therefore is a special case of the more general law of cosines, valid for arbitrary triangles.
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Pythagorean trigonometric identity

In a right triangle with sides a, b and hypotenuse c, trigonometry determines the sine and cosine of the angle between side a and the hypotenuse as:
From that it follows:
where the last step applies Pythagoras' theorem. This relation between sine and cosine sometimes is called the fundamental Pythagorean Similar right triangles showing sine and cosine of trigonometric identity.[35] In similar triangles, the ratios of the sides are angle the same regardless of the size of the triangles, and depend upon the angles. Consequently, in the figure, the triangle with hypotenuse of unit size has opposite side of size sin and adjacent side of size cos in units of the hypotenuse.
Relation to the cross product

The Pythagorean theorem relates the cross product and dot product in a similar way:[36]
This can be seen from the definitions of the cross product and dot product, as
with n a unit vector normal to both a and b. The relationship follows from these definitions and the Pythagorean trigonometric identity. This can also be used to define the cross product. By rearranging the following equation is obtained
The area of a parallelogram as a cross product; vectors a and b identify a plane and a b is normal to this plane.
This can be considered as a condition on the cross product and so part of its definition, for example in seven dimensions.[37][38]
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Generalizations
Similar figures on the three sides
A generalization of the Pythagorean theorem extending beyond the areas of squares on the three sides to similar figures was known by Hippocrates of Chios in the fifth century BCE,[39] and was included by Euclid in his Elements:[40] If one erects similar figures (see Euclidean geometry) with corresponding sides on the sides of a right triangle, then the sum of the areas of the ones on the two smaller sides equals the area of the one on the larger side. This extension assumes that the sides of the original triangle are the corresponding sides of the three congruent figures (so the common ratios of sides between the similar figures are a:b:c.[41] While Euclid's proof only applied to convex polygons, the theorem also applies to concave polygons and even to similar figures that have curved boundaries (but still with part of a figure's boundary being the side of the original triangle).[41] The basic idea behind this generalization is that the area of a plane figure is proportional to the square of any linear dimension, and in particular is proportional to the square of the length of any side. Thus, if similar figures with areas A, B and C are erected on sides with corresponding lengths a, b and c then:
But, by the Pythagorean theorem, a2 + b2 = c2, so A + B = C. Conversely, if we can prove that A + B = C for three similar figures without using the Pythagorean theorem, then we can work backwards to construct a proof of the theorem. For example, the starting center triangle can be replicated and used as a triangle C on its hypotenuse, and two similar right triangles (A and B ) constructed on the other two sides, formed by dividing the central triangle by its altitude. The sum of the areas of the two smaller triangles therefore is that of the third, thus A + B = C and reversing the above logic leads to the Pythagorean theorem a2 + b2 = c2.
Pythagoras' theorem using similar right triangles Generalization for similar triangles, green area A + B = blue area C Generalization for regular pentagons
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Law of cosines
The Pythagorean theorem is a special case of the more general theorem relating the lengths of sides in any triangle, the law of cosines:[42]
where is the angle between sides a and b. When is 90 degrees, then cos = 0, and the formula reduces to the usual Pythagorean theorem.
The separation s of two points (r1, 1) and (r2, 2) in polar coordinates is given by the law of cosines. Interior angle = 12.
Arbitrary triangle
At any selected angle of a general triangle of sides a, b, c, inscribe an isosceles triangle such that the equal angles at its base are the same as the selected angle. Suppose the selected angle is opposite the side labeled c. Inscribing the isosceles triangle forms triangle ABD with angle opposite side a and with side r along c. A second triangle is formed with angle opposite side b and a side with length s along c, as shown in the figure. Tbit ibn Qorra[44] stated that the sides of the three triangles were related as:[45][46]
As the angle approaches /2, the base of the isosceles triangle narrows, and lengths r and s overlap less and less. When = /2, ADB becomes a right triangle, r + s = c, and the original Pythagoras' theorem is regained. One proof observes that triangle ABC has the same angles as triangle ABD, but in opposite order. (The two triangles share the angle at vertex B, both contain the angle , and so also have the same third angle by the triangle postulate.) Consequently, ABC is similar to the reflection of ABD, the triangle DBA in the lower panel. Taking the ratio of sides opposite and adjacent to ,
Generalization of Pythagoras' theorem by Tbit [43] ibn Qorra. Lower panel: reflection of triangle ABD (top) to form triangle DBA, similar to triangle ABC (top).
Likewise, for the reflection of the other triangle,
Clearing fractions and adding these two relations:
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the required result.
General triangles using parallelograms

A further generalization applies to triangles that are not right triangles, using parallelograms on the three sides in place of squares.[47] (Squares are a special case, of course.) The upper figure shows that for a scalene triangle, the area of the parallelogram on the longest side is the sum of the areas of the parallelograms on the other two sides, provided the parallelogram on the long side is constructed as indicated (the dimensions labeled with arrows are the same, and determine the sides of the bottom parallelogram). This replacement of squares with parallelograms bears a clear resemblance to the original Pythagoras' theorem, and was considered a generalization by Pappus of Alexandria in 4A.D.[47] The lower figure shows the elements of the proof. Focus on the left side of the figure. The left green parallelogram has the same area as the left, blue portion of the bottom parallelogram because both have the same base b and height h. However, the left green parallelogram also has the same area as the left green parallelogram of the upper figure, because they have the same base (the upper left side of the triangle) and the same height normal to that side of the triangle. Repeating the argument for the right side of the figure, the bottom parallelogram has the same area as the sum of the two green parallelograms.
Generalization for arbitrary triangles, green area = blue area
Construction for proof of parallelogram generalization
Solid geometry
In terms of solid geometry, Pythagoras' theorem can be applied to three dimensions as follows. Consider a rectangular solid as shown in the figure. The length of diagonal BD is found from Pythagoras' theorem as:
where these three sides form a right triangle. Using horizontal diagonal BD and the vertical edge AB, the length of diagonal AD then is found by a second application of Pythagoras' theorem as:
Pythagoras' theorem in three dimensions relates the diagonal AD to the three sides.
or, doing it all in one step:
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This result is the three-dimensional expression for the magnitude of a vector v (the diagonal AD) in terms of its orthogonal components {vk} (the three mutually perpendicular sides):
This one-step formulation may be viewed as a generalization of Pythagoras' theorem to higher dimensions. However, this result is really just the repeated application of the original Pythagoras' theorem to a succession of right triangles in a sequence of orthogonal planes. A substantial generalization of the Pythagorean theorem to three dimensions is de Gua's theorem, named for Jean Paul de Gua de A tetrahedron with outward facing right-angle corner Malves: If a tetrahedron has a right angle corner (a corner like a cube), then the square of the area of the face opposite the right angle corner is the sum of the squares of the areas of the other three faces. This result can be generalized as in the "n-dimensional Pythagorean theorem":[48] Let be orthogonal vectors in n. Consider the n-dimensional simplex S with vertices . (Think of the (n1)-dimensional simplex with vertices not including the origin
as the "hypotenuse" of S and the remaining (n1)-dimensional faces of S as its "legs".) Then the square of the volume of the hypotenuse of S is the sum of the squares of the volumes of the n legs. This statement is illustrated in three dimensions by the tetrahedron in the figure. The "hypotenuse" is the base of the tetrahedron at the back of the figure, and the "legs" are the three sides emanating from the vertex in the foreground. As the depth of the base from the vertex increases, the area of the "legs" increases, while that of the base is fixed. The theorem suggests that when this depth is at the value creating a right vertex, the generalization of Pythagoras' theorem applies. In a different wording:[49] Given an n-rectangular n-dimensional simplex, the square of the (n1)-content of the facet opposing the right vertex will equal the sum of the squares of the (n1)-contents of the remaining facets.
Inner product spaces

The Pythagorean theorem can be generalized to inner product spaces,[50] which are generalizations of the familiar 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional Euclidean spaces. For example, a function may be considered as a vector with infinitely many components in an inner product space, as in functional analysis.[51] In an inner product space, the concept of perpendicularity is replaced by the concept of orthogonality: two vectors v and w are orthogonal if their inner product is zero. The inner product is a
Vectors involved in the parallelogram law
generalization of the dot product of vectors. The dot product is called the standard inner product or the Euclidean inner product. However, other inner products are possible.[52] The concept of length is replaced by the concept of the norm ||v|| of a vector v, defined as:[53]
In an inner-product space, the Pythagorean theorem states that for any two orthogonal vectors v and w we have
Pythagorean theorem Here the vectors v and w are akin to the sides of a right triangle with hypotenuse given by the vector sum v+w. This form of the Pythagorean theorem is a consequence of the properties of the inner product:
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where the inner products of the cross terms are zero, because of orthogonality. A further generalization of the Pythagorean theorem in an inner product space to non-orthogonal vectors is the parallelogram law :[53]
which says that twice the sum of the squares of the lengths of the sides of a parallelogram is the sum of the squares of the lengths of the diagonals. Any norm that satisfies this equality is ipso facto a norm corresponding to an inner product.[53] The Pythagorean identity can be extended to sums of more than two orthogonal vectors. If v1, v2, ..., vn are pairwise-orthogonal vectors in an inner-product space, then application of the Pythagorean theorem to successive pairs of these vectors (as described for 3-dimensions in the section on solid geometry) results in the equation[54]
Parseval's identity is a further generalization that considers infinite sums of orthogonal vectors. For the inner product (B is a Hermitian positive-definite matrix and u* the conjugate transpose of u) the Pythagorean theorem is:
where P is a projection which satisfies:
The linear map:
then is an orthogonal projection.
Non-Euclidean geometry
The Pythagorean theorem is derived from the axioms of Euclidean geometry, and in fact, the Pythagorean theorem given above does not hold in a non-Euclidean geometry.[55] (The Pythagorean theorem has been shown, in fact, to be equivalent to Euclid's Parallel (Fifth) Postulate.[56][57]) In other words, in non-Euclidean geometry, the relation between the sides of a triangle must necessarily take a non-Pythagorean form. For example, in spherical geometry, all three sides of the right triangle (say a, b, and c) bounding an octant of the unit sphere have length equal to /2, and all its angles are right angles, which violates the Pythagorean theorem because a2 + b2 c2. Here two cases of non-Euclidean geometry are consideredspherical geometry and hyperbolic plane geometry; in each case, as in the Euclidean case for non-right triangles, the result replacing the Pythagorean theorem follows from the appropriate law of cosines. However, the Pythagorean theorem remains true in hyperbolic geometry and elliptic geometry if the condition that the triangle be right is replaced with the condition that two of the angles sum to the third, say A+B = C. The sides are then related as follows: the sum of the areas of the circles with diameters a and b equals the area of the circle with diameter c.[58]
Pythagorean theorem Spherical geometry For any right triangle on a sphere of radius R (for example, if in the figure is a right angle), with sides a, b, c, the relation between the sides takes the form:[59]
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This equation can be derived as a special case of the spherical law of cosines that applies to all spherical triangles:
Spherical triangle
By using the Maclaurin series for the cosine function, cos x 1 x2/2, it can be shown that as the radius R approaches infinity and the arguments a/R, b/R and c/R tend to zero, the spherical relation between the sides of a right triangle approaches the form of Pythagoras' theorem. Substituting the approximate quadratic for each of the cosines in the spherical relation for a right triangle:
Multiplying out the bracketed quantities, Pythagoras' theorem is recovered for large radii R:
where the higher order terms become negligibly small as R becomes large. Hyperbolic geometry For a right triangle in hyperbolic geometry with sides a, b, c and with side c opposite a right angle, the relation between the sides takes the form:[60]
where cosh is the hyperbolic cosine. This formula is a special form of the hyperbolic law of cosines that applies to all hyperbolic triangles:[61]
with the angle at the vertex opposite the side c.
Hyperbolic triangle
By using the Maclaurin series for the hyperbolic cosine, cosh x 1 + x2/2, it can be shown that as a hyperbolic triangle becomes very small (that is, as a, b, and c all approach zero), the hyperbolic relation for a right triangle approaches the form of Pythagoras' theorem.
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Differential geometry
On an infinitesimal level, in three dimensional space, Pythagoras' theorem describes the distance between two infinitesimally separated points as:
with ds the element of distance and (dx, dy, dz) the components of the vector separating the two points. Such a space is called a Euclidean space. However, a generalization of this expression useful for general coordinates (not just Cartesian) and general spaces (not just Euclidean) takes the form:[62]
where gij is called the metric tensor. It may be a function of position. Such curved spaces include Riemannian geometry as a general example. This formulation also applies to a Euclidean space when using curvilinear coordinates. For example, in polar coordinates:
Distance between infinitesimally separated points in Cartesian coordinates (top) and polar coordinates (bottom), as given by Pythagoras' theorem
History
There is debate whether the Pythagorean theorem was discovered once, or many times in many places. The history of the theorem can be divided into four parts: knowledge of Pythagorean triples, knowledge of the relationship among the sides of a right triangle, knowledge of the relationships among adjacent angles, and proofs of the theorem within some deductive system. Bartel Leendert van der Waerden (19031996) conjectured that Pythagorean triples were discovered algebraically by the The Plimpton 322 tablet records Pythagorean [4] Babylonians.[63] Written between 2000 and 1786BC, the Middle triples from Babylonian times. Kingdom Egyptian papyrus Berlin 6619 includes a problem whose solution is the Pythagorean triple 6:8:10, but the problem does not mention a triangle. The Mesopotamian tablet Plimpton 322, written between 1790 and 1750BC during the reign of Hammurabi the Great, contains many entries closely related to Pythagorean triples. In India, the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, the dates of which are given variously as between the 8th century BC and the 2nd century BC, contains a list of Pythagorean triples discovered algebraically, a statement of the Pythagorean theorem, and a geometrical proof of the Pythagorean theorem for an isosceles right triangle. The Apastamba Sulba Sutra (ca. 600BC) contains a numerical proof of the general Pythagorean theorem, using an area computation. Van der Waerden believed that "it was certainly based on earlier traditions". Boyer (1991) thinks the elements found in the ulba-stram may be of Mesopotamian derivation.[64]
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With contents known much earlier, but in surviving texts dating from roughly the first century BC, the Chinese text Zhou Bi Suan Jing ( ), (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven) gives a reasoning for the Pythagorean theorem for the (3, 4, 5) trianglein China it is called the "Gougu Theorem" ( ).[65][66] During the Han Dynasty (202BC to 220AD), Pythagorean triples appear in The Nine Chapters on the Geometric proof of the Pythagorean theorem from the Zhou Bi Suan Mathematical Art,[67] together with a mention of right Jing. [68] triangles. Some believe the theorem arose first in China,[69] where it is alternatively known as the "Shang Gao Theorem" ( ),[70] named after the Duke of Zhou's astronomer and mathematician, whose reasoning composed most of what was in the Zhou Bi Suan Jing.[71] Pythagoras, whose dates are commonly given as 569475BC, used algebraic methods to construct Pythagorean triples, according to Proclus's commentary on Euclid. Proclus, however, wrote between 410 and 485AD. According to Sir Thomas L. Heath (18611940), no specific attribution of the theorem to Pythagoras exists in the surviving Greek literature from the five centuries after Pythagoras lived.[72] However, when authors such as Plutarch and Cicero attributed the theorem to Pythagoras, they did so in a way which suggests that the attribution was widely known and undoubted.[3][73] "Whether this formula is rightly attributed to Pythagoras personally, [...] one can safely assume that it belongs to the very oldest period of Pythagorean mathematics."[32] Around 400BC, according to Proclus, Plato gave a method for finding Pythagorean triples that combined algebra and geometry. Around 300BC, in Euclid's Elements, the oldest extant axiomatic proof of the theorem is presented.[74]
In popular culture
The Pythagorean theorem has arisen in popular culture in a variety of ways. A verse of the Major-General's Song in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, "About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news, With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse", makes an oblique reference to the theorem.[75] The Scarecrow in the film The Wizard of Oz makes a more specific Exhibit on the Pythagorean theorem at the reference to the theorem. Upon receiving his diploma from the Universum museum in Mexico City Wizard, he immediately exhibits his "knowledge" by reciting a mangled and incorrect version of the theorem: "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Oh, joy! Oh, rapture! I've got a brain!"[76] In 2000, Uganda released a coin with the shape of an isosceles right triangle. The coin's tail has an image of Pythagoras and the equation 2 + 2 = 2, accompanied with the mention "Pythagoras Millennium".[77] Greece, Japan, San Marino, Sierra Leone, and Suriname have issued postage stamps depicting Pythagoras and the Pythagorean theorem.[78] In Neal Stephenson's speculative fiction Anathem, the Pythagorean theorem is referred to as 'the Adrakhonic theorem'. A geometric proof of the theorem is displayed on the side of an alien ship to demonstrate the aliens' understanding of mathematics.
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Notes
[1] Judith D. Sally, Paul Sally (2007). "Chapter 3: Pythagorean triples" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=nHxBw-WlECUC& pg=PA63). Roots to research: a vertical development of mathematical problems. American Mathematical Society Bookstore. p.63. ISBN0-8218-4403-2. . [2] George Johnston Allman (1889). Greek Geometry from Thales to Euclid (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=-gYCAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA26) (Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing LLC 2005 ed.). Hodges, Figgis, & Co. p.26. ISBN1-4326-0662-X. . "The discovery of the law of three squares, commonly called the "theorem of Pythagoras" is attributed to him by amongst others Vitruvius, Diogenes Laertius, Proclus, and Plutarch ..." [3] (Heath 1921, Vol I, p. 144) [4] Otto Neugebauer (1969). The exact sciences in antiquity (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=JVhTtVA2zr8C& pg=PA36) (Republication of 1957 Brown University Press 2nd ed.). Courier Dover Publications. p.36. ISBN0-486-22332-9. .. For a different view, see Dick Teresi (2003). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=pheL_ubbXD0C& pg=PA52). Simon and Schuster. p.52. ISBN0-7432-4379-X. ., where the speculation is made that the first column of a tablet 322 in the Plimpton collection supports a Babylonian knowledge of some elements of trigonometry. That notion is pretty much laid to rest by Eleanor Robson (2002). "Words and Pictures: New Light on Plimpton 322". The American Mathematical Monthly (Mathematical Association of America) 109 (2): 105120. doi:10.2307/2695324. JSTOR2695324. See also pdf file (http:/ / www. dma. ulpgc. es/ profesores/ pacheco/ Robson. pdf). The accepted view today is that the Babylonians had no awareness of trigonometric functions. See Abdulrahman A. Abdulaziz (2010). "The Plimpton 322 Tablet and the Babylonian Method of Generating Pythagorean Triples". arXiv:1004.0025[math.HO]. 2, page 7. [5] Mario Livio (2003). The golden ratio: the story of phi, the world's most astonishing number (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=bUARfgWRH14C& pg=PA25). Random House, Inc. p.25. ISBN0-7679-0816-3. . [6] (Loomis 1968) [7] (Maor 2007, p.39) page 39 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Z5VoBGy3AoAC& pg=PA39& dq="why+ did+ Euclid+ choose+ this+ particular+ proof"& hl=en& ei=WckoTLv4JIKknQecwvWoAQ& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q="why did Euclid choose this particular proof"& f=false) [8] Stephen W. Hawking (2005). God created the integers: the mathematical breakthroughs that changed history (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=3zdFSOS3f4AC& pg=PA12). Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers. p.12. ISBN0-7624-1922-9. . [9] See for example Mike May S.J., Pythagorean theorem by shear mapping (http:/ / www. slu. edu/ classes/ maymk/ GeoGebra/ Pythagoras. html), Saint Louis University website Java applet [10] Jan Gullberg (1997). Mathematics: from the birth of numbers (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=E09fBi9StpQC& pg=PA435). W. W. Norton & Company. p.435. ISBN0-393-04002-X. . [11] Elements 1.47 (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0085:book=1:proposition=47) by Euclid. Retrieved 19 December 2006. [12] Euclid's Elements, BookI, Proposition47 (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookI/ propI47. html): web page version using Java applets from Euclid's Elements (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ elements. html) by Prof. David E. Joyce, Clark University [13] The proof by Pythagoras probably was not a general one, as the theory of proportions was developed only two centuries after Pythagoras; see (Maor 2007, p.25) page 25 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Z5VoBGy3AoAC& pg=PA25& hl=en#v=onepage& q& f=false) [14] Alexander Bogomolny. "Pythagorean Theorem, proof number 10" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ pythagoras/ index. shtml#10). Cut the Knot. . Retrieved 27 February 2010. [15] (Loomis 1968, Geometric proof 22 and Figure 123, page= 113) [16] Alexander Bogomolny. "Cut-the-knot.org: Pythagorean theorem and its many proofs, Proof #3" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ pythagoras/ index. shtml#3). Cut the Knot. . Retrieved 4 November 2010. [17] Alexander Bogomolny. "Cut-the-knot.org: Pythagorean theorem and its many proofs, Proof #4" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ pythagoras/ index. shtml#4). Cut the Knot. . Retrieved 4 November 2010. [18] Published in a weekly mathematics column: James A Garfield (1876). The New England Journal of Education 3: 161. as noted in William Dunham (1997). The mathematical universe: An alphabetical journey through the great proofs, problems, and personalities (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=3tG_FRQ9N1QC& cd=1& dq="mathematical+ universe"+ inauthor:William+ inauthor:Dunham& q=New+ England+ Journal#search_anchor). Wiley. p.96. ISBN0-471-17661-3. . and in A calendar of mathematical dates: April 1, 1876 (http:/ / www. math. usma. edu/ people/ rickey/ hm/ Dates/ April. pdf) by V. Frederick Rickey [19] Prof. David Lantz' animation (http:/ / math. colgate. edu/ faculty/ dlantz/ pythpfs/ garfldpf. html) from his web site of animated proofs (http:/ / math. colgate. edu/ faculty/ dlantz/ Pythpfs/ Pythpfs. html) [20] Mike Staring (1996). "The Pythagorean proposition: A proof by means of calculus". Mathematics Magazine (Mathematical Association of America) 69 (February): 4546. doi:10.2307/2691395. JSTOR2691395. [21] Bogomolny, Alexander. "Pythagorean Theorem" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ pythagoras). Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ ). Alexander Bogomolny. . Retrieved 2010-05-09. [22] Bruce C. Berndt (1988). "Ramanujan100 years old (fashioned) or 100 years new (fangled)?". The Mathematical Intelligencer 10 (3): 24. doi:10.1007/BF03026638.
Pythagorean theorem
[23] Judith D. Sally, Paul Sally (2007-12-21). "Theorem 2.4 (Converse of the Pythagorean Theorem)." (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=nHxBw-WlECUC& pg=PA54). Cited work. p.62. ISBN0-8218-4403-2. . [24] Euclid's Elements, Book I, Proposition 48 (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookI/ propI48. html) From D.E. Joyce's web page (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ elements. html) at Clark University [25] Casey, Stephen, "The converse of the theorem of Pythagoras", Mathematical Gazette 92, July 2008, 309-313. [26] Mitchell, Douglas W., "Feedback on 92.47", Mathematical Gazette 93, March 2009, 156. [27] Ernest Julius Wilczynski, Herbert Ellsworth Slaught (1914). "Theorem 1 and Theorem 2" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=vxk3AAAAMAAJ& pg=PA85). Plane trigonometry and applications. Allyn and Bacon. p.85. . [28] "Dijkstra's generalization" (http:/ / www. cs. utexas. edu/ users/ EWD/ ewd09xx/ EWD975. PDF) (PDF). . [29] Henry Law (1853). "Corollary 5 of Proposition XLVII, Pythagoras' Theorem" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Ssb_OnVOGLgC& pg=PA49). The elements of Euclid: with many additional propositions, & explanatory notes to which is prefixed an introductory essay on logic. John Weale. p.49. . [30] Shaughan Lavine (1994). Understanding the infinite (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=GvGqRYifGpMC& pg=PA13). Harvard University Press. p.13. ISBN0-674-92096-1. . [31] (Heath 1921, Vol I, pp. 65); Hippasus was on a voyage at the time, and his fellows cast him overboard. See James R. Choike (1980). "The pentagram and the discovery of an irrational number". The College Mathematics Journal 11: 312316. [32] A careful discussion of Hippasus' contributions is found in Kurt Von Fritz (Apr., 1945). "The Discovery of Incommensurability by Hippasus of Metapontum". The Annals of Mathematics, Second Series (Annals of Mathematics) 46 (2): 242264. JSTOR1969021. [33] Jon Orwant, Jarkko Hietaniemi, John Macdonald (1999). "Euclidean distance" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=z9xMfXGoWd0C& pg=PA426). Mastering algorithms with Perl. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p.426. ISBN1-56592-398-7. . [34] Wentworth, George (2009). Plane Trigonometry and Tables (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Z-O57gUYmIgC). BiblioBazaar, LLC. p.116. ISBN1-103-07998-0. , Exercises, page 116 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Z-O57gUYmIgC& pg=PA116) [35] Lawrence S. Leff (2005). PreCalculus the Easy Way (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=y_7yrqrHTb4C& pg=PA296) (7th ed.). Barron's Educational Series. p.296. ISBN0-7641-2892-2. . [36] WS Massey (Dec. 1983). "Cross products of vectors in higher-dimensional Euclidean spaces". The American Mathematical Monthly (Mathematical Association of America) 90 (10): 697701. doi:10.2307/2323537. JSTOR2323537. [37] Pertti Lounesto (2001). "7.4 Cross product of two vectors" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=kOsybQWDK4oC& pg=PA96). Clifford algebras and spinors (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.96. ISBN0-521-00551-5. . [38] Francis Begnaud Hildebrand (1992). Methods of applied mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=17EZkWPz_eQC& pg=PA24) (Reprint of Prentice-Hall 1965 2nd ed.). Courier Dover Publications. p.24. ISBN0-486-67002-3. . [39] Heath, T. L., A History of Greek Mathematics, Oxford University Press, 1921; reprinted by Dover, 1981. [40] Euclid's Elements: Book VI, Proposition VI 31: "In right-angled triangles the figure on the side subtending the right angle is equal to the similar and similarly described figures on the sides containing the right angle." [41] Putz, John F. and Sipka, Timothy A. "On generalizing the Pythagorean theorem", The College Mathematics Journal 34 (4), September 2003, pp. 291-295. [42] Lawrence S. Leff (2005-05-01). cited work (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=y_7yrqrHTb4C& pg=PA326). Barron's Educational Series. p.326. ISBN0-7641-2892-2. . [43] Howard Whitley Eves (1983). "4.8:...generalization of Pythagorean theorem" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=9_w5jDPTvCQC& pg=PA41). Great moments in mathematics (before 1650). Mathematical Association of America. p.41. ISBN0-88385-310-8. . [44] Tbit ibn Qorra (full name Thbit ibn Qurra ibn Marwan Al-bi al-arrn) ( 826901AD) was a physician living in Baghdad who wrote extensively on Euclid's Elements and other mathematical subjects. [45] Aydin Sayili (Mar. 1960). "Thbit ibn Qurra's Generalization of the Pythagorean Theorem". Isis 51 (1): 3537. doi:10.1086/348837. JSTOR227603. [46] Judith D. Sally, Paul Sally (2007-12-21). "Exercise 2.10 (ii)" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=nHxBw-WlECUC& pg=PA62). Roots to Research: A Vertical Development of Mathematical Problems. p.62. ISBN0-8218-4403-2. . [47] For the details of such a construction, see George Jennings (1997). "Figure 1.32: The generalized Pythagorean theorem" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=6OhcE7YQY8QC& pg=PA23). Modern geometry with applications: with 150 figures (3rd ed.). Springer. p.23. ISBN0-387-94222-X. . [48] Rajendra Bhatia (1997). Matrix analysis (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=eay3HALl620C& pg=PA21). Springer. p.21. ISBN0-387-94846-5. . [49] For an extended discussion of this generalization, see, for example, Willie W. Wong (http:/ / www. dpmms. cam. ac. uk/ ~ww278/ papers/ gp. pdf) 2002, A generalized n-dimensional Pythagorean theorem. [50] Ferdinand van der Heijden, Dick de Ridder (2004). Classification, parameter estimation, and state estimation (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=krSB9PIKMSYC& pg=PA357). Wiley. p.357. ISBN0-470-09013-8. . [51] Qun Lin, Jiafu Lin (2006). Finite element methods: accuracy and improvement (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=cMvAqzMuAWgC& pg=PA23). Elsevier. p.23. ISBN7-03-016656-6. . [52] Howard Anton, Chris Rorres (2010). Elementary Linear Algebra: Applications Version (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=1PJ-WHepeBsC& pg=PA336) (10th ed.). Wiley. p.336. ISBN0-470-43205-5. .
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[53] Karen Saxe (2002). "Theorem 1.2" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=QALoZC64ea0C& pg=PA7). Beginning functional analysis. Springer. p.7. ISBN0-387-95224-1. . [54] Douglas, Ronald G. (1998). Banach Algebra Techniques in Operator Theory, 2nd edition (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=-OdfXeNmrT0C& pg=PA60#v=onepage& q). New York, New York: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. pp.601. ISBN978-0-387-98377-6. . [55] Stephen W. Hawking (2005). cited work (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=3zdFSOS3f4AC& pg=PA4). p.4. ISBN0-7624-1922-9. . [56] Eric W. Weisstein (2003). CRC concise encyclopedia of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=aFDWuZZslUUC& pg=PA2147) (2nd ed.). p.2147. ISBN1-58488-347-2. . "The parallel postulate is equivalent to the Equidistance postulate, Playfair axiom, Proclus axiom, the Triangle postulate and the Pythagorean theorem." [57] Alexander R. Pruss (2006). The principle of sufficient reason: a reassessment (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=8qAxk1rXIjQC& pg=PA11). Cambridge University Press. p.11. ISBN0-521-85959-X. . "We could include...the parallel postulate and derive the Pythagorean theorem. Or we could instead make the Pythagorean theorem among the other axioms and derive the parallel postulate." [58] Victor Pambuccian (December 2010). "Maria Teresa Calapso's Hyperbolic Pythagorean Theorem". The Mathematical Intelligencer 32 (4): 2. doi:10.1007/s00283-010-9169-0. [59] Barrett O'Neill (2006). "Exercise 4" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=OtbNXAIve_AC& pg=PA441). Elementary differential geometry (2nd ed.). Academic Press. p.441. ISBN0-12-088735-5. . [60] Saul Stahl (1993). "Theorem 8.3" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=TABicHVMQhMC& pg=PA122). The Poincar half-plane: a gateway to modern geometry. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p.122. ISBN0-86720-298-X. . [61] Jane Gilman (1995). "Hyperbolic triangles" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=YRFz9Zj_vAAC& pg=PA74). Two-generator discrete subgroups of PSL(2,R). American Mathematical Society Bookstore. ISBN0-8218-0361-1. . [62] Tai L. Chow (2000). Mathematical methods for physicists: a concise introduction (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=MpRXPOYZzfUC& pg=PA52). Cambridge University Press. p.52. ISBN0-521-65544-7. . [63] (van_der_Waerden 1983, p.5)
96
See also Frank Swetz, T. I. Kao (1977). Was Pythagoras Chinese?: An examination of right triangle theory in ancient China (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=WaaGNz9G7l8C& pg=PA12& dq="Babylonian+ tables+ of+ number+ triples"& cd=1#v=onepage& q="Babylonian tables of number triples"). Penn State Press. p.12. ISBN0-271-01238-2. .
[64] Carl Benjamin Boyer (1968). "China and India" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=1ZDuAAAAMAAJ& cd=1& dq=China+ and+ India+ rules+ for+ the+ construction+ of+ right+ angles+ inauthor:Carl+ inauthor:Benjamin+ inauthor:Boyer& q=diagonal+ of+ a+ rectangle+ is+ equal+ to+ the+ sum+ #search_anchor). A history of mathematics. Wiley. p.229. . "we find rules for the construction of right angles by means of triples of cords the lengths of which form Pythagorean triages, such as 3, 4, and 5, or 5, 12, and 13, or 8, 15, and 17, or 12, 35, and 37. However all of these triads are easily derived from the old Babylonian rule; hence, Mesopotamian influence in the Sulvastras is not unlikely. Aspastamba knew that the square on the diagonal of a rectangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the two adjacent sides, but this form of the Pythagorean theorem also may have been derived from Mesopotamia. [...] So conjectural are the origin and period of the Sulvastras that we cannot tell whether or not the rules are related to early Egyptian surveying or to the later Greek problem of altar doubling. They are variously dated within an interval of almost a thousand years stretching from the eighth century B.C. to the second century of our era."; See also Carl B. Boyer , Uta C. Merzbach (2010). A History of Mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=xwIZQwAACAAJ& printsec=frontcover& dq=editions:UOM39015015720447) (3rd ed.). Wiley. ISBN0-470-52548-7. . [65] Robert P. Crease (2008). The great equations: breakthroughs in science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg. W W Norton & Co.. p.25. ISBN0-393-06204-X. [66] A rather extensive discussion of the origins of the various texts in the Zhou Bi is provided by Christopher Cullen (2007). Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China: The 'Zhou Bi Suan Jing' (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=U9E88abLP10C& pg=PA139& dq=to+ datable+ + events+ "relate+ the+ material"& cd=1#v=onepage& q=to datable events "relate the material"). Cambridge University Press. pp.139 f. ISBN0-521-03537-6. . [67] This work is a compilation of 246 problems, some of which survived the book burning of 213BC, and was put in final form before 100AD. It was extensively commented upon by Liu Hui in 263AD. Philip D Straffin, Jr. (2004). "Liu Hui and the first golden age of Chinese mathematics" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=BKRE5AjRM3AC& pg=PA69). In Marlow Anderson, Victor J. Katz, Robin J. Wilson. Sherlock Holmes in Babylon: and other tales of mathematical history. Mathematical Association of America. pp.69 ff. ISBN0-88385-546-1. . See particularly 3: Nine chapters on the mathematical art, pps. 71 ff. [68] Kangshen Shen, John N. Crossley, Anthony Wah-Cheung Lun (1999). The nine chapters on the mathematical art: companion and commentary (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=eiTJHRGTG6YC& pg=PA488). Oxford University Press. p.488. ISBN0-19-853936-3. . [69] In particular, Li Jimin; see Centaurus, Volume 39 (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=UJlFAAAAYAAJ& q="Shang+ Gao+ Theorem"& dq="Shang+ Gao+ Theorem"& cd=2). Copenhagen: Munksgaard. 1997. pp.193 & 205. . [70] Chen, Cheng-Yih (1996). "3.3.4 Chn Z's formula and the Chng-Ch method; Figure 40" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=2Wxj0SW9hBgC& pg=PA139). Early Chinese work in natural science: a re-examination of the physics of motion, acoustics, astronomy and scientific thoughts. Hong Kong University Press. p.142. ISBN962-209-385-X. . [71] Wen-tsn Wu (2008). "The Gougu theorem" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=xV4lECaKDzwC& pg=PA158). Selected works of Wen-tsn Wu. World Scientific. p.158. ISBN981-279-107-8. .
Pythagorean theorem
[72] (Euclid 1956, p.351) page 351 (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=UhgPAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA351) [73] An extensive discussion of the historical evidence is provided in (Euclid 1956, p.351) page=351 (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=UhgPAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA351) [74] Asger Aaboe (1997). Episodes from the early history of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=5wGzF0wPFYgC& pg=PA51). Mathematical Association of America. p.51. ISBN0-88385-613-1. . "...it is not until Euclid that we find a logical sequence of general theorems with proper proofs." [75] Maor (2007), p. 47. [76] "The Scarecrow's Formula" (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0032138/ quotes?qt0409923). Internet Movie Data Base. . Retrieved 2010-05-12. [77] "Le Saviez-vous ?" (http:/ / homepage. sefanet. ch/ meylan-sa/ saviez-vous1. htm). . [78] Miller, Jeff (2007-08-03). "Images of Mathematicians on Postage Stamps" (http:/ / jeff560. tripod. com/ stamps. html). . Retrieved 2010-07-18.
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References
Bell, John L. (1999). The Art of the Intelligible: An Elementary Survey of Mathematics in its Conceptual Development (http://publish.uwo.ca/~jbell/). Kluwer. ISBN0-7923-5972-0. Euclid (1956). Translated by Johan Ludvig Heiberg with an introduction and commentary by Sir Thomas L. Heath. ed. The Elements (3 vols.). Vol. 1 (Books I and II) (Reprint of 1908 ed.). Dover. ISBN0-486-60088-2. On-line text at Euclid (http://books.google.com/books?id=UhgPAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover& source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) Heath, Sir Thomas (1921). "The 'Theorem of Pythagoras'" (http://books.google.com/?id=h4JsAAAAMAAJ& pg=PA144). A History of Greek Mathematics (2 Vols.) (Dover Publications, Inc. (1981) ed.). Clarendon Press, Oxford. p.144 ff. ISBN0-486-24073-8. Libeskind, Shlomo (2008). Euclidean and transformational geometry: a deductive inquiry (http://books.google. com/books?id=6YUUeO-RjU0C&pg=PA41). Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN0-7637-4366-6. This high-school geometry text covers many of the topics in this WP article. Loomis, Elisha Scott (1968). The Pythagorean proposition (2nd ed.). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. ISBN978-0-87353-036-1. For full text of 2nd edition of 1940, see Elisha Scott Loomis. "The Pythagorean proposition: its demonstrations analyzed and classified, and bibliography of sources for data of the four kinds of proofs" (http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED037335.pdf). Education Resources Information Center. Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 2010-05-04. Originally published in 1940 and reprinted in 1968 by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, isbn=0-87353-036-5. Maor, Eli (2007). The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History (http://books.google.com/ ?id=Z5VoBGy3AoAC&printsec=frontcover&q). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-12526-8. Stillwell, John (1989). Mathematics and Its History. Springer-Verlag. ISBN0-387-96981-0. Also ISBN 3-540-96981-0. Swetz, Frank; Kao, T. I. (1977). Was Pythagoras Chinese?: An Examination of Right Triangle Theory in Ancient China. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN0-271-01238-2. van der Waerden, Bartel Leendert (1983). Geometry and Algebra in Ancient Civilizations (http://books.google. com/?id=_vPuAAAAMAAJ&q="Pythagorean+triples"++"Babylonian+scribes"+inauthor:van+inauthor:der+ inauthor:Waerden&dq="Pythagorean+triples"++"Babylonian+scribes"+inauthor:van+inauthor:der+ inauthor:Waerden&cd=1). Springer. ISBN3-540-12159-5.
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External links
Pythagorean Theorem (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/index.shtml) (more than 70 proofs from cut-the-knot) Interactive links: Interactive proof (http://www.sunsite.ubc.ca/LivingMathematics/V001N01/UBCExamples/Pythagoras/ pythagoras.html) in Java of The Pythagorean Theorem Another interactive proof (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/Perigal.shtml) in Java of The Pythagorean Theorem Pythagorean theorem (http://www.mathopenref.com/pythagorastheorem.html) with interactive animation Animated, Non-Algebraic, and User-Paced (http://math.ucr.edu/~jdp/Relativity/Pythagorus.html) Pythagorean Theorem History topic: Pythagoras's theorem in Babylonian mathematics (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/ ~history/PrintHT/Babylonian_Pythagoras.html) Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Pythagorean theorem" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index. php?title=p/p075940), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 Weisstein, Eric W., " Pythagorean theorem (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PythagoreanTheorem.html)" from MathWorld. Euclid (David E. Joyce, ed. 1997) [c. 300 BC]. Elements (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc. html). Retrieved 2006-08-30. In HTML with Java-based interactive figures.
Irrational number
In mathematics, an irrational number is any real number that cannot be expressed as a ratio a/b, where a and b are integers, with b non-zero, and is therefore not a rational number. Informally, this means that an irrational The famous mathematical constant pi () is among the most well-known irrational numbers and is much-represented in popular culture number cannot be represented as a simple fraction. Irrational numbers are those real numbers that cannot be represented as terminating or repeating decimals. As a consequence of Cantor's proof that the real numbers are uncountable (and the rationals countable) it follows that almost all real numbers are irrational.[1] When the ratio of lengths of two line segments is irrational, the line segments are also described as being incommensurable, meaning they share no measure in common. Perhaps the best-known irrational numbers are: the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter , Euler's number e, the golden ratio , and the square root of two 2.[2][3][4]
Irrational number
99
History
It has been suggested that the concept of irrationality was implicitly accepted by Indian mathematicians since the 7th century BC, when Manava (c. 750690 BC) believed that the square roots of numbers such as 2 and 61 could not be exactly determined.[5] However, Boyer[6] states that "...such claims are not well substantiated and unlikely to be true."
Ancient Greece
The first proof of the existence of irrational numbers is usually attributed to a Pythagorean (possibly Hippasus of Metapontum),[7] who probably discovered them while identifying sides of the pentagram.[8] The number is irrational. The then-current Pythagorean method would have claimed that there must be some sufficiently small, indivisible unit that could fit evenly into one of these lengths as well as the other. However, Hippasus, in the 5th century BC, was able to deduce that there was in fact no common unit of measure, and that the assertion of such an existence was in fact a contradiction. He did this by demonstrating that if the hypotenuse of an isosceles right triangle was indeed commensurable with a leg, then that unit of measure must be both odd and even, which is impossible. His reasoning is as follows: Start with an isosceles right triangle with side lengths of integers a, b, and c. The ratio of the hypotenuse to a leg is represented by c:b. Assume a, b, and c are in the smallest possible terms (i.e. they have no common factors). By the Pythagorean theorem: c2 = a2+b2 = b2+b2 = 2b2. (Since the triangle is isosceles, a = b). Since c2 = 2b2, c2 is divisible by 2, and therefore even. Since c2 is even, c must be even. Since c and b have no common factors, and c is even, b must be odd (if b were even, b and c would have a common factor of 2). Since c is even, dividing c by 2 yields an integer. Let y be this integer (c = 2y). Squaring both sides of c = 2y yields c2 = (2y)2, or c2 = 4y2. Substituting 4y2 for c2 in the first equation (c2 = 2b2) gives us 4y2= 2b2. Dividing by 2 yields 2y2 = b2. Since y is an integer, and 2y2 = b2, b2 is divisible by 2, and therefore even. Since b2 is even, b must be even. However, we have already asserted that b must be odd, and b cannot be both odd and even. This contradiction proves that c and b cannot both be integers, and thus the existence of a number that cannot be expressed as a ratio of two integers.[9] Greek mathematicians termed this ratio of incommensurable magnitudes alogos, or inexpressible. Hippasus, however, was not lauded for his efforts: according to one legend, he made his discovery while out at sea, and was subsequently thrown overboard by his fellow Pythagoreans for having produced an element in the universe which denied thedoctrine that all phenomena in the universe can be reduced to whole numbers and their ratios.[10] Another legend states that Hippasus was merely exiled for this revelation. Whatever the consequence to Hippasus himself, his discovery posed a very serious problem to Pythagorean mathematics, since it shattered the assumption that number and geometry were inseparablea foundation of their theory. The discovery of incommensurable ratios was indicative of another problem facing the Greeks: the relation of the discrete to the continuous. Brought into light by Zeno of Elea, who questioned the conception that quantities are discrete and composed of a finite number of units of a given size. Past Greek conceptions dictated that they
Irrational number necessarily must be, for whole numbers represent discrete objects, and a commensurable ratio represents a relation between two collections of discrete objects.[11] However Zeno found that in fact [quantities] in general are not discrete collections of units; this is why ratios of incommensurable [quantities] appear.[Q]uantities are, in other words, continuous.[11] What this means is that, contrary to the popular conception of the time, there cannot be an indivisible, smallest unit of measure for any quantity. That in fact, these divisions of quantity must necessarily be infinite. For example, consider a line segment: this segment can be split in half, that half split in half, the half of the half in half, and so on. This process can continue infinitely, for there is always another half to be split. The more times the segment is halved, the closer the unit of measure comes to zero, but it never reaches exactly zero. This is just what Zeno sought to prove. He sought to prove this by formulating four paradoxes, which demonstrated the contradictions inherent in the mathematical thought of the time. While Zenos paradoxes accurately demonstrated the deficiencies of current mathematical conceptions, they were not regarded as proof of the alternative. In the minds of the Greeks, disproving the validity of one view did not necessarily prove the validity of another, and therefore further investigation had to occur. The next step was taken by Eudoxus of Cnidus, who formalized a new theory of proportion that took into account commensurable as well as incommensurable quantities. Central to his idea was the distinction between magnitude and number. A magnitude ...was not a number but stood for entities such as line segments, angles, areas, volumes, and time which could vary, as we would say, continuously. Magnitudes were opposed to numbers, which jumped from one value to another, as from 4 to 5.[12] Numbers are composed of some smallest, indivisible unit, whereas magnitudes are infinitely reducible. Because no quantitative values were assigned to magnitudes, Eudoxus was then able to account for both commensurable and incommensurable ratios by defining a ratio in terms of its magnitude, and proportion as an equality between two ratios. By taking quantitative values (numbers) out of the equation, he avoided the trap of having to express an irrational number as a number. Eudoxus theory enabled the Greek mathematicians to make tremendous progress in geometry by supplying the necessary logical foundation for incommensurable ratios.[13] Book 10 is dedicated to classification of irrational magnitudes. As a result of the distinction between number and magnitude, geometry became the only method that could take into account incommensurable ratios. Because previous numerical foundations were still incompatible with the concept of incommensurability, Greek focus shifted away from those numerical conceptions such as algebra and focused almost exclusively on geometry. In fact, in many cases algebraic conceptions were reformulated into geometrical terms. This may account for why we still conceive of x2 or x3 as x squared and x cubed instead of x second power and x third power. Also crucial to Zenos work with incommensurable magnitudes was the fundamental focus on deductive reasoning that resulted from the foundational shattering of earlier Greek mathematics. The realization that some basic conception within the existing theory was at odds with reality necessitated a complete and thorough investigation of the axioms and assumptions that comprised that theory. Out of this necessity Eudoxus developed his method of exhaustion, a kind of reductio ad absurdum that established the deductive organization on the basis of explicit axioms as well as reinforced the earlier decision to rely on deductive reasoning for proof.[14] This method of exhaustion is the first step in the creation of calculus. Theodorus of Cyrene proved the irrationality of the surds of whole numbers up to 17, but stopped there probably because the algebra he used couldn't be applied to the square root of 17.[15] It wasn't until Eudoxus developed a theory of proportion that took into account irrational as well as rational ratios that a strong mathematical foundation of irrational numbers was created.[16]
100
Irrational number
101
India
Geometrical and mathematical problems involving irrational numbers such as square roots were addressed very early during the Vedic period in India and there are references to such calculations in the Samhitas, Brahmanas and more notably in the Sulbha sutras (800 BC or earlier). (See Bag, Indian Journal of History of Science, 25(1-4), 1990). It is suggested that Aryabhata (5th C AD) in calculating a value of pi to 5 significant figures, he used the word sanna (approaching), to mean that not only is this an approximation but that the value is incommensurable (or irrational). Later, in their treatises, Indian mathematicians wrote on the arithmetic of surds including addition, subtraction, multiplication, rationalization, as well as separation and extraction of square roots. (See Datta, Singh, Indian Journal of History of Science, 28(3), 1993). Mathematicians like Brahmagupta (in 628 AD) and Bhaskara I (in 629 AD) made contributions in this area as did other mathematicians who followed. In the 12th C Bhaskara II evaluated some of these formulas and critiqued them, identifying their limitations. During the 14th to 16th centuries, Madhava of Sangamagrama and the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics discovered the infinite series for several irrational numbers such as and certain irrational values of trigonometric functions. Jyesthadeva provided proofs for these infinite series in the Yuktibh.[17]
Middle Ages
In the Middle ages, the development of algebra by Muslim mathematicians allowed irrational numbers to be treated as algebraic objects.[18] Middle Eastern mathematicians also merged the concepts of "number" and "magnitude" into a more general idea of real numbers, criticized Euclid's idea of ratios, developed the theory of composite ratios, and extended the concept of number to ratios of continuous magnitude.[19] In his commentary on Book 10 of the Elements, the Persian mathematician Al-Mahani (d. 874/884) examined and classified quadratic irrationals and cubic irrationals. He provided definitions for rational and irrational magnitudes, which he treated as irrational numbers. He dealt with them freely but explains them in geometric terms as follows:[20] "It will be a rational (magnitude) when we, for instance, say 10, 12, 3%, 6%, etc., because its value is pronounced and expressed quantitatively. What is not rational is irrational and it is impossible to pronounce and represent its value quantitatively. For example: the roots of numbers such as 10, 15, 20 which are not squares, the sides of numbers which are not cubes etc." In contrast to Euclid's concept of magnitudes as lines, Al-Mahani considered integers and fractions as rational magnitudes, and square roots and cube roots as irrational magnitudes. He also introduced an arithmetical approach to the concept of irrationality, as he attributes the following to irrational magnitudes:[20] "their sums or differences, or results of their addition to a rational magnitude, or results of subtracting a magnitude of this kind from an irrational one, or of a rational magnitude from it." The Egyptian mathematician Ab Kmil Shuj ibn Aslam (c. 850930) was the first to accept irrational numbers as solutions to quadratic equations or as coefficients in an equation, often in the form of square roots, cube roots and fourth roots.[21] In the 10th century, the Iraqi mathematician Al-Hashimi provided general proofs (rather than geometric demonstrations) for irrational numbers, as he considered multiplication, division, and other arithmetical functions.[22] Ab Ja'far al-Khzin (900971) provides a definition of rational and irrational magnitudes, stating that if a definite quantity is:[23] "contained in a certain given magnitude once or many times, then this (given) magnitude corresponds to a rational number. . . . Each time when this (latter) magnitude comprises a half, or a third, or a quarter of the given magnitude (of the unit), or, compared with (the unit), comprises three, five, or three fifths, it is a rational magnitude. And, in general, each magnitude that corresponds to this magnitude (i.e. to the unit), as one number to another, is rational. If, however, a magnitude cannot be represented as a multiple, a part (l/n), or
Irrational number parts (m/n) of a given magnitude, it is irrational, i.e. it cannot be expressed other than by means of roots." Many of these concepts were eventually accepted by European mathematicians sometime after the Latin translations of the 12th century. Al-Hassr, a Moroccan mathematician from Fez specializing in Islamic inheritance jurisprudence during the 12th century, first mentions the use of a fractional bar, where numerators and denominators are separated by a horizontal bar. In his discussion he writes, "..., for example, if you are told to write three-fifths and a third of a fifth, write thus, Fibonacci in the 13th century.[25] ."
[24]
102
This same fractional notation appears soon after in the work of Leonardo
Modern period
The 17th century saw imaginary numbers become a powerful tool in the hands of Abraham de Moivre, and especially of Leonhard Euler. The completion of the theory of complex numbers in the nineteenth century entailed the differentiation of irrationals into algebraic and transcendental numbers, the proof of the existence of transcendental numbers, and the resurgence of the scientific study of the theory of irrationals, largely ignored since Euclid. The year 1872 saw the publication of the theories of Karl Weierstrass (by his pupil Ernst Kossak), Eduard Heine (Crelle's Journal, 74), Georg Cantor (Annalen, 5), and Richard Dedekind. Mray had taken in 1869 the same point of departure as Heine, but the theory is generally referred to the year 1872. Weierstrass's method has been completely set forth by Salvatore Pincherle in 1880,[26] and Dedekind's has received additional prominence through the author's later work (1888) and the endorsement by Paul Tannery (1894). Weierstrass, Cantor, and Heine base their theories on infinite series, while Dedekind founds his on the idea of a cut (Schnitt) in the system of real numbers, separating all rational numbers into two groups having certain characteristic properties. The subject has received later contributions at the hands of Weierstrass, Leopold Kronecker (Crelle, 101), and Charles Mray. Continued fractions, closely related to irrational numbers (and due to Cataldi, 1613), received attention at the hands of Euler, and at the opening of the nineteenth century were brought into prominence through the writings of Joseph Louis Lagrange. Dirichlet also added to the general theory, as have numerous contributors to the applications of the subject. Johann Heinrich Lambert proved (1761) that cannot be rational, and that en is irrational if n is rational (unless n=0).[27] While Lambert's proof is often called incomplete, modern assessments support it as satisfactory, and in fact for its time it is unusually rigorous. Adrien-Marie Legendre (1794), after introducing the BesselClifford function, provided a proof to show that 2 is irrational, whence it follows immediately that is irrational also. The existence of transcendental numbers was first established by Liouville (1844, 1851). Later, Georg Cantor (1873) proved their existence by a different method, that showed that every interval in the reals contains transcendental numbers. Charles Hermite (1873) first proved e transcendental, and Ferdinand von Lindemann (1882), starting from Hermite's conclusions, showed the same for . Lindemann's proof was much simplified by Weierstrass (1885), still further by David Hilbert (1893), and was finally made elementary by Adolf Hurwitz and Paul Gordan.
Irrational number
103
Example proofs
Square roots
The square root of 2 was the first number proved irrational, and that article contains a number of proofs. The golden ratio is another famous quadratic irrational and there is a simple proof of its irrationality in its article. The square roots of all natural numbers which are not perfect squares are irrational and a proof may be found in quadratic irrationals.
General roots
The proof above for the square root of two can be generalized using the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. This asserts that every integer has a unique factorization into primes. Using it we can show that if a rational number is not an integer then no integral power of it can be an integer, as in lowest terms there must be a prime in the denominator that does not divide into the numerator whatever power each is raised to. Therefore if an integer is not an exact kth power of another integer then its kth root is irrational.
Logarithms
Perhaps the numbers most easy to prove irrational are certain logarithms. Here is a proof by reductio ad absurdum that log23 is irrational. Notice that log23 1.58>0. Assume log23 is rational. For some positive integers m and n, we have
It follows that
However, the number 2 raised to any positive integer power must be even (because it is divisible by2) and the number3 raised to any positive integer power must be odd (since none of its prime factors will be2). Clearly, an integer cannot be both odd and even at the same time: we have a contradiction. The only assumption we made was that log23 is rational (and so expressible as a quotient of integers m/n with n0). The contradiction means that this assumption must be false, i.e. log23 is irrational, and can never be expressed as a quotient of integers m/n with n0. Cases such as log102 can be treated similarly.
Transcendental and algebraic irrationals

Almost all irrational numbers are transcendental and all real transcendental numbers are irrational (there are also complex transcendental numbers): the article on transcendental numbers lists several examples. er and r are irrational if r0 is rational; e is irrational. Another way to construct irrational numbers is as irrational algebraic numbers, i.e. as zeros of polynomials with integer coefficients: start with a polynomial equation
where the coefficients ai are integers. Suppose you know that there exists some real number x with p(x)=0 (for instance if n is odd and an is non-zero, then because of the intermediate value theorem). The only possible rational roots of this polynomial equation are of the form r/s where r is a divisor of a0 and s is a divisor of an; there are only finitely so many such candidates you can check by hand. If neither of them is a root of p, then x must be irrational. For example, this technique can be used to show that x=(21/2+1)1/3 is irrational: we have (x31)2 = 2 and hence
Irrational number x62x31=0, and this latter polynomial does not have any rational roots (the only candidates to check are 1). Because the algebraic numbers form a field, many irrational numbers can be constructed by combining transcendental and algebraic numbers. For example 3+2, +2 and e3 are irrational (and even transcendental).
104
Decimal expansions
The decimal expansion of an irrational number never repeats or terminates, unlike a rational number. Similarly for binary, octal or hexadecimal expansions, and in general for expansions in every positional notation with natural bases. To show this, suppose we divide integers n by m (where m is nonzero). When long division is applied to the division of n by m, only m remainders are possible. If 0 appears as a remainder, the decimal expansion terminates. If 0 never occurs, then the algorithm can run at most m 1 steps without using any remainder more than once. After that, a remainder must recur, and then the decimal expansion repeats. Conversely, suppose we are faced with a repeating decimal, we can prove that it is a fraction of two integers. For example, consider:
Here the repitend is 162 and the length of the repitend is 3. First, we multiply by an appropriate power of 10 to move the decimal point to the right so that it is just in front of a repitend. In this example we would multiply by 10 to obtain: Now we multiply this equation by 10r where r is the length of the repitend. This has the effect of moving the decimal point to be in front of the "next" repitend. In our example, multiply by 103:
The result of the two multiplications gives two different expressions with exactly the same "decimal portion", that is, the tail end of 10,000A matches the tail end of 10A exactly. Here, both 10,000A and 10A have .162162162 ... at the end. Therefore, when we subtract the 10A equation from the 10,000A equation, the tail end of 10A cancels out the tail end of 10,000A leaving us with:
Then
(135 is the greatest common divisor of 7155 and 9990). 53/74 is a quotient of integers and therefore a rational number.
Irrational number
105
Irrational powers
Dov Jarden gave a simple non-constructive proof that there exist two irrational numbers a and b, such that ab is rational.[28] Indeed, if 22 is rational, then take a = b = 2. Otherwise, take a to be the irrational number 22 and b = 2. Then ab = (22)2 = 222 = 22 = 2, which is rational. Although the above argument does not decide between the two cases, the GelfondSchneider theorem shows that 22 is transcendental, hence irrational. This theorem states that if a and b are both algebraic numbers, and a is not equal to 0 or 1, and b is not a rational number, then any value of ab is a transcendental number (there can be more than one value if complex number exponentiation is used). An example that provides a simple constructive proof is[29]
The base of the left side is irrational and the right side is rational, so one must prove that the exponent on the left side, , is irrational. This is so because, by the formula relating logarithms with different bases,
which we can assume, for the sake of establishing a contradiction, equals a ratio m/n of positive integers. Then hence hence hence , which is a contradictory pair of prime factorizations and hence violates the fundamental theorem of arithmetic (unique prime factorization). A stronger result is the following:[30] Every rational number in the interval
a n [30]
can be written either as
a for some irrational number a or as n for some natural number n. Similarly, every positive rational number can be written either as for some irrational number a or as for some natural number n.
Open questions
It is not known whether + e or e is irrational or not. In fact, there is no pair of non-zero integers m and n for which it is known whether m + ne is irrational or not. Moreover, it is not known whether the set {, e} is algebraically independent over Q. It is not known whether e, /e, 2e, e, 2, ln , Catalan's constant, or the EulerMascheroni gamma constant are irrational.[31][32][33]
The set of all irrationals

Since the reals form an uncountable set, of which the rationals are a countable subset, the complementary set of irrationals is uncountable. Under the usual (Euclidean) distance function d(x,y) = |xy|, the real numbers are a metric space and hence also a topological space. Restricting the Euclidean distance function gives the irrationals the structure of a metric space. Since the subspace of irrationals is not closed, the induced metric is not complete. However, being a G-delta seti.e., a countable intersection of open subsetsin a complete metric space, the space of irrationals is topologically complete: that is, there is a metric on the irrationals inducing the same topology as the restriction of the Euclidean metric, but with respect to which the irrationals are complete. One can see this without knowing the aforementioned fact about G-delta sets: the continued fraction expansion of an irrational number defines a homeomorphism from the space of irrationals to the space of all sequences of positive integers, which is easily seen to be completely metrizable. Furthermore, the set of all irrationals is a disconnected metrizable space. In fact, the irrationals have a basis of clopen sets so the space is zero-dimensional.
Irrational number
106
References
[1] Cantor, Georg (1955, 1915). Philip Jourdain. ed. Contributions to the Founding of the Theory of Transfinite Numbers (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ contributionstot003626mbp). New York: Dover. ISBN978-0-486-60045-1. . [2] The 15 Most Famous Transcendental Numbers (http:/ / sprott. physics. wisc. edu/ Pickover/ trans. html). by Clifford A. Pickover. URL retrieved 24 October 2007. [3] http:/ / www. mathsisfun. com/ irrational-numbers. html; URL retrieved 24 October 2007. [4] Weisstein, Eric W., " Irrational Number (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ IrrationalNumber. html)" from MathWorld. URL retrieved 26 October 2007. [5] T. K. Puttaswamy, "The Accomplishments of Ancient Indian Mathematicians", pp. 4112, in Selin, Helaine; D'Ambrosio, Ubiratan, eds. (2000). Mathematics Across Cultures: The History of Non-western Mathematics. Springer. ISBN1-4020-0260-2. [6] Boyer (1991). "China and India". p.208. "It has been claimed also that the first recognition of incommensurables appears in India during the Sulbasutra period, but such claims are not well substantiated. The case for early Hindu awareness of incommensurable magnitudes is rendered most unlikely by the lack of evidence that Indian mathematicians of that period had come to grips with fundamental concepts." [7] Kurt Von Fritz (1945). "The Discovery of Incommensurability by Hippasus of Metapontum". The Annals of Mathematics. [8] James R. Choike (1980). "The Pentagram and the Discovery of an Irrational Number". The Two-Year College Mathematics Journal.. [9] Kline, M. (1990). Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times, Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1972). p.33. [10] Kline 1990, p. 32. [11] Kline 1990, p.34. [12] Kline 1990, p.48. [13] Kline 1990, p.49. [14] Kline 1990, p.50. [15] Robert L. McCabe (1976). "Theodorus' Irrationality Proofs". Mathematics Magazine.. [16] Charles H. Edwards (1982). The historical development of the calculus. Springer. [17] Katz, V. J. (1995), "Ideas of Calculus in Islam and India", Mathematics Magazine (Mathematical Association of America) 68 (3): 16374. [18] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Arabic mathematics: forgotten brilliance?" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ HistTopics/ Arabic_mathematics. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, .. [19] Matvievskaya, Galina (1987). "The Theory of Quadratic Irrationals in Medieval Oriental Mathematics". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 500: 253277 [254]. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb37206.x. [20] Matvievskaya, Galina (1987). "The Theory of Quadratic Irrationals in Medieval Oriental Mathematics". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 500: 253277 [259]. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb37206.x [21] Jacques Sesiano, "Islamic mathematics", p. 148, in Selin, Helaine; D'Ambrosio, Ubiratan (2000). Mathematics Across Cultures: The History of Non-western Mathematics. Springer. ISBN1-4020-0260-2. [22] Matvievskaya, Galina (1987). "The Theory of Quadratic Irrationals in Medieval Oriental Mathematics". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 500: 253277 [260]. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb37206.x. [23] Matvievskaya, Galina (1987). "The Theory of Quadratic Irrationals in Medieval Oriental Mathematics". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 500: 253277 [261]. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb37206.x. [24] Cajori, Florian (1928), A History of Mathematical Notations (Vol.1), La Salle, Illinois: The Open Court Publishing Company pg. 269. [25] (Cajori 1928, pg.89) [26] Salvatore Pincherle (1880). "Saggio di una introduzione alla teorica delle funzioni analitiche secondo i principi del prof. Weierstrass". Giornale di Matematiche. [27] J. H. Lambert (1761). "Mmoire sur quelques proprits remarquables des quantits transcendentes circulaires et logarithmiques". Histoire de l'Acadmie Royale des Sciences et des Belles-Lettres der Berlin: 265276. [28] George, Alexander; Velleman, Daniel J. (2002). Philosophies of mathematics. Blackwell. pp.34. ISBN0-631-19544-0. [29] Lord, Nick, "Maths bite: irrational powers of irrational numbers can be rational", Mathematical Gazette 92, November 2008, p. 534. [30] Marshall, Ash J., and Tan, Yiren, "A rational number of the form aa with a irrational", Mathematical Gazette 96, March 2012, pp. 106-109. [31] Weisstein, Eric W., " Pi (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ Pi. html)" from MathWorld. [32] Weisstein, Eric W., " Irrational Number (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ IrrationalNumber. html)" from MathWorld. [33] Some unsolved problems in number theory (http:/ / www. math. ou. edu/ ~jalbert/ courses/ openprob2. pdf)
Irrational number
107
Further reading
Adrien-Marie Legendre, lments de Gometrie, Note IV, (1802), Paris Rolf Wallisser, "On Lambert's proof of the irrationality of ", in Algebraic Number Theory and Diophantine Analysis, Franz Halter-Koch and Robert F. Tichy, (2000), Walter de Gruyer
External links
Zeno's Paradoxes and Incommensurability (http://www.dm.uniba.it/~psiche/bas2/node5.html) (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2008 Weisstein, Eric W., " Irrational Number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/IrrationalNumber.html)" from MathWorld. Square root of 2 is irrational (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/proofs/sq_root.shtml)
Perfect number
In number theory, a perfect number is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its proper positive divisors, that is, the sum of its positive divisors excluding the number itself (also known as its aliquot sum). Equivalently, a perfect number is a number that is half the sum of all of its positive divisors (including itself) i.e. 1(n)=2n.
Examples
The first perfect number is 6, because 1, 2, and 3 are its proper positive divisors, and 1+2+3=6. Equivalently, the number 6 is equal to half the sum of all its positive divisors: (1+2+3+6)/2=6. The next perfect number is 28=1+2+4+7+14. This is followed by the perfect numbers 496 and8128 (sequence A000396 in OEIS).
Discovery
These first four perfect numbers were the only ones known to early Greek mathematics, and the mathematician Nicomachus had noted 8,128 as early as 100AD.[1] In a manuscript written between 1456 and 1461, an unknown mathematician recorded the earliest reference to a fifth perfect number, with 33,550,336 being correctly identified for the first time.[2][3] In 1588, the Italian mathematician Pietro Cataldi identified the sixth (8,589,869,056)[4] and the seventh (137,438,691,328) perfect numbers.[5]
Even perfect numbers

Euclid proved that 2p1(2p1) is an even perfect number whenever 2p1 is prime (Euclid, Prop. IX.36). For example, the first four perfect numbers are generated by the formula 2p1(2p1), with p a prime number, as follows: for p = 2: 21(221) = 6 for p = 3: 22(231) = 28 for p = 5: 24(251) = 496 for p = 7: 26(271) = 8128. For 2p1 to be prime, it is necessary that p itself be prime. Prime numbers of the form 2p1 are known as Mersenne primes, after the seventeenth-century monk Marin Mersenne, who studied number theory and perfect numbers. However, not all numbers of the form 2p1 with a prime p are prime; for example, 2111 = 2047 = 23 89 is not a prime number. (All factors of 2p1 will be congruent to 1 mod 2p. For example, 2111 = 2047 = 23 89 and both 23 and 89 yield a remainder of 1 when divided by 22. Furthermore, whenever p is a Sophie Germain primethat is,
Perfect number 2p+1 is also primeand 2p+1 is congruent to 1 or 7 mod 8, then 2p + 1 will be a factor of 2p1.) In fact, Mersenne primes are very rareof the 1,622,441 prime numbers p up to 25,964,951,[6] 2p1 is prime for only 42 of them. Over a millennium after Euclid, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) circa 1000 AD conjectured that every even perfect number is of the form 2p1(2p1) where 2p1 is prime, but he was not able to prove this result.[7] It was not until the 18th century that Leonhard Euler proved that the formula 2p1(2p1) will yield all the even perfect numbers. Thus, there is a one-to-one relationship between even perfect numbers and Mersenne primes; each Mersenne prime generates one even perfect number, and vice versa. This result is often referred to as the EuclidEuler Theorem. As of November 2012, 47 Mersenne primes and therefore 47 even perfect numbers are known.[8] The largest of these is 243,112,608 (243,112,6091) with 25,956,377 digits. The first 42 even perfect numbers are 2p1(2p1) for p = 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 31, 61, 89, 107, 127, 521, 607, 1279, 2203, 2281, 3217, 4253, 4423, 9689, 9941, 11213, 19937, 21701, 23209, 44497, 86243, 110503, 132049, 216091, 756839, 859433, 1257787, 1398269, 2976221, 3021377, 6972593, 13466917, 20996011, 24036583, and 25964951.(sequence A000043 in OEIS).[9] The other 5 known are for p = 30402457, 32582657, 37156667, 42643801, and 43112609. It has not yet been proved that there are (or are not) others after the 42nd. No proof is known whether there are infinitely many Mersenne primes and perfect numbers. The search for new Mersenne primes is the goal of the GIMPS distributed computing project. Because any even perfect number has the form 2p1(2p1), it is the (2p1)th triangular number and the 2p1th hexagonal number. Like all triangular numbers, it is the sum of all natural numbers up to a certain point; in this case: 2p1. Furthermore, any even perfect number except the first one is the ((2p+1)/3)th centered nonagonal number as well as the sum of the first 2(p1)/2 odd cubes:
108
Even perfect numbers (except6) give remainder1 when divided by9. (In fact, subtracting 1 and dividing the result by 9 always gives a triangular number, the sequence starting with 3, 55, 903, 3727815, ....[10]) This can be reformulated as follows: adding the digits of any even perfect number (except6), then adding the digits of the resulting number, and repeating this process until a single digit (called the digital root) is obtained, always produces the number1. For example, the digital root of 8128 is 1, because 8+1+2+8=19, 1+9=10, and1+0=1. This works with all perfect numbers 2p1(2p1) with odd prime p and, in fact, all numbers of the form 2m1(2m1) for odd integer (not necessarily prime) m. Owing to their form, 2p1(2p1), every even perfect number is represented in binary as p ones followed byp1zeros: 610 = 1102 2810 = 111002 49610 = 1111100002 812810 = 11111110000002
Perfect number 3355033610 = 11111111111110000000000002. Thus every even perfect number is a pernicious number. Note that every even perfect number is also a practical number (c.f. Related concepts).
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Odd perfect numbers

It is unknown whether there are any odd perfect numbers, though various results have been obtained. Carl Pomerance has presented a heuristic argument which suggests that no odd perfect numbers exist. All perfect numbers are also Ore's harmonic numbers, and it has been conjectured as well that there are no odd Ore's harmonic numbers other than 1. Any odd perfect number N must satisfy the following conditions: N > 101500, result published in 2012.[11] N is of the form
where: q,p1,...,pk are distinct primes (Euler). q 1 (mod 4) (Euler). The smallest prime factor of N is less than (2k+8)/3.[12] Either q>1062, or pj2ej >1062 for some j.[11] N<24k+1.[13]
The largest prime factor of N is greater than 108.[14] The second largest prime factor is greater than 104, and the third largest prime factor is greater than 100.[15][16] N has at least 101 prime factors and at least 9 distinct prime factors. If 3 is not one of the factors of N, then N has at least 12 distinct prime factors.[11][17] In 1888, Sylvester stated:[18] ...a prolonged meditation on the subject has satisfied me that the existence of any one such [odd perfect number] its escape, so to say, from the complex web of conditions which hem it in on all sides would be little short of a miracle.
Minor results
All even perfect numbers have a very precise form; odd perfect numbers either do not exist or are rare. There are a number of results on perfect numbers that are actually quite easy to prove but nevertheless superficially impressive; some of them also come under Richard Guy's strong law of small numbers: An odd perfect number is not divisible by 105.[19] Every odd perfect number is of the form N 1 (mod 12), N 117 (mod 468), or N 81 (mod 324).[20] The only even perfect number of the form x3+1 is 28 (Makowski 1962). 28 is also the only even perfect number that is a sum of two positive integral cubes (Gallardo 2010).[21] The reciprocals of the divisors of a perfect number N must add up to 2: For 6, we have For 28, we have ; , etc. (This is particularly easy to see,
just by taking the definition of a perfect number, , and dividing both sides by n.) The number of divisors of a perfect number (whether even or odd) must be even, because N cannot be a perfect square. From these two results it follows that every perfect number is an Ore's harmonic number.
Perfect number The even perfect numbers are not trapezoidal numbers; that is, they cannot be represented as the difference of two positive non-consecutive triangular numbers. There are only three types of non-trapezoidal numbers: even perfect numbers, powers of two, and a class of numbers formed from Fermat primes in a similar way to the construction of even perfect numbers from Mersenne primes. [22] The number of perfect numbers less than n is less than using little-o notation.[24] , where c > 0 is a constant.[23] In fact it is ,
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Related concepts
The sum of proper divisors gives various other kinds of numbers. Numbers where the sum is less than the number itself are called deficient, and where it is greater than the number, abundant. These terms, together with perfect itself, come from Greek numerology. A pair of numbers which are the sum of each other's proper divisors are called amicable, and larger cycles of numbers are called sociable. A positive integer such that every smaller positive integer is a sum of distinct divisors of it is a practical number. By definition, a perfect number is a fixed point of the restricted divisor function s(n) = (n) n, and the aliquot sequence associated with a perfect number is a constant sequence. All perfect numbers are also -perfect numbers, or Granville numbers.
Notes
[1] Dickson, L. E. (1919). [[History of the Theory of Numbers (http:/ / www. archive. org/ stream/ historyoftheoryo01dick#page/ 4/ )]]. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. pp.iii. . [2] Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14908 [3] Smith, DE (1958). The History of Mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=uTytJGnTf1kC& pg=PA21). New York: Dover. pp.21. ISBN0-486-20430-8. . [4] Peterson, I (2002). Mathematical Treks: From Surreal Numbers to Magic Circles (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=4gWSAraVhtAC& pg=PA132). Washington: Mathematical Association of America. pp.132. ISBN88-8358-537-2. . [5] Pickover, C (2001). Wonders of Numbers: Adventures in Mathematics, Mind, and Meaning (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=52N0JJBspM0C& pg=PA360). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.360. ISBN0-19-515799-0. . [6] number of primes <= 25964951 (http:/ / www. wolframalpha. com/ input/ ?i=number+ of+ primes+ <=+ 25964951) from Wolfram Alpha [7] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Al-Haytham. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . [8] "GIMPS Home" (http:/ / www. mersenne. org/ ). Mersenne.org. . Retrieved 2012-12-17. [9] GIMPS Milestones Report (http:/ / www. mersenne. org/ report_milestones/ ). Retrieved 2012-12-21 [10] "Perfect Number" from [[MathWorld (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PerfectNumber. html)] ] [11] Ochem, P; Rao, M (2012). "Odd perfect numbers are greater than 101500" (http:/ / www. lirmm. fr/ ~ochem/ opn/ opn. pdf). Mathematics of Computation. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-2012-02563-4. . [12] Grn, O (1952). "ber ungerade vollkommene Zahlen" (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ u6n2338x7mw10027/ ). Mathematische Zeitschrift 55 (3): 353354. doi:10.1007/BF01181133. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [13] Nielsen, PP (2003). "An upper bound for odd perfect numbers" (http:/ / www. westga. edu/ ~integers/ vol3. html). Integers 3: A14A22. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [14] Goto, T; Ohno, Y (2008). "Odd perfect numbers have a prime factor exceeding 108" (http:/ / www. ma. noda. tus. ac. jp/ u/ tg/ perfect/ perfect. pdf). Mathematics of Computation 77 (263): 18591868. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-08-02050-9. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [15] Iannucci, DE (1999). "The second largest prime divisor of an odd perfect number exceeds ten thousand" (http:/ / www. ams. org/ journals/ mcom/ 1999-68-228/ S0025-5718-99-01126-6/ S0025-5718-99-01126-6. pdf). Mathematics of Computation 68 (228): 17491760. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-99-01126-6. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [16] Iannucci, DE (2000). "The third largest prime divisor of an odd perfect number exceeds one hundred" (http:/ / www. ams. org/ journals/ mcom/ 2000-69-230/ S0025-5718-99-01127-8/ S0025-5718-99-01127-8. pdf). Mathematics of Computation 69 (230): 867879. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [17] Nielsen, PP (2007). "Odd perfect numbers have at least nine distinct prime factors" (https:/ / www. math. byu. edu/ ~pace/ NotEight_web. pdf). Mathematics of Computation 76 (260): 21092126. doi:10.1090/S0025-5718-07-01990-4. . Retrieved 30 March 2011. [18] The Collected Mathematical Papers of James Joseph Sylvester p. 590, tr. from "Sur les nombres dits de Hamilton", Compte Rendu de l'Assoiation Franaise (Toulouse, 1887), pp. 164168. [19] Khnel, U (1949). "Verschrfung der notwendigen Bedingungen fr die Existenz von ungeraden vollkommenen Zahlen" (http:/ / www. reference-global. com/ doi/ abs/ 10. 1515/ crll. 1941. 183. 98). Mathematische Zeitschrift 52: 201211. doi:10.1515/crll.1941.183.98,+//1941.
Perfect number
. Retrieved 30 March 2011. [20] Roberts, T (2008). "On the Form of an Odd Perfect Number". Australian Mathematical Gazette 35 (4): 244. [21] Luis H. Gallardo, On a remark of Makowski about perfect numbers, Elem. Math. 65 (2010) 121-126. [22] Jones, Chris; Lord, Nick (1999). "Characterising non-trapezoidal numbers". The Mathematical Gazette (The Mathematical Association) 83 (497): 262263. doi:10.2307/3619053. JSTOR3619053 [23] Hornfeck, B (1955). "Zur dichte der menge der follkommenen zahlen". Arch. Math. 6: 442443. [24] Kanold, HJ (1956). "Eine Bemerkung uber die Menge der vollkommenen zahlen.". Math. Ann. 131: 390392.
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References
Euclid, Elements, Book IX, Proposition 36. See D.E. Joyce's website (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/ elements/bookIX/propIX36.html) for a translation and discussion of this proposition and its proof. H.-J. Kanold, "Untersuchungen ber ungerade vollkommene Zahlen", Journal fr die Reine und Angewandte Mathematik, 183 (1941), pp.98109. R. Steuerwald, "Verschrfung einer notwendigen Bedingung fr die Existenz einer ungeraden vollkommenen Zahl", S.-B. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., 1937, pp.6972.
Further reading
Nankar, M.L.: "History of perfect numbers," Ganita Bharati 1, no. 12 (1979), 78. Hagis, P.: "A Lower Bound for the set of odd Perfect Prime Numbers", Mathematics of Computation 27, (1973), 951953. Riele, H.J.J. "Perfect Numbers and Aliquot Sequences" in H.W. Lenstra and R. Tijdeman (eds.): Computational Methods in Number Theory, Vol. 154, Amsterdam, 1982, pp.141157. Riesel, H. Prime Numbers and Computer Methods for Factorisation, Birkhauser, 1985.
External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Perfect number" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=p/ p072090), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 David Moews: Perfect, amicable and sociable numbers (http://djm.cc/amicable.html) Perfect numbers - History and Theory (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/ Perfect_numbers.html) Weisstein, Eric W., " perfect number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PerfectNumber.html)" from MathWorld. " Sloane's A000396 : Perfect numbers (http://oeis.org/A000396)", The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences. OEIS Foundation. OddPerfect.org (http://www.oddperfect.org) A projected distributed computing project to search for odd perfect numbers Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (http://www.mersenne.org/(GIMPS)) Perfect Numbers (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.perfect.html), Math forum at Drexel
Regular polygon
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Regular polygon
Set of convex regular p-gons
Regular polygons Edges and vertices Schlfli symbol CoxeterDynkin diagram Symmetry group Dual polygon Area (with t=edge length) Internal angle Internal angle sum Properties convex, cyclic, equilateral, isogonal, isotoxal Dn, order 2n Self-dual n {n}
In Euclidean geometry, a regular polygon is a polygon that is equiangular (all angles are equal in measure) and equilateral (all sides have the same length). Regular polygons may be convex or star. In the limit, a sequence of regular polygons with an increasing number of sides becomes a circle.
General properties
These properties apply to all regular polygons, whether convex or star. A regular n-sided polygon has rotational symmetry of order n. All vertices of a regular polygon lie on a common circle (the circumscribed circle), i.e., they are concyclic points. That is, a regular polygon is a cyclic polygon. Together with the property of equal-length sides, this implies that every regular polygon also has an inscribed circle or incircle that is tangent to every side at the midpoint. Thus a regular polygon is a tangential polygon. A regular n-sided polygon can be constructed with compass and straightedge if and only if the odd prime factors of n are distinct Fermat primes. See constructible polygon.
Regular polygon
113
Symmetry
The symmetry group of an n-sided regular polygon is dihedral group Dn (of order 2n): D2, D3, D4, ... It consists of the rotations in Cn, together with reflection symmetry in n axes that pass through the center. If n is even then half of these axes pass through two opposite vertices, and the other half through the midpoint of opposite sides. If n is odd then all axes pass through a vertex and the midpoint of the opposite side.
Regular convex polygons

All regular simple polygons (a simple polygon is one that does not intersect itself anywhere) are convex. Those having the same number of sides are also similar. An n-sided convex regular polygon is denoted by its Schlfli symbol {n}. Henagon or monogon {1}: degenerate in ordinary space (Most authorities do not regard the monogon as a true polygon, partly because of this, and also because the formulae below do not work, and its structure is not that of any abstract polygon). Digon {2}: a "double line segment": degenerate in ordinary space (Some authorities do not regard the digon as a true polygon because of this).
Equilateral triangle {3}
Square {4}
Pentagon {5}
Hexagon {6}
Heptagon {7}
Octagon {8}
Enneagon {9}
Decagon {10}
Hendecagon or undecagon {11}
Dodecagon {12}
Tridecagon {13}
Tetradecagon Pentadecagon Hexadecagon Heptadecagon Octadecagon Enneadecagon {14} {18} {16} {19} {17} {15}
Icosagon {20}
Triacontagon Tetracontagon Pentacontagon Hexacontagon Heptacontagon Octacontagon Enneacontagon {30} {50} {70} {90} {40} {60} {80}
Hectogon {100}
In certain contexts all the polygons considered will be regular. In such circumstances it is customary to drop the prefix regular. For instance, all the faces of uniform polyhedra must be regular and the faces will be described simply as triangle, square, pentagon, etc.
Angles
For a regular convex n-gon, each interior angle has a measure of: (or equally of or or radians, full turns, degrees, with the sum of the ) degrees,
and each exterior angle (i.e. supplementary to the interior angle) has a measure of exterior angles equal to 360 degrees or 2 radians or one full turn.
Regular polygon
114
Diagonals
For n > 2 the number of diagonals is , i.e., 0, 2, 5, 9, ... for a triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, .... The diagonals divide the polygon into 1, 4, 11, 24, ... pieces. For a regular n-gon inscribed in a unit-radius circle, the product of the distances from a given vertex to all other vertices (including adjacent vertices and vertices connected by a diagonal) equals n.
Interior points
For a regular n-gon, the sum of the perpendicular distances from any interior point to the n sides is n times the apothem (the apothem being the distance from the center to any side). This is a generalization of Viviani's theorem for the n=3 case.[1][2]
Circumradius
The circumradius from the center of a regular polygon to one of the vertices is related to the side length, s or apothem, a:
Area
The area A of a convex regular n-sided polygon having side s, circumradius r, apothem a, and perimeter p is given by[3]
For regular polygons with side s=1, resp. circumradius r=1, resp. apothem a=1, this produces the following table:[4]
Regular polygon with n = 5: pentagon with side s, circumradius r and apothem a
Number of sides
Name of polygon
Area when side s=1 Exact Approximate
Area when circumradius r=1 Exact Approximate Approximate as fraction of circle
Area when apothem a=1 Exact Approximate Approximate as fraction of circle
n 3
regular n-gon equilateral triangle square regular pentagon regular hexagon 3/4 0.433012702 33/4 1.299038105 0.4134966714 33 5.196152424 1.653986686
4 5
1 1/425+105
1.000000000
2.000000000 0.6366197722
4 55-25
4.000000000 3.632712640
1.273239544 1.156328347
1.720477401 5/4(5+5)/2 2.377641291 0.7568267288
33/2
2.598076211
33/2
2.598076211 0.8269933428
23
3.464101616
1.102657791
Regular polygon
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3.633912444 2.736410189 0.8710264157 3.371022333 1.073029735
regular heptagon regular octagon regular nonagon regular decagon regular hendecagon regular dodecagon regular triskaidecagon regular tetradecagon regular pentadecagon regular hexadecagon regular heptadecagon regular octadecagon regular enneadecagon regular icosagon regular hectagon regular chiliagon regular myriagon regular megagon 6+33 5/25+25 2+22
4.828427125
22
2.828427125 0.9003163160
8(2-1)
3.313708500
1.054786175
6.181824194
2.892544244 0.9207254290
3.275732109
1.042697914
10
7.694208843
5/2(5-5)/2
2.938926262 0.9354892840
225-105
3.249196963
1.034251515
11
9.365639907
2.973524496 0.9465022440
3.229891423
1.028106371
12
11.19615242
3.000000000 0.9549296586
12(2-3)
3.215390309
1.023490523
13
13.18576833
3.020700617 0.9615188694
3.204212220
1.019932427
14
15.33450194
3.037186175 0.9667663859
3.195408642
1.017130161
15
17.64236291
3.050524822 0.9710122088
3.188348426
1.014882824
16
20.10935797
42-2
3.061467460 0.9744953584
3.182597878
1.013052368
17
22.73549190
3.070554163 0.9773877456
3.177850752
1.011541311
18
25.52076819
3.078181290 0.9798155361
3.173885653
1.010279181
19
28.46518943
3.084644958 0.9818729854
3.170539238
1.009213984
20
5 31.56875757 (1+5+5+25) 795.5128988
5/2 (5-1)
3.090169944 0.9836316430
20 3.167688806 (1+5-5+25) 3.142626605
1.008306663
100
3.139525977 0.9993421565
1.000329117
1000
79577.20975
3.141571983 0.9999934200
3.141602989
1.000003290
10000
7957746.893
3.141592448 0.9999999345
3.141592757
1.000000033
1,000,000
7.95775e+10
3.141592654
1.000000000
3.141592654
1.000000000
Of all n-gons with a given perimeter, the one with the largest area is regular.[5]
Regular polygon
116
Regular skew polygons
The zig-zagging side edges of a n-antiprism represent a regular skew 2n-gon, as show in this 17-gonal antiprism. The cube contains a skew regular hexagon, seen as 6 red edges zig-zagging between two planes perpendicular to the cube's diagonal axis.
A regular skew polygon in 3-space can be seen as nonplanar paths zig-zagging between two parallel planes, defined as the side-edges of a uniform antiprism. All edges and internal angles are equal.
The Platonic solids (the tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron) have Petrie polygons, seen in red here, with sides 4, 6, 6, 10, and 10 respectively.
More generally regular skew polygons can be defined in n-space. Examples include the Petrie polygons, polygonal paths of edges that divide a regular polytope into two halves, and seen as a regular polygon in orthogonal projection. In the infinite limit regular skew polygons become skew apeirogons.
Regular star polygons

A non-convex regular polygon is a regular star polygon. The most common example is the pentagram, which has the same vertices as a pentagon, but connects alternating vertices. For an n-sided star polygon, the Schlfli symbol is modified to indicate the density or "starriness" m of the polygon, as {n/m}. If m is 2, for example, then every second point is joined. If m is 3, then every third point is joined. The boundary of the polygon winds around the center m times. The (non-degenerate) regular stars of up to 12 sides are: Pentagram {5/2} Heptagram {7/2} and {7/3} Octagram {8/3} Enneagram {9/2} and {9/4} Decagram {10/3} Hendecagram {11/2}, {11/3}, {11/4} and {11/5} Dodecagram {12/5}
A pentagram {5/2}
m and n must be co-prime, or the figure will degenerate.
Regular polygon The degenerate regular stars of up to 12 sides are: Hexagram {6/2} Octagram {8/2} Enneagram {9/3} Decagram {10/2} and {10/4} Dodecagram {12/2}, {12/3} and {12/4}
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Depending on the precise derivation of the Schlfli symbol, opinions differ as to the nature of the degenerate figure. For example {6/2} may be treated in either of two ways: For much of the 20th century (see for example Coxeter (1948)), we have commonly taken the /2 to indicate joining each vertex of a convex {6} to its near neighbors two steps away, to obtain the regular compound of two triangles, or hexagram. Many modern geometers, such as Grnbaum (2003), regard this as incorrect. They take the /2 to indicate moving two places around the {6} at each step, obtaining a "double-wound" triangle that has two vertices superimposed at each corner point and two edges along each line segment. Not only does this fit in better with modern theories of abstract polytopes, but it also more closely copies the way in which Poinsot (1809) created his star polygons by taking a single length of wire and bending it at successive points through the same angle until the figure closed.
Duality of regular polygons

All regular polygons are self-dual to congruency, and for odd n they are self-dual to identity. In addition, the regular star figures (compounds), being composed of regular polygons, are also self-dual.
Regular polygons as faces of polyhedra

A uniform polyhedron has regular polygons as faces, such that for every two vertices there is an isometry mapping one into the other (just as there is for a regular polygon). A quasiregular polyhedron is a uniform polyhedron which has just two kinds of face alternating around each vertex. A regular polyhedron is a uniform polyhedron which has just one kind of face. The remaining (non-uniform) convex polyhedra with regular faces are known as the Johnson solids. A polyhedron having regular triangles as faces is called a deltahedron.
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] Pickover, Clifford A, The Math Book, Sterling, 2009: p. 150 Chen, Zhibo, and Liang, Tian. "The converse of Viviani's theorem", The College Mathematics Journal 37(5), 2006, pp. 390391. "Mathworlds" (http:/ / www. mathwords. com/ a/ area_regular_polygon. htm). . Results for r=1 and a=1 obtained with Maple, using function definition:
f := proc (n) options operator, arrow; [ [convert((1/4)*n*cot(Pi/n), radical), convert((1/4)*n*cot(Pi/n), float)], [convert((1/2)*n*sin(2*Pi/n), radical), convert((1/2)*n*sin(2*Pi/n), float), convert((1/2)*n*sin(2*Pi/n)/Pi, float)], [convert(n*tan(Pi/n), radical), convert(n*tan(Pi/n), float), convert(n*tan(Pi/n)/Pi, float)] ] end proc
Regular polygon
[5] Chakerian, G.D. "A Distorted View of Geometry." Ch. 7 in Mathematical Plums (R. Honsberger, editor). Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 1979: 147.
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References
Coxeter, H.S.M. (1948). Regular Polytopes. Methuen and Co. Grnbaum, B.; Are your polyhedra the same as my polyhedra?, Discrete and comput. geom: the Goodman-Pollack festschrift, Ed. Aronov et al., Springer (2003), pp.461488. Poinsot, L.; Memoire sur les polygones et polydres. J. de l'cole Polytechnique 9 (1810), pp.1648.
External links
Weisstein, Eric W., " Regular polygon (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/RegularPolygon.html)" from MathWorld. Regular Polygon description (http://www.mathopenref.com/polygonregular.html) With interactive animation Incircle of a Regular Polygon (http://www.mathopenref.com/polygonincircle.html) With interactive animation Area of a Regular Polygon (http://www.mathopenref.com/polygonregulararea.html) Three different formulae, with interactive animation Renaissance artists' constructions of regular polygons (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1056&bodyId=1245) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/)
Platonic solid
In Euclidean geometry, a Platonicsolid is aregular, convex polyhedron. Thefaces are congruent, regular polygons, withthe samenumber offaces meeting ateachvertex.There are exactly five solids which meet those criteria; each is named according to its numberoffaces.
Tetrahedron (fourfaces) Cube or hexahedron (sixfaces) Octahedron (eightfaces) Dodecahedron Icosahedron (twelvefaces) (twentyfaces)
(Animation)
(Animation)
(Animation)
(Animation)
(Animation)
The aesthetic beauty and symmetry of the Platonic solids have made them a favorite subject of geometers for thousands of years. They are named for the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who theorized that the classical elements were constructed from the regular solids.
Platonic solid
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History
The Platonic solids have been known since antiquity. Ornamented models resembling them can be found among the carved stone balls created by the late neolithic people of Scotland, although there seems to be no special attention paid to the Platonic solids over less symmetrical objects, and some of the five solids do not appear.[1] Dice go back to the dawn of civilization with shapes that augured formal charting of Platonic solids. The ancient Greeks studied the Platonic solids extensively. Some sources (such as Proclus) credit Pythagoras with their discovery. Other evidence suggests he may have only been familiar with the tetrahedron, cube, and dodecahedron, and that the discovery of the octahedron and icosahedron belong to Theaetetus, a contemporary of Plato. In any case, Theaetetus gave a mathematical description of all five and may have been responsible for the first known proof that there are no other convex regular polyhedra.
Kepler's Platonic solid model of the solar system from Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596)
The Platonic solids feature prominently in the philosophy of Plato for whom they are named. Plato wrote about them in the dialogue Timaeus c.360 B.C. in which he associated each of the four classical elements (earth, air, water, and fire) with a regular solid. Earth was associated with the cube, air with the octahedron, water with the icosahedron, and fire with the tetrahedron. There was intuitive justification for these associations: the heat of fire feels sharp and stabbing (like little tetrahedra). Air is made of the octahedron; its minuscule components are so smooth that one can barely feel it. Water, the icosahedron, flows out of one's hand when picked up, as if it is made of tiny little balls. By contrast, a highly un-spherical solid, the hexahedron (cube) represents earth. These clumsy little solids cause dirt to crumble and break when picked up, in stark difference to the smooth flow of water. Moreover, the solidity of the Earth was believed to be due to the fact that the cube is the only regular solid that tesselates Euclidean space. The fifth Platonic solid, the dodecahedron, Plato obscurely remarks, "...the god used for arranging the constellations on the whole heaven". Aristotle added a fifth element, aithr (aether in Latin, "ether" in English) and postulated that the heavens were made of this element, but he had no interest in matching it with Plato's fifth solid. Euclid gave a complete mathematical description of the Platonic solids in the Elements, the last book (Book XIII) of which is devoted to their properties. Propositions 1317 in Book XIII describe the construction of the tetrahedron, octahedron, cube, icosahedron, and dodecahedron in that order. For each solid Euclid finds the ratio of the diameter of the circumscribed sphere to the edge length. In Proposition 18 he argues that there are no further convex regular polyhedra. Andreas Speiser has advocated the view that the construction of the 5 regular solids is the chief goal of the deductive system canonized in the Elements.[2] Much of the information in Book XIII is probably derived from the work of Theaetetus. In the 16th century, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler attempted to find a relation between the five extraterrestrial planets known at that time and the five Platonic solids. In Mysterium Cosmographicum, published in 1596, Kepler laid out a model of the solar system in which the five solids were set inside one another and separated by a series of inscribed and circumscribed spheres. Kepler proposed that the distance relationships between the six planets known at that time could be understood in terms of the five Platonic solids, enclosed within a sphere that represented the orbit of Saturn. The six spheres each corresponded to one of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Platonic solid Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). The solids were ordered with the innermost being the octahedron, followed by the icosahedron, dodecahedron, tetrahedron, and finally the cube. In this way the structure of the solar system and the distance relationships between the planets was dictated by the Platonic solids. In the end, Kepler's original idea had to be abandoned, but out of his research came his three laws of orbital dynamics, the first of which was that the orbits of planets are ellipses rather than circles, changing the course of physics and astronomy. He also discovered the Kepler solids. In the 20th century, attempts to link Platonic solids to the physical world were expanded to the electron shell model in chemistry by Robert Moon in a theory known as the "Moon model".[3]
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Combinatorial properties
A convex polyhedron is a Platonic solid if and only if 1. all its faces are congruent convex regular polygons, 2. none of its faces intersect except at their edges, and 3. the same number of faces meet at each of its vertices. Each Platonic solid can therefore be denoted by a symbol {p, q} where p = the number of edges of each face (or the number of vertices of each face) and q = the number of faces meeting at each vertex (or the number of edges meeting at each vertex). The symbol {p, q}, called the Schlfli symbol, gives a combinatorial description of the polyhedron. The Schlfli symbols of the five Platonic solids are given in the table below.
Polyhedron Vertices Edges Faces Schlfli symbol Vertex configuration 3.3.3
tetrahedron
{3, 3}
cube / hexahedron
12
{4, 3}
4.4.4
octahedron
12
{3, 4}
3.3.3.3
dodecahedron
20
30
12
{5, 3}
5.5.5
icosahedron
12
30
20
{3, 5}
3.3.3.3.3
All other combinatorial information about these solids, such as total number of vertices (V), edges (E), and faces (F), can be determined from p and q. Since any edge joins two vertices and has two adjacent faces we must have:
The other relationship between these values is given by Euler's formula:
This nontrivial fact can be proved in a great variety of ways (in algebraic topology it follows from the fact that the Euler characteristic of the sphere is 2). Together these three relationships completely determine V, E, and F:
Note that swapping p and q interchanges F and V while leaving E unchanged (for a geometric interpretation of this fact, see the section on dual polyhedra below).
Platonic solid
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Classification
It is a classical result that there are only five convex regular polyhedra. Two common arguments are given below. Both of these arguments only show that there can be no more than five Platonic solids. That all five actually exist is a separate questionone that can be answered by an explicit construction.
Geometric proof
The following geometric argument is very similar to the one given by Euclid in the Elements: 1. Each vertex of the solid must coincide with one vertex each of at least three faces. 2. At each vertex of the solid, the total, among the adjacent faces, of the angles between their respective adjacent sides must be less than 360. 3. The angles at all vertices of all faces of a Platonic solid are identical, so each vertex of each face must contribute less than 360/3=120. 4. Regular polygons of six or more sides have only angles of 120 or more, so the common face must be the triangle, square, or pentagon. And for: Triangular faces: each vertex of a regular triangle is 60, so a shape may have 3, 4, or 5 triangles meeting at a vertex; these are the tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron respectively. Square faces: each vertex of a square is 90, so there is only one arrangement possible with three faces at a vertex, the cube. Pentagonal faces: each vertex is 108; again, only one arrangement, of three faces at a vertex is possible, the dodecahedron.
Topological proof
A purely topological proof can be made using only combinatorial information about the solids. The key is Euler's observation that , and the fact that , where p stands for the number of edges of each face and q for the number of edges meeting at each vertex. Combining these equations one obtains the equation
Simple algebraic manipulation then gives
Since
is strictly positive we must have
Using the fact that p and q must both be at least 3, one can easily see that there are only five possibilities for (p, q):
Platonic solid
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Geometric properties
Angles
There are a number of angles associated with each Platonic solid. The dihedral angle is the interior angle between any two face planes. The dihedral angle, , of the solid {p,q} is given by the formula
This is sometimes more conveniently expressed in terms of the tangent by
The quantity h is 4, 6, 6, 10, and 10 for the tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron respectively. The angular deficiency at the vertex of a polyhedron is the difference between the sum of the face-angles at that vertex and 2. The defect, , at any vertex of the Platonic solids {p,q} is
By a theorem of Descartes, this is equal to 4 divided by the number of vertices (i.e. the total defect at all vertices is 4). The 3-dimensional analog of a plane angle is a solid angle. The solid angle, , at the vertex of a Platonic solid is given in terms of the dihedral angle by
This follows from the spherical excess formula for a spherical polygon and the fact that the vertex figure of the polyhedron {p,q} is a regular q-gon. The solid angle of a face subtended from the center of a platonic solid is equal to the solid angle of a full sphere (4 steradians) divided by the number of faces. Note that this is equal to the angular deficiency of its dual. The various angles associated with the Platonic solids are tabulated below. The numerical values of the solid angles are given in steradians. The constant = (1+5)/2 is the golden ratio.
Polyhedron Dihedral angle Vertex angle Defect ( ) Vertex solid angle ( ) Face solid angle
tetrahedron
70.53
60
cube octahedron
90 109.47
90 60, 90 108 60, 108
dodecahedron 116.57 icosahedron 138.19
Platonic solid
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Radii, area, and volume

Another virtue of regularity is that the Platonic solids all possess three concentric spheres: the circumscribed sphere which passes through all the vertices, the midsphere which is tangent to each edge at the midpoint of the edge, and the inscribed sphere which is tangent to each face at the center of the face. The radii of these spheres are called the circumradius, the midradius, and the inradius. These are the distances from the center of the polyhedron to the vertices, edge midpoints, and face centers respectively. The circumradius R and the inradius r of the solid {p, q} with edge length a are given by
where is the dihedral angle. The midradius is given by
where h is the quantity used above in the definition of the dihedral angle (h = 4, 6, 6, 10, or 10). Note that the ratio of the circumradius to the inradius is symmetric in p and q:
The surface area, A, of a Platonic solid {p, q} is easily computed as area of a regular p-gon times the number of faces F. This is:
The volume is computed as F times the volume of the pyramid whose base is a regular p-gon and whose height is the inradius r. That is,
The following table lists the various radii of the Platonic solids together with their surface area and volume. The overall size is fixed by taking the edge length, a, to be equal to 2.
Polyhedron (a = 2) tetrahedron Inradius (r) Midradius () Circumradius (R) Surface area (A) Volume (V)
cube octahedron
dodecahedron
icosahedron
The constants and in the above are given by
Platonic solid Among the Platonic solids, either the dodecahedron or the icosahedron may be seen as the best approximation to the sphere. The icosahedron has the largest number of faces and the largest dihedral angle, it hugs its inscribed sphere the tightest, and its surface area to volume ratio is closest to that of a sphere of the same size (i.e. either the same surface area or the same volume.) The dodecahedron, on the other hand, has the smallest angular defect, the largest vertex solid angle, and it fills out its circumscribed sphere the most.
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Symmetry
Dual polyhedra
Every polyhedron has a dual (or "polar") polyhedron with faces and vertices interchanged. The dual of every Platonic solid is another Platonic solid, so that we can arrange the five solids into dual pairs. The tetrahedron is self-dual (i.e. its dual is another tetrahedron). The cube and the octahedron form a dual pair. The dodecahedron and the icosahedron form a dual pair. If a polyhedron has Schlfli symbol {p, q}, then its dual has the symbol {q, p}. Indeed every combinatorial property of one Platonic solid can be interpreted as another combinatorial property of the dual.
A dual pair: cube and octahedron. One can construct the dual polyhedron by taking the vertices of the dual to be the centers of the faces of the original figure. The edges of the dual are formed by connecting the centers of adjacent faces in the original. In this way, the number of faces and vertices is interchanged, while the number of edges stays the same.
More generally, one can dualize a Platonic solid with respect to a sphere of radius d concentric with the solid. The radii (R, , r) of a solid and those of its dual (R*, *, r*) are related by
It is often convenient to dualize with respect to the midsphere (d = ) since it has the same relationship to both polyhedra. Taking d2 = Rr gives a dual solid with the same circumradius and inradius (i.e. R* = R and r* = r).
Symmetry groups
In mathematics, the concept of symmetry is studied with the notion of a mathematical group. Every polyhedron has an associated symmetry group, which is the set of all transformations (Euclidean isometries) which leave the polyhedron invariant. The order of the symmetry group is the number of symmetries of the polyhedron. One often distinguishes between the full symmetry group, which includes reflections, and the proper symmetry group, which includes only rotations. The symmetry groups of the Platonic solids are known as polyhedral groups (which are a special class of the point groups in three dimensions). The high degree of symmetry of the Platonic solids can be interpreted in a number of ways. Most importantly, the vertices of each solid are all equivalent under the action of the symmetry group, as are the edges and faces. One says the action of the symmetry group is transitive on the vertices, edges, and faces. In fact, this is another way of defining regularity of a polyhedron: a polyhedron is regular if and only if it is vertex-uniform, edge-uniform, and face-uniform. There are only three symmetry groups associated with the Platonic solids rather than five, since the symmetry group of any polyhedron coincides with that of its dual. This is easily seen by examining the construction of the dual polyhedron. Any symmetry of the original must be a symmetry of the dual and vice-versa. The three polyhedral groups are:
Platonic solid the tetrahedral group T, the octahedral group O (which is also the symmetry group of the cube), and the icosahedral group I (which is also the symmetry group of the dodecahedron). The orders of the proper (rotation) groups are 12, 24, and 60 respectively precisely twice the number of edges in the respective polyhedra. The orders of the full symmetry groups are twice as much again (24, 48, and 120). See (Coxeter 1973) for a derivation of these facts. All Platonic solids except the tetrahedron are centrally symmetric, meaning they are preserved under reflection through the origin. The following table lists the various symmetry properties of the Platonic solids. The symmetry groups listed are the full groups with the rotation subgroups given in parenthesis (likewise for the number of symmetries). Wythoff's kaleidoscope construction is a method for constructing polyhedra directly from their symmetry groups. We list for reference Wythoff's symbol for each of the Platonic solids.
Polyhedron tetrahedron cube octahedron Schlfli symbol Wythoff symbol Dual polyhedron Symmetries Symmetry group {3, 3} {4, 3} {3, 4} 3|23 3|24 4|23 3|25 5|23 tetrahedron octahedron cube icosahedron dodecahedron 120 (60) Ih (I) 24 (12) 48 (24) Td (T) Oh (O)
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dodecahedron {5, 3} icosahedron {3, 5}
In nature and technology

The tetrahedron, cube, and octahedron all occur naturally in crystal structures. These by no means exhaust the numbers of possible forms of crystals. However, neither the regular icosahedron nor the regular dodecahedron are amongst them. One of the forms, called the pyritohedron (named for the group of minerals of which it is typical) has twelve pentagonal faces, arranged in the same pattern as the faces of the regular dodecahedron. The faces of the pyritohedron are, however, not regular, so the pyritohedron is also not regular. In the early 20th century, Ernst Haeckel described (Haeckel, 1904) a number of species of Radiolaria, some of whose skeletons are shaped like various regular polyhedra. Examples include Circoporus octahedrus, Circogonia icosahedra, Lithocubus geometricus and Circorrhegma dodecahedra. The shapes of these creatures should be obvious from their names. Many viruses, such as the herpes virus, have the shape of a regular icosahedron. Viral structures are built of repeated identical protein subunits and the icosahedron is the easiest shape to assemble using these subunits. A regular polyhedron is used because it can be built from a single basic unit protein used over and over again; this saves space in the viral genome.
In meteorology and climatology, global numerical models of atmospheric flow are of increasing interest which employ grids that are based on an icosahedron (refined by triangulation) instead of the more commonly used longitude/latitude grid. This has the advantage of evenly distributed spatial resolution without singularities (i.e. the poles) at the expense of somewhat greater numerical difficulty. Geometry of space frames is often based on platonic solids. In MERO system, Platonic solids are used for naming convention of various space frame configurations. For example O+T refers to a configuration made of one half of
Circogonia icosahedra, a species of Radiolaria, shaped like a regular icosahedron.
Platonic solid octahedron and a tetrahedron. Several Platonic hydrocarbons have been synthesised, including cubane and dodecahedrane. Platonic solids are often used to make dice, because dice of these shapes can be made fair. 6-sided dice are very common, but the other numbers are commonly used in role-playing games. Such dice are commonly referred to as dn where n is the number of faces (d8, d20, etc.); see dice notation for more details.
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Polyhedral dice are often used in role-playing games.
These shapes frequently show up in other games or puzzles. Puzzles similar to a Rubik's Cube come in all five shapes see magic polyhedra.
Liquid Crystals with symmetries of Platonic Solids

For the intermediate material phase called Liquid Crystals the existence of such symmetries was first proposed in 1981 by H. Kleinert and K. Maki and their structure was analyzed in.[4] See the review article here [5]. In aluminum the icosahedral structure was discovered three years after this by Dan Shechtman, which earned him the Nobel Prize in 2011.
Related polyhedra and polytopes

Uniform polyhedra
There exist four regular polyhedra which are not convex, called KeplerPoinsot polyhedra. These all have icosahedral symmetry and may be obtained as stellations of the dodecahedron and the icosahedron.
cuboctahedron
icosidodecahedron
The next most regular convex polyhedra after the Platonic solids are the cuboctahedron, which is a rectification of the cube and the octahedron, and the icosidodecahedron, which is a rectification of the dodecahedron and the icosahedron (the rectification of the self-dual tetrahedron is a regular octahedron). These are both quasi-regular, meaning that they are vertex- and edge-uniform and have regular faces, but the faces are not all congruent (coming in two different classes). They form two of the thirteen Archimedean solids, which are the convex uniform polyhedra with polyhedral symmetry. The uniform polyhedra form a much broader class of polyhedra. These figures are vertex-uniform and have one or more types of regular or star polygons for faces. These include all the polyhedra mentioned above together with an infinite set of prisms, an infinite set of antiprisms, and 53 other non-convex forms.
Platonic solid The Johnson solids are convex polyhedra which have regular faces but are not uniform.
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Tessellations
The three regular tessellations of the plane are closely related to the Platonic solids. Indeed, one can view the Platonic solids as the five regular tessellations of the sphere. This is done by projecting each solid onto a concentric sphere. The faces project onto regular spherical polygons which exactly cover the sphere. One can show that every regular tessellation of the sphere is characterized by a pair of integers {p, q} with 1/p + 1/q > 1/2. Likewise, a regular tessellation of the plane is characterized by the condition 1/p + 1/q = 1/2. There are three possibilities: {4, 4} which is a square tiling, {3, 6} which is a triangular tiling, and {6, 3} which is a hexagonal tiling (dual to the triangular tiling). In a similar manner one can consider regular tessellations of the hyperbolic plane. These are characterized by the condition 1/p + 1/q < 1/2. There is an infinite family of such tessellations.
Higher dimensions
In more than three dimensions, polyhedra generalize to polytopes, with higher-dimensional convex regular polytopes being the equivalents of the three-dimensional Platonic solids. In the mid-19th century the Swiss mathematician Ludwig Schlfli discovered the four-dimensional analogues of the Platonic solids, called convex regular 4-polytopes. There are exactly six of these figures; five are analogous to the Platonic solids, while the sixth one, the 24-cell, has one lower-dimension analogue (Truncation of a simplex-faceted polyhedron that has simplices for ridges and is self-dual): the Hexagon. In all dimensions higher than four, there are only three convex regular polytopes: the simplex, the hypercube, and the cross-polytope. In three dimensions, these coincide with the tetrahedron, the cube, and the octahedron.
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] Hart, George. "Neolithic Carved Stone Polyhedra" (http:/ / www. georgehart. com/ virtual-polyhedra/ neolithic. html). . Weyl H. (1952). Symmetry. Princeton. p.74. Hecht & Stevens 2004 Kleinert, H. and Maki, K. (1981), "Lattice Textures in Cholesteric Liquid Crystals" (http:/ / www. physik. fu-berlin. de/ ~kleinert/ 75/ 75. pdf), Fortschritte der Physik 29 (5): 219259, doi:10.1002/prop.19810290503, [5] http:/ / chemgroups. northwestern. edu/ seideman/ Publications/ The%20liquid-crystalline%20blue%20phases. pdf
References
Atiyah, Michael; and Sutcliffe, Paul (2003). "Polyhedra in Physics, Chemistry and Geometry". Milan J. Math 71: 3358. doi:10.1007/s00032-003-0014-1. Carl, Boyer; Merzbach, Uta (1989). A History of Mathematics (2nd ed.). Wiley. ISBN0-471-54397-7. Coxeter, H. S. M. (1973). Regular Polytopes (3rd ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-61480-8. Euclid (1956). Heath, Thomas L.. ed. The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Books 1013 (2nd unabr. ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-60090-4. Haeckel, E. (1904). Kunstformen der Natur. Available as Haeckel, E. (1998); Art forms in nature, Prestel USA. ISBN 3-7913-1990-6, or online at (http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/haeckel/kunstformen/natur. html). Weyl, Hermann (1952). Symmetry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN0-691-02374-3. "Strena seu de nive sexangula" (On the Six-Cornered Snowflake), 1611 paper by Kepler which discussed the reason for the six-angled shape of the snow crystals and the forms and symmetries in nature. Talks about platonic solids.
Platonic solid Hecht, Laurence; Stevens, Charles B. (Fall 2004), "New Explorations with The Moon Model" (http://www. 21stcenturysciencetech.com/Articles 2005/MoonModel_F04.pdf), 21st Century Science and Technology: p.58
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External links
Weisstein, Eric W., " Platonic solid (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PlatonicSolid.html)" from MathWorld. Book XIII (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/bookXIII/propXIII13.html) of Euclid's Elements. Interactive 3D Polyhedra (http://ibiblio.org/e-notes/3Dapp/Convex.htm) in Java WebGL representation of platonic solids (http://kovacsv.hu/webgl.php) Interactive Folding/Unfolding Platonic Solids (http://www.mat.puc-rio.br/~hjbortol/mathsolid/mathsolid_en. html) in Java Paper models of the Platonic solids (http://www.software3d.com/Platonic.php) created using nets generated by Stella software Platonic Solids (http://www.korthalsaltes.com/cuadros.php?type=p) Free paper models(nets) Platonic Solids for Meditation (http://www.shambhalahealingtools.com/articles.asp?ID=154) platonic solids used for meditation and healing Teaching Math with Art (http://www.ldlewis.com/Teaching-Mathematics-with-Art/Polyhedra.html) student-created models Teaching Math with Art (http://www.ldlewis.com/Teaching-Mathematics-with-Art/ instructions-for-polyhedra-project.html) teacher instructions for making models Frames of Platonic Solids (http://www.bru.hlphys.jku.at/surf/Kepler_Model.html) images of algebraic surfaces Platonic Solids (http://whistleralley.com/polyhedra/platonic.htm) with some formula derivations (http:// whistleralley.com/polyhedra/derivations.htm)
Golden ratio
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Golden ratio
The golden ratio ( ) is also called the golden section (Latin: sectio aurea) or golden mean.[1][2][3] Other names include extreme and mean ratio,[4] medial section, divine proportion, divine section (Latin: sectio divina), golden proportion, golden cut,[5] golden number, and mean of Phidias.[6][7][8] In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The figure on the right illustrates the geometric relationship. Expressed algebraically:
Line segments in the golden ratio
where the Greek letter phi ( is:
) represents the golden ratio. Its value
[9]
At least since the 20th century, many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratioespecially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratiobelieving this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing (see Applications and observations below). Mathematicians since Euclid have studied the properties of the golden ratio, including its appearance in the dimensions of a regular pentagon and in a golden rectangle, which can be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio. The golden ratio has also been used to analyze the proportions of natural objects as well as man-made systems such as financial markets, in some cases based on dubious fits to data.[10]
A golden rectangle with longer side a and shorter side b, when placed adjacent to a square with sides of length a, will produce a similar golden rectangle with longer side a + b and shorter side a. This illustrates the relationship .
Calculation
Binary List of numbers Irrational and suspected irrational numbers (3) 2 3 5 S e 1.1001111000110111011...
Golden ratio
130
Decimal Hexadecimal Continued fraction 1.6180339887498948482... 1.9E3779B97F4A7C15F39...
Algebraic form
Infinite series
Two quantities a and b are said to be in the golden ratio if:
One method for finding the value of is to start with the left fraction. Through simplifying the fraction and substituting in b/a = 1/,
it is shown that
Multiplying by gives
which can be rearranged to
Using the quadratic formula, the only positive solution is
History
Golden ratio
131
The golden ratio has fascinated Western intellectuals of diverse interests for at least 2,400 years. According to Mario Livio: Some of the greatest mathematical minds of all ages, from Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, through the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa and the Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, to present-day scientific figures such as Oxford physicist Roger Penrose, have spent endless hours over this simple ratio and its properties. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.[12]
Mathematician Mark Barr proposed using the first letter in the name of Greek sculptor Phidias, phi, to symbolize the golden ratio. Usually, the lowercase form () is used. Sometimes, the uppercase form () is [11] used for the reciprocal of the golden ratio, 1/.
Ancient Greek mathematicians first studied what we now call the golden ratio because of its frequent appearance in geometry. The division of a line into "extreme and mean ratio" (the golden section) is important in the geometry of regular pentagrams and pentagons. The Greeks usually attributed discovery of this concept to Pythagoras or his followers. The regular pentagram, which has a regular pentagon inscribed within it, was the Pythagoreans' symbol. Euclid's Elements (Greek: ) provides the first known written definition of what is now called the golden ratio: "A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when, as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the less."[4] Euclid explains a construction for cutting (sectioning) a line "in extreme and mean ratio", i.e. the golden ratio.[13] Throughout the Elements, several propositions (theorems in modern terminology) and their proofs employ the golden ratio.[14] Some of these propositions show that the golden ratio is an irrational number. The name "extreme and mean ratio" was the principal term used from the 3rd century BC[4] until about the 18th century. The modern history of the golden ratio starts with Luca Pacioli's De divina proportione of 1509, which captured the imagination of artists, architects, scientists, and mystics with the properties, mathematical and otherwise, of the golden ratio.
Golden ratio
132
The first known approximation of the (inverse) golden ratio by a decimal fraction, stated as "about 0.6180340," was written in 1597 by Michael Maestlin of the University of Tbingen in a letter to his former student Johannes Kepler.[15] Since the twentieth century, the golden ratio has been represented by the Greek letter or (phi, after Phidias, a sculptor who is said to have employed it) or less commonly by (tau, the first letter of the ancient Greek root meaning cut).[1][16]
Timeline
Timeline according to Priya Hemenway.[17] Phidias (490430 BC) made the Parthenon statues that seem to embody the golden ratio. Plato (427347 BC), in his Timaeus, describes five possible regular solids (the Platonic solids: the tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron), some of which are related to the golden ratio.[18] Euclid (c. 325c. 265 BC), in his Elements, gave the first recorded definition of the golden ratio, which he called, as translated into English, "extreme and mean ratio" (Greek: ).[4]
Michael Maestlin, first to publish a decimal approximation of the golden ratio, in 1597.
Fibonacci (11701250) mentioned the numerical series now named after him in his Liber Abaci; the ratio of sequential elements of the Fibonacci sequence approaches the golden ratio asymptotically. Luca Pacioli (14451517) defines the golden ratio as the "divine proportion" in his Divina Proportione. Michael Maestlin (15501631) publishes the first known approximation of the (inverse) golden ratio as a decimal fraction. Johannes Kepler (15711630) proves that the golden ratio is the limit of the ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers,[19] and describes the golden ratio as a "precious jewel": "Geometry has two great treasures: one is the Theorem of Pythagoras, and the other the division of a line into extreme and mean ratio; the first we may compare to a measure of gold, the second we may name a precious jewel." These two treasures are combined in the Kepler triangle. Charles Bonnet (17201793) points out that in the spiral phyllotaxis of plants going clockwise and counter-clockwise were frequently two successive Fibonacci series. Martin Ohm (17921872) is believed to be the first to use the term goldener Schnitt (golden section) to describe this ratio, in 1835.[20] douard Lucas (18421891) gives the numerical sequence now known as the Fibonacci sequence its present name. Mark Barr (20th century) suggests the Greek letter phi (), the initial letter of Greek sculptor Phidias's name, as a symbol for the golden ratio.[21] Roger Penrose (b.1931) discovered a symmetrical pattern that uses the golden ratio in the field of aperiodic tilings, which led to new discoveries about quasicrystals.
Golden ratio
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Applications and observations

Aesthetics
De Divina Proportione, a three-volume work by Luca Pacioli, was published in 1509. Pacioli, a Franciscan friar, was known mostly as a mathematician, but he was also trained and keenly interested in art. De Divina Proportione explored the mathematics of the golden ratio. Though it is often said that Pacioli advocated the golden ratio's application to yield pleasing, harmonious proportions, Livio points out that the interpretation has been traced to an error in 1799, and that Pacioli actually advocated the Vitruvian system of rational proportions.[1] Pacioli also saw Catholic religious significance in the ratio, which led to his work's title. Containing illustrations of regular solids by Leonardo da Vinci, Pacioli's longtime friend and collaborator, De Divina Proportione was a major influence on generations of artists and architects alike.
Architecture
The Parthenon's facade as well as elements of its facade and elsewhere are said by some to be circumscribed by golden rectangles.[22] Other scholars deny that the Greeks had any aesthetic association with golden ratio. For example, Midhat J. Gazal says, "It was not until Euclid, however, that the golden ratio's mathematical properties were studied. In the Elements (308 BC) the Greek mathematician merely regarded that number as an interesting irrational number, in connection with the middle and extreme ratios. Its occurrence in regular Many of the proportions of the Parthenon are alleged to exhibit the pentagons and decagons was duly observed, as well as golden ratio. in the dodecahedron (a regular polyhedron whose twelve faces are regular pentagons). It is indeed exemplary that the great Euclid, contrary to generations of mystics who followed, would soberly treat that number for what it is, without attaching to it other than its factual properties."[23] And Keith Devlin says, "Certainly, the oft repeated assertion that the Parthenon in Athens is based on the golden ratio is not supported by actual measurements. In fact, the entire story about the Greeks and golden ratio seems to be without foundation. The one thing we know for sure is that Euclid, in his famous textbook Elements, written around 300 BC, showed how to calculate its value."[24] Near-contemporary sources like Vitruvius exclusively discuss proportions that can be expressed in whole numbers, i.e. commensurate as opposed to irrational proportions. A 2004 geometrical analysis of earlier research into the Great Mosque of Kairouan reveals a consistent application of the golden ratio throughout the design, according to Boussora and Mazouz.[25] They found ratios close to the golden ratio in the overall proportion of the plan and in the dimensioning of the prayer space, the court, and the minaret. The authors note, however, that the areas where ratios close to the golden ratio were found are not part of the original construction, and theorize that these elements were added in a reconstruction. The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series, which he described as "rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities. They resound in man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the Golden Section by children, old men, savages and the learned."[26]
Golden ratio Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit. He took suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system. Le Corbusier's 1927 Villa Stein in Garches exemplified the Modulor system's application. The villa's rectangular ground plan, elevation, and inner structure closely approximate golden rectangles.[27] Another Swiss architect, Mario Botta, bases many of his designs on geometric figures. Several private houses he designed in Switzerland are composed of squares and circles, cubes and cylinders. In a house he designed in Origlio, the golden ratio is the proportion between the central section and the side sections of the house.[28] In a recent book, author Jason Elliot speculated that the golden ratio was used by the designers of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the adjacent Lotfollah mosque.[29]
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Structural Dynamics
Attaching two identical harmonic oscillators in series creates a two degree of freedom (2DOF) system having two modes of vibration. The ratio of the frequencies of the two modes is the square of the golden ratio .[30][31] The quantities and -1/ also appear in the mode shapes. A variety of physical embodiments of such a 2DOF system are possible, and a number of them appear in the text by Morin.[32] Another example is two pendula of equal length and mass connected in series. This system points up the division of intervals of time, rather than distance, by the coupled oscillators, whose periods also have the ratio squared. An application in engineering consists of a three story building whose second and third floors have equal masses, and are supported on columns of equal stiffness. The occurrence of in the time/frequency domain extends into the quantum realm. Certain quasi-particles in the electronic environment of a solid state lattice exhibit phenomena in which the golden ratio appears as the ratio of the first and second energy peaks.[33] The quasi-particles consist of vibrations, or oscillations, and because the energy varies as the square of the frequency, the frequencies associated with the first and second peaks are in the ratio squared.
Painting
The 16th-century philosopher Heinrich Agrippa drew a man over a pentagram inside a circle, implying a relationship to the golden ratio.[34] Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations of polyhedra in De divina proportione (On the Divine Proportion) and his views that some bodily proportions exhibit the golden ratio have led some scholars to speculate that he incorporated the golden ratio in his paintings.[35] But the suggestion that his Mona Lisa, for example, employs golden ratio proportions, is not supported by anything in Leonardo's own writings.[36] Salvador Dal, influenced by the works of Matila Ghyka,[37] explicitly used the golden ratio in his masterpiece, The Sacrament of the Last The drawing of a man's body in a pentagram [34] Supper. The dimensions of the canvas are a golden rectangle. A huge suggests relationships to the golden ratio. dodecahedron, in perspective so that edges appear in golden ratio to one another, is suspended above and behind Jesus and dominates the composition.[1][38]
Golden ratio Mondrian has been said to have used the golden section extensively in his geometrical paintings,[39] though other experts (including critic Yve-Alain Bois) have disputed this claim.[1] A statistical study on 565 works of art of different great painters, performed in 1999, found that these artists had not used the golden ratio in the size of their canvases. The study concluded that the average ratio of the two sides of the paintings studied is 1.34, with averages for individual artists ranging from 1.04 (Goya) to 1.46 (Bellini).[40] On the other hand, Pablo Tosto listed over 350 works by well-known artists, including more than 100 which have canvasses with golden rectangle and root-5 proportions, and others with proportions like root-2, 3, 4, and 6.[41]
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Book design
According to Jan Tschichold,[43] There was a time when deviations from the truly beautiful page proportions 2:3, 1:3, and the Golden Section were rare. Many books produced between 1550 and 1770 show these proportions exactly, to within half a millimeter.
Finance
The golden ratio and related numbers are used in technical analysis in the financial markets. Some typical forms include: the Fibonacci fan, the Fibonacci arc, Fibonacci retracement, and the Fibonacci time extension.[44]
Depiction of the proportions in a medieval manuscript. According to Jan Tschichold: "Page proportion 2:3. Margin proportions 1:1:2:3. Text [42] area proportioned in the Golden Section."
Industrial design
Some sources claim that the golden ratio is commonly used in everyday design, for example in the shapes of postcards, playing cards, posters, wide-screen televisions, photographs, and light switch plates.[45][46][47][48]
Music
Ern Lendva analyzes Bla Bartk's works as being based on two opposing systems, that of the golden ratio and the acoustic scale,[49] though other music scholars reject that analysis.[1] In Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta the xylophone progression occurs at the intervals 1:2:3:5:8:5:3:2:1.[50] French composer Erik Satie used the golden ratio in several of his pieces, including Sonneries de la Rose+Croix. The golden ratio is also apparent in the organization of the sections in the music of Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau (Reflections in Water), from Images (1st series, 1905), in which "the sequence of keys is marked out by the intervals 34, 21, 13 and 8, and the main climax sits at the phi position."[50] The musicologist Roy Howat has observed that the formal boundaries of La Mer correspond exactly to the golden section.[51] Trezise finds the intrinsic evidence "remarkable," but cautions that no written or reported evidence suggests that Debussy consciously sought such proportions.[52] Pearl Drums positions the air vents on its Masters Premium models based on the golden ratio. The company claims that this arrangement improves bass response and has applied for a patent on this innovation.[53] Though Heinz Bohlen proposed the non-octave-repeating 833 cents scale based on combination tones, the tuning features relations based on the golden ratio. As a musical interval the ratio 1.618... is 833.090... cents (Play).[54]
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Nature
Adolf Zeising, whose main interests were mathematics and philosophy, found the golden ratio expressed in the arrangement of branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. He extended his research to the skeletons of animals and the branchings of their veins and nerves, to the proportions of chemical compounds and the geometry of crystals, even to the use of proportion in artistic endeavors. In these phenomena he saw the golden ratio operating as a universal law.[55] In connection with his scheme for golden-ratio-based human body proportions, Zeising wrote in 1854 of a universal law "in which is contained the ground-principle of all formative striving for beauty and completeness in the realms of both nature and art, and which permeates, as a paramount spiritual ideal, all structures, forms and proportions, whether cosmic or individual, organic or inorganic, acoustic or optical; which finds its fullest realization, however, in the human form."[56] In 2010, the journal Science reported that the golden ratio is present at the atomic scale in the magnetic resonance of spins in cobalt niobate crystals.[57]
A detail of an Aeonium tabuliforme in Trdgrdsfreningen, Gteborg
Several researchers have proposed connections between the golden ratio and human genome DNA.[58][59][60] However, some have argued that many of the apparent manifestations of the golden mean in nature, especially in regard to animal dimensions, are in fact fictitious.[61]
Optimization
The golden ratio is key to the golden section search.
Perceptual studies
Studies by psychologists, starting with Fechner, have been devised to test the idea that the golden ratio plays a role in human perception of beauty. While Fechner found a preference for rectangle ratios centered on the golden ratio, later attempts to carefully test such a hypothesis have been, at best, inconclusive.[1][62]
Mathematics
Golden ratio conjugate
The negative root of the quadratic equation for (the "conjugate root") is
The absolute value of this quantity ( 0.618) corresponds to the length ratio taken in reverse order (shorter segment length over longer segment length, b/a), and is sometimes referred to as the golden ratio conjugate.[11] It is denoted here by the capital Phi ():
Alternatively, can be expressed as
Golden ratio This illustrates the unique property of the golden ratio among positive numbers, that
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or its inverse:
This means 0.61803...:1 = 1:1.61803....
Short proofs of irrationality

Contradiction from an expression in lowest terms Recall that: the whole is the longer part plus the shorter part; the whole is to the longer part as the longer part is to the shorter part. If we call the whole n and the longer part m, then the second statement above becomes n is to m as m is to nm, or, algebraically
If were rational, then it would be the ratio of sides of a rectangle with integer sides. But it is also a ratio of sides, which are also integers, of the smaller rectangle obtained by deleting a square. The sequence of decreasing integer side lengths formed by deleting squares cannot be continued indefinitely, so cannot be rational.
To say that is rational means that is a fraction n/m where n and m are integers. We may take n/m to be in lowest terms and n and m to be positive. But if n/m is in lowest terms, then the identity labeled (*) above says m/(nm) is in still lower terms. That is a contradiction that follows from the assumption that is rational.
Golden ratio Derivation from irrationality of 5 Another short proofperhaps more commonly knownof the irrationality of the golden ratio makes use of the closure of rational numbers under addition and multiplication. If is rational, then is also rational, which is a contradiction if it is already known that the square root of a non-square natural number is irrational.
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Alternative forms
The formula = 1 + 1/ can be expanded recursively to obtain a continued fraction for the golden ratio:[63]
and its reciprocal:
The convergents of these continued fractions (1/1, 2/1, 3/2, 5/3, 8/5, 13/8, ..., or 1/1, 1/2, 2/3, 3/5, 5/8, 8/13, ...) are ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers.
Approximations to the reciprocal golden ratio by finite continued fractions, or ratios of Fibonacci numbers
The equation 2 = 1 + likewise produces the continued square root, or infinite surd, form:
An infinite series can be derived to express phi:[64]
Also:
These correspond to the fact that the length of the diagonal of a regular pentagon is times the length of its side, and similar relations in a pentagram.
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Geometry
The number turns up frequently in geometry, particularly in figures with pentagonal symmetry. The length of a regular pentagon's diagonal is times its side. The vertices of a regular icosahedron are those of three mutually orthogonal golden rectangles. There is no known general algorithm to arrange a given number of nodes evenly on a sphere, for any of several definitions of even distribution (see, for example, Thomson problem). However, a useful approximation results from dividing the sphere into Approximate and true golden spirals. The green spiral is made from quarter-circles parallel bands of equal area and tangent to the interior of each square, while the red spiral is a Golden Spiral, a special type of logarithmic spiral. Overlapping portions appear yellow. The length of the side of placing one node in each band at one square divided by that of the next smaller square is the golden ratio. longitudes spaced by a golden section of the circle, i.e. 360/ 222.5. This method was used to arrange the 1500 mirrors of the student-participatory satellite Starshine-3.[65] Dividing a line segment The following algorithm produces a geometric construction that divides a line segment into two line segments where the ratio of the longer to the shorter line segment is the golden ratio: 1. Having a line segment AB, construct a perpendicular BC at point B, with BC half the length of AB. Draw the hypotenuse AC. 2. Draw a circle with center C and radius BC. This circle intersects the hypotenuse AC at point D. 3. Draw a circle with center A and radius AD. This circle intersects the original line segment AB at point S. Point S divides the original segment AB into line segments AS and SB with lengths in the golden ratio.
Dividing a line segment according to the golden ratio
Golden ratio Golden triangle, pentagon and pentagram Golden triangle The golden triangle can be characterized as an isosceles triangle ABC with the property that bisecting the angle C produces a new triangle CXB which is a similar triangle to the original. If angle BCX = , then XCA = because of the bisection, and CAB = because of the similar triangles; ABC = 2 from the original isosceles symmetry, and BXC = 2 by similarity. The angles in a triangle add up to 180, so 5 = 180, giving = 36. So the angles of the golden triangle are thus 36-72-72. The angles of the remaining obtuse isosceles triangle AXC (sometimes called the golden gnomon) are 36-36-108.
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Golden triangle
Suppose XB has length 1, and we call BC length . Because of the isosceles triangles XC=XA and BC=XC, so these are also length . Length AC = AB, therefore equals +1. But triangle ABC is similar to triangle CXB, so AC/BC = BC/BX, and so AC also equals 2. Thus 2 = +1, confirming that is indeed the golden ratio. Similarly, the ratio of the area of the larger triangle AXC to the smaller CXB is equal to , while the inverse ratio is - 1. Pentagon In a regular pentagon the ratio between a side and a diagonal is each other in the golden ratio. Odom's construction George Odom has given a remarkably simple construction for involving an equilateral triangle: if an equilateral triangle is inscribed in a circle and the line segment joining the midpoints of two sides is produced to intersect the circle in either of two points, then these three points are in golden proportion. This result is a straightforward consequence of the intersecting chords theorem and can be used to construct a regular pentagon, a construction that attracted the attention of the noted Canadian geometer H. S. M. Coxeter who published it in Odom's name as a diagram in the American Mathematical Monthly accompanied by the single word "Behold!" [66]
[8]
(i.e. 1/), while intersecting diagonals section
\tfrac{|AB|}{|BC|}=\tfrac{|AC|}{|AB|}=\phi
Golden ratio Pentagram The golden ratio plays an important role in the geometry of pentagrams. Each intersection of edges sections other edges in the golden ratio. Also, the ratio of the length of the shorter segment to the segment bounded by the two intersecting edges (a side of the pentagon in the pentagram's center) is , as the four-color illustration shows. The pentagram includes ten isosceles triangles: five acute and five obtuse isosceles triangles. In all of them, the ratio of the longer side to the shorter side is . The acute triangles are golden triangles. The obtuse isosceles triangles are golden gnomons.
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A pentagram colored to distinguish its line segments of different lengths. The four lengths are in golden ratio to one another.
Ptolemy's theorem The golden ratio properties of a regular pentagon can be confirmed by applying Ptolemy's theorem to the quadrilateral formed by removing one of its vertices. If the quadrilateral's long edge and diagonals are b, and short edges are a, then Ptolemy's theorem gives b2=a2+ab which yields
Scalenity of triangles Consider a triangle with sides of lengths a, b, and c in decreasing order. Define the "scalenity" of the triangle to be the smaller of the two ratios a/b and b/c. The scalenity is always less than and can be made as close as desired to .[67] Triangle whose sides form a geometric progression If the side lengths of a triangle form a geometric progression and are in the ratio 1 : r : r2, where r is the common ratio, then r must lie in the range 1 < r < , which is a consequence of the triangle inequality (the sum of any two sides of a triangle must be strictly bigger than the length of the third side). If r = then the shorter two sides are 1 and but their sum is 2, thus r < . A similar calculation shows that r > 1. A triangle whose sides are in the ratio 1 : : is a right triangle (because 1 + = 2) known as a Kepler triangle.[68]
The golden ratio in a regular pentagon can be computed using Ptolemy's theorem.
Golden ratio Golden triangle, rhombus, and rhombic triacontahedron A golden rhombus is a rhombus whose diagonals are in the golden ratio. The rhombic triacontahedron is a convex polytope that has a very special property: all of its faces are golden rhombi. In the rhombic triacontahedron the dihedral angle between any two adjacent rhombi is 144, which is twice the isosceles angle of a golden triangle and four times its most acute angle.
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Relationship to Fibonacci sequence

The mathematics of the golden ratio and of the Fibonacci sequence are intimately interconnected. The Fibonacci sequence is: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, .... The closed-form expression (known as Binet's formula, even though it was already known by Abraham de Moivre) for the Fibonacci sequence involves the golden ratio:
One of the rhombic triacontahedron's rhombi
All of the faces of the rhombic triacontahedron are golden rhombi
The golden ratio is the limit of the ratios of successive terms of the Fibonacci sequence (or any Fibonacci-like sequence), as originally shown by Kepler:[19]
Therefore, if a Fibonacci number is divided by its immediate predecessor in the sequence, the quotient approximates ; e.g., 987/6101.6180327868852. These approximations are alternately lower and higher than , and converge on as the Fibonacci numbers increase, and:
A Fibonacci spiral which approximates the golden spiral, using Fibonacci sequence square sizes up to 34.
More generally:
where above, the ratios of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence, is a case when Furthermore, the successive powers of obey the Fibonacci recurrence:
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This identity allows any polynomial in to be reduced to a linear expression. For example:
However, this is no special property of , because polynomials in any solution x to a quadratic equation can be reduced in an analogous manner, by applying:
for given coefficients a, b such that x satisfies the equation. Even more generally, any rational function (with rational coefficients) of the root of an irreducible nth-degree polynomial over the rationals can be reduced to a polynomial of degree n 1. Phrased in terms of field theory, if is a root of an irreducible nth-degree polynomial, then has degree n over , with basis .
Symmetries
The golden ratio and inverse golden ratio have a set of symmetries that preserve and interrelate them. They are both preserved by the fractional linear transformations
this fact corresponds to the identity and the definition quadratic equation. Further, they are interchanged by the three maps they are reciprocals, symmetric about , and (projectively) symmetric about 2. More deeply, these maps form a subgroup of the modular group 3 letters, the identity corresponding to the stabilizer of the set the symmetries correspond to the quotient map the subgroup isomorphic to the symmetric group on of 3 standard points on the projective line, and consisting of the 3-cycles and
fixes the two numbers, while the 2-cycles interchange these, thus realizing the map.
Other properties
The golden ratio has the simplest expression (and slowest convergence) as a continued fraction expansion of any irrational number (see Alternate forms above). It is, for that reason, one of the worst cases of Lagrange's approximation theorem and it an extremal case of the Hurwitz inequality for Diophantine approximations. This may be why angles close to the golden ratio often show up in phyllotaxis (the growth of plants).[69] The defining quadratic polynomial and the conjugate relationship lead to decimal values that have their fractional part in common with :
The sequence of powers of contains these values 0.618..., 1.0, 1.618..., 2.618...; more generally, any power of is equal to the sum of the two immediately preceding powers:
As a result, one can easily decompose any power of into a multiple of and a constant. The multiple and the constant are always adjacent Fibonacci numbers. This leads to another property of the positive powers of : If , then:
Golden ratio When the golden ratio is used as the base of a numeral system (see Golden ratio base, sometimes dubbed phinary or -nary), every integer has a terminating representation, despite being irrational, but every fraction has a non-terminating representation. The golden ratio is a fundamental unit of the algebraic number field number.[70] In the field we have , where is the and is a PisotVijayaraghavan -th Lucas number.
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The golden ratio also appears in hyperbolic geometry, as the maximum distance from a point on one side of an ideal triangle to the closer of the other two sides: this distance, the side length of the equilateral triangle formed by the points of tangency of a circle inscribed within the ideal triangle, is 4ln.[71]
Decimal expansion
The golden ratio's decimal expansion can be calculated directly from the expression
with 5 2.2360679774997896964. The square root of 5 can be calculated with the Babylonian method, starting with an initial estimate such as x = 2 and iterating
for n = 1, 2, 3, ..., until the difference between xn and xn1 becomes zero, to the desired number of digits. The Babylonian algorithm for 5 is equivalent to Newton's method for solving the equation x25 = 0. In its more general form, Newton's method can be applied directly to any algebraic equation, including the equation x2x1 = 0 that defines the golden ratio. This gives an iteration that converges to the golden ratio itself,
for an appropriate initial estimate x such as x = 1. A slightly faster method is to rewrite the equation as x11/x = 0, in which case the Newton iteration becomes
These iterations all converge quadratically; that is, each step roughly doubles the number of correct digits. The golden ratio is therefore relatively easy to compute with arbitrary precision. The time needed to compute n digits of the golden ratio is proportional to the time needed to divide two n-digit numbers. This is considerably faster than known algorithms for the transcendental numbers and e. An easily programmed alternative using only integer arithmetic is to calculate two large consecutive Fibonacci numbers and divide them. The ratio of Fibonacci numbers F 25001 and F 25000, each over 5000 digits, yields over 10,000 significant digits of the golden ratio. The golden ratio has been calculated to an accuracy of several millions of decimal digits (sequence A001622 in OEIS). Alexis Irlande performed computations and verification of the first 17,000,000,000 digits.[72]
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Pyramids
Both Egyptian pyramids and those mathematical regular square pyramids that resemble them can be analyzed with respect to the golden ratio and other ratios.
Mathematical pyramids and triangles

A pyramid in which the apothem (slant height along the bisector of a face) is equal to times the semi-base (half the base width) is sometimes called a golden pyramid. The isosceles triangle that is the face of such a pyramid can be constructed from the two halves of a diagonally split golden rectangle (of size semi-base by apothem), joining the medium-length edges to make the apothem. The height of this pyramid is times the semi-base (that is, the slope of the face is ); the square of the height is equal to the area of a face, times the square of the semi-base. The medial right triangle of this "golden" pyramid (see diagram), with sides right, demonstrating via the Pythagorean theorem the relationship or is interesting in its own . This
A regular square pyramid is determined by its medial right triangle, whose edges are the pyramid's apothem (a), semi-base (b), and height (h); the face inclination angle is also marked. Mathematical proportions b:h:a of and and are of particular interest in relation to Egyptian pyramids.
"Kepler triangle"[73] is the only right triangle proportion with edge lengths in geometric progression,[68] just as the 345 triangle is the only right triangle proportion with edge lengths in arithmetic progression. The angle with tangent corresponds to the angle that the side of the pyramid makes with respect to the ground, 51.827... degrees (51 49' 38").[74] A nearly similar pyramid shape, but with rational proportions, is described in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (the source of a large part of modern knowledge of ancient Egyptian mathematics), based on the 3:4:5 triangle;[75] the face slope corresponding to the angle with tangent 4/3 is 53.13 degrees (53 degrees and 8 minutes).[76] The slant height or apothem is 5/3 or 1.666... times the semi-base. The Rhind papyrus has another pyramid problem as well, again with rational slope (expressed as run over rise). Egyptian mathematics did not include the notion of irrational numbers,[77] and the rational inverse slope (run/rise, multiplied by a factor of 7 to convert to their conventional units of palms per cubit) was used in the building of pyramids.[75] Another mathematical pyramid with proportions almost identical to the "golden" one is the one with perimeter equal to 2 times the height, or h:b = 4:. This triangle has a face angle of 51.854 (5151'), very close to the 51.827 of the Kepler triangle. This pyramid relationship corresponds to the coincidental relationship . Egyptian pyramids very close in proportion to these mathematical pyramids are known.[76]
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Egyptian pyramids
In the mid-nineteenth century, Rber studied various Egyptian pyramids including Khafre, Menkaure and some of the Giza, Sakkara, and Abusir groups, and was interpreted as saying that half the base of the side of the pyramid is the middle mean of the side, forming what other authors identified as the Kepler triangle; many other mathematical theories of the shape of the pyramids have also been explored.[68] One Egyptian pyramid is remarkably close to a "golden pyramid"the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu). Its slope of 51 52' is extremely close to the "golden" pyramid inclination of 51 50' and the -based pyramid inclination of 51 51'; other pyramids at Giza (Chephren, 52 20', and Mycerinus, 50 47')[75] are also quite close. Whether the relationship to the golden ratio in these pyramids is by design or by accident remains open to speculation.[78] Several other Egyptian pyramids are very close to the rational 3:4:5 shape.[76] Adding fuel to controversy over the architectural authorship of the Great Pyramid, Eric Temple Bell, mathematician and historian, claimed in 1950 that Egyptian mathematics would not have supported the ability to calculate the slant height of the pyramids, or the ratio to the height, except in the case of the 3:4:5 pyramid, since the 3:4:5 triangle was the only right triangle known to the Egyptians and they did not know the Pythagorean theorem, nor any way to reason about irrationals such as or .[79] Michael Rice[80] asserts that principal authorities on the history of Egyptian architecture have argued that the Egyptians were well acquainted with the golden ratio and that it is part of mathematics of the Pyramids, citing Giedon (1957).[81] Historians of science have always debated whether the Egyptians had any such knowledge or not, contending rather that its appearance in an Egyptian building is the result of chance.[82] In 1859, the pyramidologist John Taylor claimed that, in the Great Pyramid of Giza, the golden ratio is represented by the ratio of the length of the face (the slope height), inclined at an angle to the ground, to half the length of the side of the square base, equivalent to the secant of the angle .[83] The above two lengths were about 186.4 and 115.2 meters respectively. The ratio of these lengths is the golden ratio, accurate to more digits than either of the original measurements. Similarly, Howard Vyse, according to Matila Ghyka,[84] reported the great pyramid height 148.2 m, and half-base 116.4 m, yielding 1.6189 for the ratio of slant height to half-base, again more accurate than the data variability.
Disputed observations
Examples of disputed observations of the golden ratio include the following: Historian John Man states that the pages of the Gutenberg Bible were "based on the golden section shape". However, according to Man's own measurements, the ratio of height to width was 1.45.[85] Some specific proportions in the bodies of many animals (including humans[86][87]) and parts of the shells of mollusks[3] and cephalopods are often claimed to be in the golden ratio. There is a large variation in the real measures of these elements in specific individuals, however, and the proportion in question is often significantly different from the golden ratio.[86] The ratio of successive phalangeal bones of the digits and the metacarpal bone has been said to approximate the golden ratio.[87] The nautilus shell, the construction of which proceeds in a logarithmic spiral, is often cited, usually with the idea that any logarithmic spiral is related to the golden ratio, but sometimes with the claim that each new chamber is proportioned by the golden ratio relative to the previous one;[88] however, measurements of nautilus shells do not support this claim.[89] The proportions of different plant components (numbers of leaves to branches, diameters of geometrical figures inside flowers) are often claimed to show the golden ratio proportion in several species.[90] In practice, there are significant variations between individuals, seasonal variations, and age variations in these species. While the golden ratio may be found in some proportions in some individuals at particular times in their life cycles, there is no consistent ratio in their proportions.
Golden ratio In investing, some practitioners of technical analysis use the golden ratio to indicate support of a price level, or resistance to price increases, of a stock or commodity; after significant price changes up or down, new support and resistance levels are supposedly found at or near prices related to the starting price via the golden ratio.[91] The use of the golden ratio in investing is also related to more complicated patterns described by Fibonacci numbers (e.g. Elliott wave principle and Fibonacci retracement). However, other market analysts have published analyses suggesting that these percentages and patterns are not supported by the data.[92]
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References and footnotes

[1] Livio, Mario (2002). The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, The World's Most Astonishing Number (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=w9dmPwAACAAJ). New York: Broadway Books. ISBN0-7679-0815-5. . [2] Piotr Sadowski, The Knight on His Quest: Symbolic Patterns of Transition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Cranbury NJ: Associated University Presses, 1996 [3] Richard A Dunlap, The Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers, World Scientific Publishing, 1997 [4] Euclid, Elements (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ toc. html), Book 6, Definition 3. [5] Summerson John, Heavenly Mansions: And Other Essays on Architecture (New York: W.W. Norton, 1963) p. 37. "And the same applies in architecture, to the rectangles representing these and other ratios (e.g. the 'golden cut'). The sole value of these ratios is that they are intellectually fruitful and suggest the rhythms of modular design." [6] Jay Hambidge, Dynamic Symmetry: The Greek Vase, New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1920 [7] William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler, Universal Principles of Design: A Cross-Disciplinary Reference, Gloucester MA: Rockport Publishers, 2003 [8] Pacioli, Luca. De divina proportione, Luca Paganinem de Paganinus de Brescia (Antonio Capella) 1509, Venice. [9] The golden ratio can be derived by the quadratic formula, by starting with the first number as 1, then solving for 2nd number x, where the ratios (x+1)/x = x/1 or (multiplying by x) yields: x+1 = x2, or thus a quadratic equation: x2x1=0. Then, by the quadratic formula, for positive x = (b+(b24ac))/(2a) with a=1, b=1, c=1, the solution for x is: ((1)+((1)241(1)))/(21) or (1+(5))/2. [10] Strogatz, Steven (September 24, 2012). "Me, Myself, and Math: Proportion Control" (http:/ / opinionator. blogs. nytimes. com/ 2012/ 09/ 24/ proportion-control/ ). New York Times. . [11] Weisstein, Eric W., " Golden Ratio Conjugate (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ GoldenRatioConjugate. html)" from MathWorld. [12] Mario Livio,The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, The World's Most Astonishing Number, p.6 [13] Euclid, Elements (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ toc. html), Book 6, Proposition 30. [14] Euclid, Elements (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ toc. html), Book 2, Proposition 11; Book 4, Propositions 1011; Book 13, Propositions 16, 811, 1618. [15] "The Golden Ratio" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ HistTopics/ Golden_ratio. html). The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. . Retrieved 2007-09-18. [16] Weisstein, Eric W., " Golden Ratio (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ GoldenRatio. html)" from MathWorld. [17] Hemenway, Priya (2005). Divine Proportion: Phi In Art, Nature, and Science. New York: Sterling. pp.2021. ISBN1-4027-3522-7. [18] Plato (360 BC) (Benjamin Jowett trans.). "Timaeus" (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Plato/ timaeus. html). The Internet Classics Archive. . Retrieved May 30, 2006. [19] James Joseph Tattersall (2005). Elementary number theory in nine chapters (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=QGgLbf2oFUYC& pg=PA29& dq=golden-ratio+ limit+ fibonacci+ ratio+ kepler& q=golden-ratio limit fibonacci ratio kepler) (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p.28. ISBN978-0-521-85014-8. . [20] Underwood Dudley (1999). Die Macht der Zahl: Was die Numerologie uns weismachen will (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=r6WpMO_hREYC& pg=PA245& dq="goldener+ Schnitt"+ ohm). Springer. p.245. ISBN3-7643-5978-1. . [21] Cook, Theodore Andrea (1979) [1914]. The Curves of Life (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=ea-TStM-07EC& pg=PA420& dq=phi+ mark+ barr+ intitle:The+ intitle:Curves+ intitle:of+ intitle:Life). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-23701-X. . [22] Van Mersbergen, Audrey M., "Rhetorical Prototypes in Architecture: Measuring the Acropolis with a Philosophical Polemic", Communication Quarterly, Vol. 46 No. 2, 1998, pp 194-213. [23] Midhat J. Gazal , Gnomon, Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-691-00514-1 [24] Keith J. Devlin The Math Instinct: Why You're A Mathematical Genius (Along With Lobsters, Birds, Cats, And Dogs), p. 108 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=eRD9gYk2r6oC& pg=PA108). New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005, ISBN 1-56025-672-9 [25] Boussora, Kenza and Mazouz, Said, The Use of the Golden Section in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Nexus Network Journal, vol. 6 no. 1 (Spring 2004), (http:/ / www. emis. de/ journals/ NNJ/ BouMaz. html) [26] Le Corbusier, The Modulor p. 25, as cited in Padovan, Richard, Proportion: Science, Philosophy, Architecture (1999), p. 316, Taylor and Francis, ISBN 0-419-22780-6 [27] Le Corbusier, The Modulor, p. 35, as cited in Padovan, Richard, Proportion: Science, Philosophy, Architecture (1999), p. 320. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-419-22780-6: "Both the paintings and the architectural designs make use of the golden section". [28] Urwin, Simon. Analysing Architecture (2003) pp. 154-5, ISBN 0-415-30685-X
Golden ratio
[29] Jason Elliot (2006). Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Gcs4IjUx3-4C& pg=PA284& dq=intitle:"Mirrors+ of+ the+ Unseen"+ golden-ratio+ maidan). Macmillan. pp.277, 284. ISBN978-0-312-30191-0. . [30] Blevins, Formulas for Natural Frequency and Mode Shape, page 48, frame 2 of Table 6-2 [31] Crystal M Moorman and John Eric Goff 2007 Eur. J. Phys. 28 897 [32] David Morin, Introduction to Classical Mechanics: With Problems and Solutions [33] Science, Vol. 327, Jan. 8, 2010 [34] Piotr Sadowski (1996). The knight on his quest: symbolic patterns of transition in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=RNFqRs3Ccp4C& pg=PA124). University of Delaware Press. p.124. ISBN978-0-87413-580-0. . [35] Leonardo da Vinci's Polyhedra, by George W. Hart (http:/ / www. georgehart. com/ virtual-polyhedra/ leonardo. html) [36] Livio, Mario. "The golden ratio and aesthetics" (http:/ / plus. maths. org/ issue22/ features/ golden/ ). . Retrieved 2008-03-21. [37] Salvador Dali (2008) (in English) (DVD). The Dali Dimension: Decoding the Mind of a Genius (http:/ / www. dalidimension. com/ eng/ index. html). Media 3.14-TVC-FGSD-IRL-AVRO. . [38] Hunt, Carla Herndon and Gilkey, Susan Nicodemus. Teaching Mathematics in the Block pp. 44, 47, ISBN 1-883001-51-X [39] Bouleau, Charles, The Painter's Secret Geometry: A Study of Composition in Art (1963) pp.247-8, Harcourt, Brace & World, ISBN 0-87817-259-9 [40] Olariu, Agata, Golden Section and the Art of Painting Available online (http:/ / arxiv. org/ abs/ physics/ 9908036/ ) [41] Tosto, Pablo, La composicin urea en las artes plsticas El nmero de oro, Librera Hachette, 1969, p. 134144 [42] Jan Tschichold. The Form of the Book, pp.43 Fig 4. "Framework of ideal proportions in a medieval manuscript without multiple columns. Determined by Jan Tschichold 1953. Page proportion 2:3. margin proportions 1:1:2:3, Text area proportioned in the Golden Section. The lower outer corner of the text area is fixed by a diagonal as well." [43] Jan Tschichold, The Form of the Book, Hartley & Marks (1991), ISBN 0-88179-116-4. [44] "Fibonacci Numbers/Lines Definition" (http:/ / www. investopedia. com/ terms/ f/ fibonaccilines. asp). Investopedia.com. . Retrieved 2011-04-02. [45] Jones, Ronald (1971). "The golden section: A most remarkable measure". The Structurist 11: 4452. "Who would suspect, for example, that the switch plate for single light switches are standardized in terms of a Golden Rectangle?" [46] Art Johnson (1999). Famous problems and their mathematicians (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=STKX4qadFTkC& pg=PA45& dq=switch+ "golden+ ratio"#v=onepage& q=switch "golden ratio"& f=false). Libraries Unlimited. p.45. ISBN978-1-56308-446-1. . "The Golden Ratio is a standard feature of many modern designs, from postcards and credit cards to posters and light-switch plates." [47] Alexey Stakhov, Scott Olsen, Scott Anthony Olsen (2009). The mathematics of harmony: from Euclid to contemporary mathematics and computer science (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=K6fac9RxXREC& pg=PA21& dq="credit+ card"+ "golden+ ratio"+ rectangle#v=onepage& q="credit card" "golden ratio" rectangle& f=false). World Scientific. p.21. ISBN978-981-277-582-5. . "A credit card has a form of the golden rectangle." [48] Simon Cox (2004). Cracking the Da Vinci code: the unauthorized guide to the facts behind Dan Brown's bestselling novel (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=TbjwhwLCEeAC& q="golden+ ratio"+ postcard& dq="golden+ ratio"+ postcard). Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN978-0-7607-5931-8. . "The Golden Ratio also crops up in some very unlikely places: widescreen televisions, postcards, credit cards and photographs all commonly conform to its proportions." [49] Lendvai, Ern (1971). Bla Bartk: An Analysis of His Music. London: Kahn and Averill. [50] Smith, Peter F. The Dynamics of Delight: Architecture and Aesthetics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=ZgftUKoMnpkC& pg=PA83& dq=bartok+ intitle:The+ intitle:Dynamics+ intitle:of+ intitle:Delight+ intitle:Architecture+ intitle:and+ intitle:Aesthetics& as_brr=0& ei=WkkSR5L6OI--ogLpmoyzBg& sig=Ijw4YifrLhkcdQSMVAjSL5g4zVk) (New York: Routledge, 2003) pp 83, ISBN 0-415-30010-X [51] Roy Howat (1983). Debussy in Proportion: A Musical Analysis (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=4bwKykNp24wC& pg=PA169& dq=intitle:Debussy+ intitle:in+ intitle:Proportion+ golden+ la-mer). Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-31145-4. . [52] Simon Trezise (1994). Debussy: La Mer (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=THD1nge_UzcC& pg=PA53& dq=inauthor:Trezise+ golden+ evidence). Cambridge University Press. p.53. ISBN0-521-44656-2. . [53] "Pearl Masters Premium" (http:/ / www. pearldrum. com/ premium-birch. asp). Pearl Corporation. . Retrieved December 2, 2007. [54] " An 833 Cents Scale: An experiment on harmony (http:/ / www. huygens-fokker. org/ bpsite/ 833cent. html)", Huygens-Fokker.org. Accessed December 1, 2012. [55] Richard Padovan (1999). Proportion (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Vk_CQULdAssC& pg=PA306& dq="contained+ the+ ground-principle+ of+ all+ formative+ striving"). Taylor & Francis. pp.305306. ISBN978-0-419-22780-9. . [56] Zeising, Adolf, Neue Lehre van den Proportionen des meschlischen Krpers, Leipzig, 1854, preface. [57] "Golden ratio discovered in a quantum world" (http:/ / www. eurekalert. org/ pub_releases/ 2010-01/ haog-grd010510. php). Eurekalert.org. 2010-01-07. . Retrieved 2011-10-31. [58] J.C. Perez (1991), "Chaos DNA and Neuro-computers: A Golden Link" (http:/ / golden-ratio-in-dna. blogspot. com/ 2008/ 01/ 1991-first-publication-related-to. html), in Speculations in Science and Technology vol. 14 no. 4, ISSN0155-7785. [59] Yamagishi, Michel E.B., and Shimabukuro, Alex I. (2007), "Nucleotide Frequencies in Human Genome and Fibonacci Numbers" (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ p140352473151957/ ?p=d5b18a2dfee949858e2062449e9ccfad& pi=0), in Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, ISSN0092-8240 (print), ISSN1522-9602 (online). PDF full text (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ p140352473151957/ fulltext. pdf)
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[60] Perez, J.-C. (September 2010). "Codon populations in single-stranded whole human genome DNA are fractal and fine-tuned by the Golden Ratio 1.618". Interdisciplinary Sciences: Computational Life Science 2 (3): 228240. doi:10.1007/s12539-010-0022-0. PMID20658335. [61] Pommersheim, James E., Tim K. Marks, and Erica L. Flapan, eds. 2010. Number Theory: A lively Introduction with Proofes, Applications, and Stories. John Wiley and Sons: 82. [62] The golden ratio and aesthetics (http:/ / plus. maths. org/ issue22/ features/ golden/ ), by Mario Livio. [63] Max. Hailperin, Barbara K. Kaiser, and Karl W. Knight (1998). Concrete Abstractions: An Introduction to Computer Science Using Scheme (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=yYyVRueWlZ8C& pg=PA63& dq=continued-fraction+ substitute+ golden-ratio). Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. ISBN0-534-95211-9. . [64] Brian Roselle, "Golden Mean Series" (http:/ / sites. google. com/ site/ goldenmeanseries/ ) [65] "A Disco Ball in Space" (http:/ / science. nasa. gov/ science-news/ science-at-nasa/ 2001/ ast09oct_1/ ). NASA. 2001-10-09. . Retrieved 2007-04-16. [66] Chris and Penny. "Quandaries and Queries" (http:/ / mathcentral. uregina. ca/ qq/ database/ QQ. 09. 02/ mary1. html). Math Central. . Retrieved 23 October 2011. [67] American Mathematical Monthly, pp. 49-50, 1954. [68] Roger Herz-Fischler (2000). The Shape of the Great Pyramid (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=066T3YLuhA0C& pg=PA81& dq=kepler-triangle+ geometric). Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN0-88920-324-5. . [69] Fibonacci Numbers and Nature - Part 2 : Why is the Golden section the "best" arrangement? (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ fibnat2. html), from Dr. Ron Knott's (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ ) Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section (http:/ / www. maths. surrey. ac. uk/ hosted-sites/ R. Knott/ Fibonacci/ ), retrieved 2012-11-29. [70] Weisstein, Eric W., " Pisot Number (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ PisotNumber. html)" from MathWorld. [71] Horocycles exinscrits : une proprit hyperbolique remarquable (http:/ / www. cabri. net/ abracadabri/ GeoNonE/ GeoHyper/ KBModele/ Biss3KB. html), cabri.net, retrieved 2009-07-21. [72] The golden number to 17 000 000 000 digits (http:/ / www. matematicas. unal. edu. co/ airlande/ phi. html. en). Universidad Nacional de Colombia. 2008. . [73] Radio, Astraea Web (2006). The Best of Astraea: 17 Articles on Science, History and Philosophy (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=LDTPvbXLxgQC& pg=PA93& dq=kepler-triangle). Astrea Web Radio. ISBN1-4259-7040-0. . [74] Midhat Gazale, Gnomon: From Pharaohs to Fractals, Princeton Univ. Press, 1999 [75] Eli Maor, Trigonometric Delights, Princeton Univ. Press, 2000 [76] "The Great Pyramid, The Great Discovery, and The Great Coincidence" (http:/ / www. petrospec-technologies. com/ Herkommer/ pyramid/ pyramid. htm). . Retrieved 2007-11-25. [77] Lancelot Hogben, Mathematics for the Million, London: Allen & Unwin, 1942, p. 63., as cited by Dick Teresi, Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Sciencefrom the Babylonians to the Maya, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003, p.56 [78] Burton, David M. (1999). The history of mathematics: an introduction (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=GKtFAAAAYAAJ) (4 ed.). WCB McGraw-Hill. p.56. ISBN0-07-009468-3. . [79] Eric Temple Bell, The Development of Mathematics, New York: Dover, 1940, p.40 [80] Rice, Michael, Egypt's Legacy: The Archetypes of Western Civilisation, 3000 to 30 B.C pp. 24 Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0-415-26876-1 [81] S. Giedon, 1957, The Beginnings of Architecture, The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 457, as cited in Rice, Michael, Egypt's Legacy: The Archetypes of Western Civilisation, 3000 to 30 B.C pp.24 Routledge, 2003 [82] Markowsky, George (January 1992). "Misconceptions about the Golden Ratio" (http:/ / www. umcs. maine. edu/ ~markov/ GoldenRatio. pdf) (PDF). College Mathematics Journal (Mathematical Association of America) 23 (1): 219. doi:10.2307/2686193. JSTOR2686193. . [83] Taylor, The Great Pyramid: Why Was It Built and Who Built It?, 1859 [84] Matila Ghyka The Geometry of Art and Life, New York: Dover, 1977 [85] Man, John, Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Word (2002) pp. 166167, Wiley, ISBN 0-471-21823-5. "The half-folio page (30.7 44.5 cm) was made up of two rectanglesthe whole page and its text areabased on the so called 'golden section', which specifies a crucial relationship between short and long sides, and produces an irrational number, as pi is, but is a ratio of about 5:8." [86] Pheasant, Stephen (1998). Bodyspace. London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN0-7484-0067-2. [87] van Laack, Walter (2001). A Better History Of Our World: Volume 1 The Universe. Aachen: van Laach GmbH. [88] Ivan Moscovich, Ivan Moscovich Mastermind Collection: The Hinged Square & Other Puzzles, New York: Sterling, 2004 [89] Peterson, Ivars. "Sea shell spirals" (http:/ / www. sciencenews. org/ view/ generic/ id/ 6030/ title/ Sea_Shell_Spirals). Science News. . [90] Derek Thomas, Architecture and the Urban Environment: A Vision for the New Age, Oxford: Elsevier, 2002 [91] For instance, Osler writes that "38.2 percent and 61.8 percent retracements of recent rises or declines are common," in Osler, Carol (2000). "Support for Resistance: Technical Analysis and Intraday Exchange Rates" (http:/ / ftp. ny. frb. org/ research/ epr/ 00v06n2/ 0007osle. pdf) (PDF). Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review 6 (2): 5368. . [92] Roy Batchelor and Richard Ramyar, " Magic numbers in the Dow (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 5reh6NujR)," 25th International Symposium on Forecasting, 2005, p. 13, 31. " Not since the 'big is beautiful' days have giants looked better (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ finance/ 2947908/ Not-since-the-big-is-beautiful-days-have-giants-looked-better. html)", Tom Stevenson, The Daily Telegraph, Apr. 10, 2006, and "Technical failure", The Economist, Sep. 23, 2006, are both popular-press accounts of Batchelor and Ramyar's research.
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Further reading
Doczi, Gyrgy (2005) [1981]. The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN1-59030-259-1. Huntley, H. E. (1970). The Divine Proportion: A Study in Mathematical Beauty. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-22254-3. Livio, Mario (2002) [2002]. The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number (Hardback ed.). NYC: Broadway (Random House). ISBN0-7679-0815-5. Joseph, George G. (2000) [1991]. The Crest of the Peacock: The Non-European Roots of Mathematics (New ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN0-691-00659-8. Sahlqvist, Leif (2008). Cardinal Alignments and the Golden Section: Principles of Ancient Cosmography and Design (3rd Rev. ed.). Charleston, SC: BookSurge. ISBN1-4196-2157-2. Schneider, Michael S. (1994). A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN0-06-016939-7. Stakhov, A. P. (2009). The Mathematics of Harmony: From Euclid to Contemporary Mathematics and Computer Science. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. ISBN978-981-277-582-5. Walser, Hans (2001) [Der Goldene Schnitt 1993]. The Golden Section. Peter Hilton trans.. Washington, DC: The Mathematical Association of America. ISBN0-88385-534-8. Scimone, Aldo (1997). La Sezione Aurea. Storia culturale di un leitmotiv della Matematica. Palermo: Sigma Edizioni. ISBN88.7231.025.6.
External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Golden ratio" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=p/ g044570), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 "Golden Section" (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/GoldenSection/) by Michael Schreiber, Wolfram Demonstrations Project, 2007. Golden Section in Photography: Golden Ratio, Golden Triangles, Golden Spiral (http://photoinf.com/ Golden_Mean/Eugene_Ilchenko/GoldenSection.html) Weisstein, Eric W., " Golden Ratio (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenRatio.html)" from MathWorld. "Researcher explains mystery of golden ratio" (http://www.physorg.com/news180531747.html). PhysOrg. December 21, 2009. Knott, Ron. "The Golden section ratio: Phi" (http://www.maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-sites/R.Knott/ Fibonacci/phi.html). Information and activities by a mathematics professor. The Pentagram & The Golden Ratio (http://web.archive.org/web/20071105084747/http://www.contracosta. cc.ca.us/math/pentagrm.htm). Green, Thomas M. Updated June 2005. Archived November 2007. Geometry instruction with problems to solve. Schneider, Robert P. (2011). "A Golden Pair of Identities in the Theory of Numbers". arXiv:1109.3216[math.HO]. Proves formulas that involve the golden mean and the Euler totient and Mbius functions.
Compass and straightedge constructions
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Compass-and-straightedge or ruler-and-compass construction is the construction of lengths, angles, and other geometric figures using only an idealized ruler and compass. The idealized ruler, known as a straightedge, is assumed to be infinite in length, and has no markings on it and only one edge. The compass is assumed to collapse when lifted from the page, so may not be directly used to transfer distances. (This is an unimportant restriction, as this may be achieved via the compass equivalence theorem.) More formally, the only permissible constructions are those granted by Euclid's first three postulates. Every point constructible using straightedge and compass may be constructed using compass alone. A number of ancient problems in plane geometry impose this restriction. The most famous straightedge-and-compass problems have been proven impossible in several cases by Pierre Wantzel, using the mathematical theory of fields. In spite of existing proofs of impossibility, some persist in trying to solve these problems.[1] Many of these problems are easily solvable provided that other geometric transformations are allowed: for example, doubling the cube is possible using geometric constructions, but not possible using straightedge and compass alone. Mathematician Underwood Dudley has made a sideline of collecting false ruler-and-compass proofs, as well as other work by mathematical cranks, and has collected them into several books.
Construction of a regular pentagon Creating a regular hexagon with a ruler and compass
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Compass and straightedge tools

The "compass" and "straightedge" of compass and straightedge constructions are idealizations of rulers and compasses in the real world: The compass can be opened arbitrarily wide, but (unlike some real compasses) it has no markings on it. Circles can only be drawn using two existing points which give the centre and a point on the circle. The compass collapses when not used for drawing, it cannot be used to copy a length to another place. The straightedge is infinitely long, but it has no markings on it and has only one edge, unlike ordinary rulers. It can only be used to draw a line segment between two points or to extend an existing line. The modern compass generally does not collapse and several modern constructions use this feature. It would appear that the modern compass is a "more powerful" instrument than the ancient compass. However, by Proposition 2 of Book 1 of Euclid's Elements, no computational power is lost by using such a collapsing compass; there is no need to transfer a distance from one location to another. Although the proposition is correct, its proofs have a long and checkered history.[2]
A compass
Each construction must be exact. "Eyeballing" it (essentially looking at the construction and guessing at its accuracy, or using some form of measurement, such as the units of measure on a ruler) and getting close does not count as a solution. Each construction must terminate. That is, it must have a finite number of steps, and not be the limit of ever closer approximations. Stated this way, compass and straightedge constructions appear to be a parlour game, rather than a serious practical problem; but the purpose of the restriction is to ensure that constructions can be proven to be exactly correct, and is thus important to both drafting (design by both CAD software and traditional drafting with pencil, paper, straight-edge and compass) and the science of weights and measures, in which exact synthesis from reference bodies or materials is extremely important. One of the chief purposes of Greek mathematics was to find exact constructions for various lengths; for example, the side of a pentagon inscribed in a given circle. The Greeks could not find constructions for three problems: Squaring the circle: Drawing a square the same area as a given circle. Doubling the cube: Drawing a cube with twice the volume of a given cube. Trisecting the angle: Dividing a given angle into three smaller angles all of the same size. For 2000 years people tried to find constructions within the limits set above, and failed. All three have now been proven under mathematical rules to be impossible generally (angles with certain values can be trisected, but not all possible angles).
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The basic constructions

All compass and straightedge constructions consist of repeated application of five basic constructions using the points, lines and circles that have already been constructed. These are: Creating the line through two existing points Creating the circle through one point with centre another point Creating the point which is the intersection of two existing, non-parallel lines Creating the one or two points in the intersection of a line and a circle (if they intersect) Creating the one or two points in the intersection of two circles (if they intersect). For example, starting with just two distinct points, we can create a line or either of two circles. If we draw both circles, two new points are created at their intersections. Drawing lines between the two original points and one of these new points completes the construction of an equilateral triangle. Therefore, in any geometric problem we have an initial set of symbols (points and lines), an algorithm, and some results. From this perspective, geometry is equivalent to an axiomatic algebra, replacing its elements by symbols. Probably Gauss first realized this, and used it to prove the impossibility of some constructions; only much later did Hilbert find a complete set of axioms for geometry.
The basic constructions
Constructible points and lengths

Formal proof
There are many different ways to prove something is impossible. A more rigorous proof would be to demarcate the limit of the possible, and show that to solve these problems one must transgress that limit. Much of what can be constructed is covered in intercept theory. We could associate an algebra to our geometry using a Cartesian coordinate Trisecting a segment with ruler and compass. system made of two lines, and represent points of our plane by vectors. Finally we can write these vectors as complex numbers. Using the equations for lines and circles, one can show that the points at which they intersect lie in a quadratic extension of the smallest field F containing two points on the line, the center of the circle, and the radius of the circle. That is, they are of the form , where x, y, and k are in F.
Compass and straightedge constructions Since the field of constructible points is closed under square roots, it contains all points that can be obtained by a finite sequence of quadratic extensions of the field of complex numbers with rational coefficients. By the above paragraph, one can show that any constructible point can be obtained by such a sequence of extensions. As a corollary of this, one finds that the degree of the minimal polynomial for a constructible point (and therefore of any constructible length) is a power of2. In particular, any constructible point (or length) is an algebraic number, though not every algebraic number is constructible (i.e. the relationship between constructible lengths and algebraic numbers is not bijective); for example, is algebraic but not constructible.
154
Constructible angles
There is a bijection between the angles that are constructible and the points that are constructible on any constructible circle. The angles that are constructible form an abelian group under addition modulo 2 (which corresponds to multiplication of the points on the unit circle viewed as complex numbers). The angles that are constructible are exactly those whose tangent (or equivalently, sine or cosine) is constructible as a number. For example the regular heptadecagon is constructible because
as discovered by Gauss.[3] The group of constructible angles is closed under the operation that halves angles (which corresponds to taking square roots). The only angles of finite order that may be constructed starting with two points are those whose order is either a power of two, or a product of a power of two and a set of distinct Fermat primes. In addition there is a dense set of constructible angles of infinite order.
Compass and straightedge constructions as complex arithmetic

Given a set of points in the Euclidean plane, selecting any one of them to be called 0 and another to be called 1, together with an arbitrary choice of orientation allows us to consider the points as a set of complex numbers. Given any such interpretation of a set of points as complex numbers, the points constructible using valid compass and straightedge constructions alone are precisely the elements of the smallest field containing the original set of points and closed under the complex conjugate and square root operations (to avoid ambiguity, we can specify the square root with complex argument less than ). The elements of this field are precisely those that may be expressed as a formula in the original points using only the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, complex conjugate, and square root, which is easily seen to be a countable dense subset of the plane. Each of these six operations corresponding to a simple compass and straightedge construction. From such a formula it is straightforward to produce a construction of the corresponding point by combining the constructions for each of the arithmetic operations. More efficient constructions of a particular set of points correspond to shortcuts in such calculations. Equivalently (and with no need to arbitrarily choose two points) we can say that, given an arbitrary choice of orientation, a set of points determines a set of complex ratios given by the ratios of the differences between any two pairs of points. The set of ratios constructible using compass and straightedge from such a set of ratios is precisely the smallest field containing the original ratios and closed under taking complex conjugates and square roots. For example the real part, imaginary part and modulus of a point or ratio z (taking one of the two viewpoints above) are constructible as these may be expressed as
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Doubling the cube and trisection of an angle (except for special angles such as any such that /6 is a rational number with denominator the product of a power of two and a set of distinct Fermat primes) require ratios which are the solution to cubic equations, while squaring the circle requires a transcendental ratio. None of these are in the fields described, hence no compass and straightedge construction for these exists.
Impossible constructions
The following three construction problems, whose origins date from Greek antiquity, were considered impossible in the sense that they could not be solved using only the compass and straightedge. With modern mathematical methods this "consideration" of the Greek mathematicians can be proved to be correct. The problems themselves, however, are doable, and the Greeks knew how to solve them, without the constraint of working only with straightedge and compass.
Squaring the circle

The most famous of these problems, squaring the circle, otherwise known as the quadrature of the circle, involves constructing a square with the same area as a given circle using only straightedge and compass. Squaring the circle has been proven impossible, as it involves generating a transcendental number, that is, .
Only certain algebraic numbers can be constructed with ruler and compass alone, namely those constructed from the integers with a finite sequence of operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and taking square roots. The phrase "squaring the circle" is often used to mean "doing the impossible" for this reason. Without the constraint of requiring solution by ruler and compass alone, the problem is easily solvable by a wide variety of geometric and algebraic means, and has been solved many times in antiquity.
Doubling the cube

Doubling the cube: using only a straight-edge and compass, construct the side of a cube that has twice the volume of a cube with a given side. This is impossible because the cube root of 2, though algebraic, cannot be computed from integers by addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and taking square roots. This follows because its minimal polynomial over the rationals has degree3. This construction is possible using a straightedge with two marks on it and a compass.
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Angle trisection
Angle trisection: using only a straightedge and a compass, construct an angle that is one-third of a given arbitrary angle. This is impossible in the general case. For example: though the angle of /3 radians (60) cannot be trisected, the angle 2/5 radians (72 = 360/5) can be trisected. This problem is also easily solved when a straightedge with two marks on it is allowed (a neusis construction).
Constructing regular polygons

Some regular polygons (e.g. a pentagon) are easy to construct with straightedge and compass; others are not. This led to the question: Is it possible to construct all regular polygons with straightedge and compass? Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1796 showed that a regular n-sided polygon can be constructed with straightedge and compass if the odd prime factors of n are distinct Fermat primes. Gauss conjectured that this condition was also necessary, but he offered no proof of this fact, which was provided by Pierre Wantzel in 1837.[4]
Constructing with only ruler or only compass
Construction of a square.
It is possible (according to the MohrMascheroni theorem) to construct anything with just a compass if it can be constructed with a ruler and compass, provided that the given data and the data to be found consist of discrete points (not lines or circles). It is impossible to take a square root with just a ruler, so some things that cannot be constructed with a ruler can be constructed with a compass; but (by the PonceletSteiner theorem) given a single circle and its center, they can be constructed.
Extended constructions
Markable rulers
Archimedes and Apollonius gave constructions involving the use of a markable ruler. This would permit them, for example, to take a line segment, two lines (or circles), and a point; and then draw a line which passes through the given point and intersects both lines, and such that the distance between the points of intersection equals the given segment. This the Greeks called neusis ("inclination", "tendency" or "verging"), because the new line tends to the point. In this expanded scheme, any distance whose ratio to an existing distance is the solution of a cubic or a quartic equation is constructible. It follows that, if markable rulers and neusis are permitted, the trisection of the angle (see Archimedes' trisection [5]) and the duplication of the cube can be achieved; the quadrature of the circle is still impossible. Some regular polygons, like the heptagon, become constructible; and John H. Conway gives constructions for several of them;[6] but the 11-sided polygon, the hendecagon, is still impossible, and infinitely many others. When only an angle trisector is permitted, there is a complete description of all regular polygons which can be constructed, including above mentioned regular heptagon, triskaidecagon (13-gon) and enneadecagon (19-gon).[7] It is open whether there are infinitely many primes p for which a regular p-gon is constructible with ruler, compass and an angle trisector.
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Origami
The mathematical theory of origami is more powerful than compass and staightedge construction. Folds satisfying the Huzita-Hatori axioms can construct exactly the same set of points as the extended constructions using a compass and a marked ruler. Therefore origami can also be used to solve cubic equations (and hence quartic equations), and thus solve two of the classical problems.[8]
The extension field

In abstract terms, using these more powerful tools of either neusis using a markable ruler or the constructions of origami extends the field of constructible numbers to a larger subfield of the complex numbers, which contains not only the square root, but also the cube roots, of every element. The arithmetic formulae for constructible points described above have analogies in this larger field, allowing formulae that include cube roots as well. The field extension generated by any additional point constructible in this larger field has degree a multiple of a power of two and a power of three, and may be broken into a tower of extensions of degree 2 and 3.
Computation of binary digits

In 1998 Simon Plouffe gave a ruler and compass algorithm that can be used to compute binary digits of certain numbers.[9] The algorithm basically involves the repeated doubling of an angle and becomes physically impractical after about 20 binary digits.
References
[1] Underwood Dudley (1983), "What To Do When the Trisector Comes" (http:/ / web. mst. edu/ ~lmhall/ WhatToDoWhenTrisectorComes. pdf), The Mathematical Intelligencer 5 (1): 2025, [2] Godfried Toussaint, "A new look at Euclids second proposition," The Mathematical Intelligencer, Vol. 15, No. 3, (1993), pp. 12-24. [3] Weisstein, Eric W., " Trigonometry Angles--Pi/17 (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ TrigonometryAnglesPi17. html)" from MathWorld. [4] Kazarinoff, Nicholas D. (2003). Ruler and the Round. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover. pp.2930. ISBN0-486-42515-0. [5] http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ pythagoras/ archi. shtml [6] Conway, John H. and Richard Guy: The Book of Numbers [7] Gleason, Andrew: "Angle trisection, the heptagon, and the triskaidecagon", Amer. Math. Monthly 95 (1988), no. 3, 185-194. [8] Row, T. Sundara (1966). Geometric Exercises in Paper Folding. New York: Dover. [9] Simon Plouffe (1998). "The Computation of Certain Numbers Using a Ruler and Compass" (http:/ / www. cs. uwaterloo. ca/ journals/ JIS/ compass. html). Journal of Integer Sequences 1. ISSN1530-7638. .
External links
Van Schooten's Ruler Constructions (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=268&bodyId=163) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) Online ruler-and-compass construction tool (http://wims.unice.fr/~wims/en_tool~geometry~rulecomp.en. phtml) Squaring the circle (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Squaring_the_circle.html) Impossibility of squaring the circle (http://www.geom.umn.edu/docs/forum/square_circle/) Doubling the cube (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Doubling_the_cube.html) Angle trisection (http://www.geom.umn.edu/docs/forum/angtri/) An Investigation of Historical Geometric Constructions (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1207&bodyId=1351) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) Trisection of an Angle (http://www.jimloy.com/geometry/trisect.htm) Regular polygon constructions (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/formulas/faq.regpoly.html) Simon Plouffe's use of ruler and compass as a computer (http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/JIS/compass.html)
Compass and straightedge constructions Construction with the Compass Only (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know/compass.shtml) at cut-the-knot Renaissance artists' constructions of regular polygons (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1056&bodyId=1245) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) Angle Trisection by Hippocrates (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/Hippocrates.shtml) Weisstein, Eric W., " Angle Trisection (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/AngleTrisection.html)" from MathWorld. Various constructions using compass and straightedge (http://www.mathopenref.com/tocs/constructionstoc. html) With interactive animated step-by-step instructions Math Tricks Help You Design Shop Projects: master a simple compass and you're a designer; convert your router into one with a trammel and away you go, Popular Science, May 1971, p104,106,108, Scanned article via Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=ngAAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA104
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Doubling the cube

Doubling the cube (also known as the Delian problem) is one of the three most famous geometric problems unsolvable by compass and straightedge construction. It was known to the Egyptians, Greeks, and Indians.[1] To "double the cube" means to be given a cube of some side length s and volume V= s3, and to construct the side of a new cube, larger than the first, with volume 2V and therefore side length . The problem is known to be impossible to solve with only compass and straightedge, because 1.25992105 is not a constructible number.
History
The problem owes its name to a story concerning the citizens of Delos, who consulted the oracle at Delphi in order to learn how to defeat a plague sent by Apollo.[2] According to Plutarch[3] it was the citizens of Delos who consulted the oracle at Delphi, seeking a solution for their internal political problems at the time, which had intensified relationships among the citizens. The oracle responded that they must double the size of the altar to Apollo, which was a regular cube. The answer seemed strange to the Delians and they consulted Plato, who was able to interpret the oracle as the mathematical problem of doubling the volume of a given cube, thus explaining the oracle as the advice of Apollo for the citizens of Delos to occupy themselves with the study of geometry and mathematics in order to calm down their passions.[4] According to Plutarch, Plato gave the problem to Eudoxus and Archytas and Menaechmus, who solved the problem using mechanical means, earning a rebuke from Plato for not solving the problem using pure geometry (Plut., Quaestiones convivales VIII.ii [5], 718ef). This may be why the problem is referred to in the 350s BC by the author of the pseudo-Platonic Sisyphus (388e) as still unsolved.[6] However another version of the story says that all three found solutions but they were too abstract to be of practical value. A significant development in finding a solution to the problem was the discovery by Hippocrates of Chios that it is equivalent to finding two mean proportionals between a line segment and another with twice the length.[7] In modern notation, this means that given segments of lengths a and 2a, the duplication of the cube is equivalent to finding segments of lengths r and s so that
In turn, this means that
But Pierre Wantzel proved in 1837 that the cube root of 2 is not constructible; that is, it cannot be constructed with straightedge and compass.
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Solutions
Menaechmus' original solution involves the intersection of two conic curves. Other more complicated methods of doubling the cube involve the cissoid of Diocles, the conchoid of Nicomedes, or the Philo line. Archytas solved the problem in the fourth century B.C. using geometric construction in three dimensions, determining a certain point as the intersection of three surfaces of revolution. False claims of doubling the cube with compass and straightedge abound in mathematical crank literature (pseudomathematics). Origami may also be used to construct the cube root of two by folding paper.
Using a marked ruler

There is a simple neusis construction using a marked ruler for a length which is the cube root of 2 times another length.[8] Mark a ruler with the given length, this will eventually be GH. Construct an equilateral triangle with the given length as side. Extend AB an equal amount again to D. Extend the line BC forming the line CE. Extend the line DC forming the line CF Place the marked ruler so it goes through A and one end G of the marked length falls on CF and the other end of the marked length falls on ray CE. Thus GH is the given length. The AG is the given length times the cube root of 2.
References
[1] Lucye Guilbeau (1930). "The History of the Solution of the Cubic Equation", Mathematics News Letter 5 (4), pp. 812. [2] L. Zhmud The origin of the history of science in classical antiquity, p.84 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=oX28qf7LKdoC& pg=PA84), quoting Plutarch and Theon of Smyrna [3] Plutarch, De E apud Delphos 386.E.4 (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ hopper/ text?doc=Perseus:text:2008. 01. 0243:section=6) [4] Plutarch, De genio Socratis 579.B [5] http:/ / ebooks. adelaide. edu. au/ p/ plutarch/ symposiacs/ chapter8. html#section80 [6] Carl Werner Mller, Die Kurzdialoge der Appendix Platonica, Munich: Wilhelm Fink, 1975, pp. 105-106 [7] T.L. Heath A history of Greek mathematics, Vol. 1] [8] Heinrich Drrie (1965). 100 Great Problems of Elementary Mathematics. Dover. p.171. ISBN0486-61348-8.
External links
Doubling the cube (http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Doubling_the_cube.html). J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson in the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. To Double a Cube The Solution of Archytas (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/davies/cubedbl.htm). Excerpted with permission from A History of Greek Mathematics by Sir Thomas Heath. Delian Problem Solved. Or Is It? (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/Delian.shtml) at cut-the-knot.
Squaring the circle
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Squaring the circle
Squaring the circle: the areas of this square and this circle are equal. In 1882, it was proven that this figure cannot be constructed in a finite number of steps with an idealized compass and straightedge.
Some apparent partial solutions gave false hope for a long time. In this figure, the shaded figure is the Lune of Hippocrates. Its area is equal to the area of the triangle ABC (found by Hippocrates of Chios).
Squaring the circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge. More abstractly and more precisely, it may be taken to ask whether specified axioms of Euclidean geometry concerning the existence of lines and circles entail the existence of such a square. In 1882, the task was proven to be impossible, as a consequence of the LindemannWeierstrass theorem which proves that pi () is a transcendental, rather than an algebraic irrational number; that is, it is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients. It had been known for some decades before then that the construction would be impossible if pi were transcendental, but pi was not proven transcendental until 1882. Approximate squaring to any given non-perfect accuracy, in contrast, is possible in a finite number of steps, since there are rational numbers arbitrarily close to . The expression "squaring the circle" is sometimes used as a metaphor for trying to do the impossible.[1] The term quadrature of the circle is sometimes used synonymously, or may refer to approximate or numerical methods for finding the area of a circle.
History
Methods to approximate the area of a given circle with a square were known already to Babylonian mathematicians. The Egyptian Rhind papyrus of 1800BC gives the area of a circle as (64/81)d2, where d is the diameter of the circle, and pi approximated to 256/81, a number that appears in the older Moscow Mathematical Papyrus, and used for volume approximations (i.e. hekat (volume unit)). Indian mathematicians also found an approximate method, though less accurate, documented in the Sulba Sutras.[2] Archimedes showed that the value of pi lay between 3+1/7 (approximately 3.1429) and 3+10/71 (approximately 3.1408). See Numerical approximations of for more on the
Squaring the circle history. The first Greek to be associated with the problem was Anaxagoras, who worked on it while in prison. Hippocrates of Chios squared certain lunes, in the hope that it would lead to a solution see Lune of Hippocrates. Antiphon the Sophist believed that inscribing regular polygons within a circle and doubling the number of sides will eventually fill up the area of the circle, and since a polygon can be squared, it means the circle can be squared. Even then there were skepticsEudemus argued that magnitudes cannot be divided up without limit, so the area of the circle will never be used up.[3] The problem was even mentioned in Aristophanes's play The Birds. It is believed that Oenopides was the first Greek who required a plane solution (that is, using only a compass and straightedge). James Gregory attempted a proof of its impossibility in Vera Circuli et Hyperbolae Quadratura (The True Squaring of the Circle and of the Hyperbola) in 1667. Although his proof was incorrect, it was the first paper to attempt to solve the problem using algebraic properties of pi. It was not until 1882 that Ferdinand von Lindemann rigorously proved its impossibility. The famous Victorian-age mathematician, logician and author, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known under the pseudonym, "Lewis Carroll") also expressed interest in debunking illogical circle-squaring theories. In one of his diary entries for 1855, Dodgson listed books he hoped to write including one called "Plain Facts for Circle-Squarers". In the introduction to "A New Theory of Parallels", Dodgson recounted an attempt to demonstrate logical errors to a couple of circle-squarers, stating:[5] "The first of these two misguided visionaries filled me with a great ambition to do a feat I have never heard of as accomplished by man, namely to convince a circle squarer of his error! The value my friend selected for Pi was 3.2: the enormous error tempted me with the idea that it could be easily demonstrated to BE an error. More than a score of letters were interchanged before I became sadly convinced that I had no chance."
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Impossibility
A partial history by Florian Cajori of attempts at [4] the problem.
The solution of the problem of squaring the circle by compass and straightedge demands construction of the number , and the impossibility of this undertaking follows from the fact that pi is a transcendental (non-algebraic and therefore non-constructible) number. If the problem of the quadrature of the circle is solved using only compass and straightedge, then an algebraic value of pi would be found, which is impossible. Johann Heinrich Lambert conjectured that pi was transcendental in 1768 in the same paper he proved its irrationality, even before the existence of transcendental numbers was proven. It was not until 1882 that Ferdinand von Lindemann proved its transcendence. The transcendence of pi implies the impossibility of exactly "circling" the square, as well as of squaring the circle. It is possible to construct a square with an area arbitrarily close to that of a given circle. If a rational number is used as an approximation of pi, then squaring the circle becomes possible, depending on the values chosen. However, this is only an approximation and does not meet the constraints of the ancient rules for solving the problem. Several mathematicians have demonstrated workable procedures based on a variety of approximations. Bending the rules by allowing an infinite number of compass-and-straightedge operations or by performing the operations on certain non-Euclidean spaces also makes squaring the circle possible. For example, although the circle cannot be squared in Euclidean space, it can be in GaussBolyaiLobachevsky space. Indeed, even the preceding
Squaring the circle phrase is overoptimistic.[6][7] There are no squares as such in the hyperbolic plane, although there are regular quadrilaterals, meaning quadrilaterals with all sides congruent and all angles congruent (but these angles are strictly smaller than right angles). There exist, in the hyperbolic plane, (countably) infinitely many pairs of constructible circles and constructible regular quadrilaterals of equal area. However, there is no method for starting with a regular quadrilateral and constructing the circle of equal area, and there is no method for starting with a circle and constructing a regular quadrilateral of equal area (even when the circle has small enough radius such that a regular quadrilateral of equal area exists).
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Modern approximative constructions

Though squaring the circle is an impossible problem using only compass and straightedge, approximations to squaring the circle can be given by constructing lengths close to pi. It takes only minimal knowledge of elementary geometry to convert any given rational approximation of pi into a corresponding compass-and-straightedge construction, but constructions made in this way tend to be very long-winded in comparison to the accuracy they achieve. After the exact problem was proven unsolvable, some mathematicians applied their ingenuity to finding elegant approximations to squaring the circle, defined roughly and informally as constructions that are particularly simple among other imaginable constructions that give similar precision. Among the modern approximate constructions was one by E. W. Hobson in 1913.[8] This was a fairly accurate construction which was based on constructing the approximate value of 3.14164079..., which is accurate to 4 decimals (i.e. it differs from pi by about 48105). Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in 1913, C. D. Olds in 1963, Martin Gardner in 1966, and Benjamin Bold in 1982 all gave geometric constructions for
which is accurate to six decimal places of pi. Srinivasa Ramanujan in 1914 gave a ruler-and-compass construction which was equivalent to taking the approximate value for pi to be
giving a remarkable eight decimal places of pi. In 1991, Robert Dixon gave constructions for
Kochaski's approximate construction
(Kochaski's approximation), though these were only accurate to four decimal places of pi.
Squaring or quadrature as integration

The problem of finding the area under a curve, known as integration in calculus, or quadrature in numerical analysis, was known as squaring before the invention of calculus. Since the techniques of calculus were unknown, it was generally presumed that a squaring should be done via geometric constructions, that is, by compass and straightedge. For example Newton wrote to Oldenberg in 1676 "I believe M. Leibnitz will not dislike the Theorem towards the beginning of my letter pag. 4 for squaring Curve lines Geometrically" (emphasis added).[9] After Newton and Leibniz invented calculus, they still referred to this integration problem as squaring a curve.
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"Squaring the circle" as a metaphor

The futility of exercises aimed at finding the quadrature of the circle has lent itself to metaphors describing a hopeless, meaningless, or vain undertaking. For example, in Spanish, the expression "descubriste la cuadratura del crculo" ("you discovered the quadrature of the circle") is often used derisively to dismiss claims that someone has found a simple solution to a particularly hard or intractable problem.
Claims of circle squaring

Connection with the longitude problem
The mathematical proof that the quadrature of the circle is impossible using only compass and straightedge has not proved to be a hindrance to the many people who have invested years in this problem anyway. Having squared the circle is a famous crank assertion. (See also pseudomathematics.) In his old age, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes convinced himself that he had succeeded in squaring the circle. During the 18th and 19th century, the notion that the problem of squaring the circle was somehow related to the longitude problem seems to have become prevalent among would-be circle squarers. Using "cyclometer" for circle-squarer, Augustus de Morgan wrote in 1872: Montucla says, speaking of France, that he finds three notions prevalent among cyclometers: 1. That there is a large reward offered for success; 2. That the longitude problem depends on that success; 3. That the solution is the great end and object of geometry. The same three notions are equally prevalent among the same class in England. No reward has ever been offered by the government of either country.[10] Although from 1714 to 1828 the British government did indeed sponsor a 20,000 prize for finding a solution to the longitude problem, exactly why the connection was made to squaring the circle is not clear; especially since two non-geometric methods (the astronomical method of lunar distances and the mechanical chronometer) had been found by the late 1760s. De Morgan goes on to say that "[t]he longitude problem in no way depends upon perfect solution; existing approximations are sufficient to a point of accuracy far beyond what can be wanted." In his book, de Morgan also mentions receiving many threatening letters from would-be circle squarers, accusing him of trying to "cheat them out of their prize".
Other modern claims

Even after it had been proved impossible, in 1894, amateur mathematician Edwin J. Goodwin claimed that he had developed a method to square the circle. The technique he developed did not accurately square the circle, and provided an incorrect area of the circle which essentially redefined pi as equal to 3.2. Goodwin then proposed the Indiana Pi Bill in the Indiana state legislature allowing the state to use his method in education without paying royalties to him. The bill passed with no objections in the state house, but the bill was tabled and never voted on in the Senate, amid increasing ridicule from the press.
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In literature
Literature
The problem of squaring the circle has been mentioned by poets such as Dante and Alexander Pope. The character Meton of Athens in the play The Birds by Aristophanes (first performed in 414 BCE) mentions squaring the circle. Dante's Paradise canto XXXIII lines 133-135 contain the verses: As the geometer his mind applies To square the circle, nor for all his wit Finds the right formula, howe'er he tries Pope, in his 1743 poem Dunciad, wrote: Mad Mathesis alone was unconfined, Too mad for mere material chains to bind, Now to pure space lifts her ecstatic stare, Now, running round the circle, finds it square.
References
[1] Ammer, Christine. "Square the Circle. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms" (http:/ / dictionary. reference. com/ browse/ square the circle). Houghton Mifflin Company. . Retrieved 16 April 2012. [2] O'Connor, John J. and Robertson, Edmund F. (2000). "The Indian Sulbasutras" (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ HistTopics/ Indian_sulbasutras. html). MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. St Andrews University. . [3] Heath, Thomas (1981). History of Greek Mathematics. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-24074-6. [4] Florian Cajori (1919). A History of Mathematics (2nd ed.). New York: The Macmillan Company. p.143. [5] Martin Gardner (1996). The Universe in a Handkerchief. Springer. ISBN0-387-94673-X. [6] Jagy, William C. (1995). "Squaring circles in the hyperbolic plane" (http:/ / zakuski. math. utsa. edu/ ~jagy/ papers/ Intelligencer_1995. pdf) (PDF). Mathematical Intelligencer 17 (2): 3136. doi:10.1007/BF03024895. [7] Greenberg, Marvin Jay (2008). Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries (Fourth ed.). W H Freeman. pp.520528. ISBN0-7167-9948-0 [8] Hobson, Ernest William (1913). Squaring the Circle: A History of the Problem. Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by Merchant Books in 2007. [9] Cotes, Roger (1850). Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes: Including letters of other eminent men (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=OVPJ6c9_kKgC& pg=PA259& vq=squaring& dq=newton+ squaring-curves+ date:0-1923). . [10] Augustus de Morgan (1872). A Budget of Paradoxes. p.96.
External links
Squaring the circle (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Squaring_the_circle.html) at the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Squaring the Circle (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/impossible/sq_circle.shtml) at cut-the-knot Circle Squaring (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CircleSquaring.html) at MathWorld, includes information on procedures based on various approximations of pi " Squaring the Circle (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument& nodeId=1207&bodyId=1357)" at " Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/)" The Quadrature of the Circle and Hippocrates' Lunes (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1203&bodyId=1593) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) How to Unroll a Circle (http://www.song-of-songs.net/Squaring_the_Circle.html) Pi accurate to eight decimal places, using straightedge and compass. Squaring the Circle and Other Impossibilities (http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45& EventId=624), lecture by Robin Wilson, at Gresham College, 16 January 2008 (available for download as text,
Squaring the circle audio or video file).
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Zeno's paradoxes
Zeno's paradoxes are a set of philosophical problems generally thought to have been devised by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (ca. 490430 BC) to support Parmenides's doctrine that "all is one" and that, contrary to the evidence of one's senses, the belief in plurality and change is mistaken, and in particular that motion is nothing but an illusion. It is usually assumed, based on Plato's Parmenides 128c-d, that Zeno took on the project of creating these paradoxes because other philosophers had created paradoxes against Parmenides's view. Thus Zeno can be interpreted as saying that to assume there is plurality is even more absurd than assuming there is only "the One". (Parmenides 128d). Plato makes Socrates claim that Zeno and Parmenides were essentially arguing exactly the same point (Parmenides 128a-b). Some of Zeno's nine surviving paradoxes (preserved in Aristotle's Physics[1] and Simplicius's commentary thereon) are essentially equivalent to one another. Aristotle offered a refutation of some of them.[1] Three of the strongest and most famousthat of Achilles and the tortoise, the Dichotomy argument, and that of an arrow in flightare presented in detail below. Zeno's arguments are perhaps the first examples of a method of proof called reductio ad absurdum also known as proof by contradiction. They are also credited as a source of the dialectic method used by Socrates.[2] Some mathematicians, such as Carl Boyer, hold that Zeno's paradoxes are simply mathematical problems, for which modern calculus provides a mathematical solution.[3] Some philosophers, however, say that Zeno's paradoxes and their variations (see Thomson's lamp) remain relevant metaphysical problems.[4][5][6] The origins of the paradoxes are somewhat unclear. Diogenes Laertius, a fourth source for information about Zeno and his teachings, citing Favorinus, says that Zeno's teacher Parmenides was the first to introduce the Achilles and the Tortoise Argument. But in a later passage, Laertius attributes the origin of the paradox to Zeno, explaining that Favorinus disagrees.[7]
The Paradoxes of Motion

Achilles and the tortoise
In a race, the quickest runner can never overtake the slowest, since the pursuer must first reach the point whence the pursued started, so that the slower must always hold a lead. as recounted by Aristotle, Physics VI:9, 239b15 In the paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise, Achilles is in a footrace with the tortoise. Achilles allows the tortoise a head start of 100 metres, for example. If we suppose that each racer starts running at some constant speed (one very fast and one very slow), then after some finite time, Achilles will have run 100 metres, bringing him to the tortoise's starting point. During this time, the tortoise has run a much shorter distance, say, 10 metres. It will then take Achilles some further time to run that distance, by which time the tortoise will have advanced farther; and then more time still to reach this third point, while the tortoise moves ahead. Thus, whenever Achilles reaches somewhere the tortoise has been, he still has farther to go. Therefore, because there are an infinite number of points Achilles must reach where the tortoise has already been, he can never overtake the tortoise.[8][9]
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The dichotomy paradox

That which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at the goal. as recounted by Aristotle, Physics VI:9, 239b10 Suppose Homer wants to catch a stationary bus. Before he can get there, he must get halfway there. Before he can get halfway there, he must get a quarter of the way there. Before traveling a quarter, he must travel one-eighth; before an eighth, one-sixteenth; and so on.
The resulting sequence can be represented as:
This description requires one to complete an infinite number of tasks, which Zeno maintains is an impossibility. This sequence also presents a second problem in that it contains no first distance to run, for any possible (finite) first distance could be divided in half, and hence would not be first after all. Hence, the trip cannot even begin. The paradoxical conclusion then would be that travel over any finite distance can neither be completed nor begun, and so all motion must be an illusion. This argument is called the Dichotomy because it involves repeatedly splitting a distance into two parts. It contains some of the same elements as the Achilles and the Tortoise paradox, but with a more apparent conclusion of motionlessness. It is also known as the Race Course paradox. Some, like Aristotle, regard the Dichotomy as really just another version of Achilles and the Tortoise.[10] There are two versions of the dichotomy paradox. In the other version, before Homer could reach the stationary bus, he must reach half of the distance to it. Before reaching the last half, he must complete the next quarter of the distance. Reaching the next quarter, he must then cover the next eighth of the distance, then the next sixteenth, and so on. There are thus an infinite number of steps that must first be accomplished before he could reach the bus, with no way to establish the size of any "last" step. Expressed this way, the dichotomy paradox is very much analogous to that of Achilles and the tortoise.
The arrow paradox

If everything when it occupies an equal space is at rest, and if that which is in locomotion is always occupying such a space at any moment, the flying arrow is therefore motionless.[11] as recounted by Aristotle, Physics VI:9, 239b5 In the arrow paradox (also known as the fletcher's paradox), Zeno states that for motion to occur, an object must change the position which it occupies. He gives an example of an arrow in flight. He states that in any one (durationless) instant of time, the arrow is neither moving to where it is, nor to where it is not.[12] It cannot move to where it is not, because no time elapses for it to move there; it cannot move to where it is, because it is already there. In other words, at every instant of time there is no motion occurring. If everything is motionless at every instant, and time is entirely composed of instants, then motion is impossible. Whereas the first two paradoxes divide space, this paradox starts by dividing timeand not into segments, but into points.[13]
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Three other paradoxes as given by Aristotle

Paradox of Place: " if everything that exists has a place, place too will have a place, and so on ad infinitum."[14] Paradox of the Grain of Millet: " there is no part of the millet that does not make a sound: for there is no reason why any such part should not in any length of time fail to move the air that the whole bushel moves in falling. In fact it does not of itself move even such a quantity of the air as it would move if this part were by itself: for no part even exists otherwise than potentially."[15] The Moving Rows (or Stadium): " concerning the two rows of bodies, each row being composed of an equal number of bodies of equal size, passing each other on a race-course as they proceed with equal velocity in opposite directions, the one row originally occupying the space between the goal and the middle point of the course and the other that between the middle point and the starting-post. This...involves the conclusion that half a given time is equal to double that time."[16] For an expanded account of Zeno's arguments as presented by Aristotle, see Simplicius' commentary On Aristotle's Physics.
Proposed solutions
According to Simplicius, Diogenes the Cynic said nothing upon hearing Zeno's arguments, but stood up and walked, in order to demonstrate the falsity of Zeno's conclusions. To fully solve any of the paradoxes, however, one needs to show what is wrong with the argument, not just the conclusions. Through history, several solutions have been proposed, among the earliest recorded being those of Aristotle and Archimedes. Aristotle (384 BC322 BC) remarked that as the distance decreases, the time needed to cover those distances also decreases, so that the time needed also becomes increasingly small.[17][18] Aristotle also distinguished "things infinite in respect of divisibility" (such as a unit of space that can be mentally divided into ever smaller units while remaining spatially the same) from things (or distances) that are infinite in extension ("with respect to their extremities").[19] Before 212 BC, Archimedes had developed a method to derive a finite answer for the sum of infinitely many terms that get progressively smaller. (See: Geometric series, 1/4 + 1/16 + 1/64 + 1/256 + , The Quadrature of the Parabola.) Modern calculus achieves the same result, using more rigorous methods (see convergent series, where the "reciprocals of powers of 2" series, equivalent to the Dichotomy Paradox, is listed as convergent). These methods allow the construction of solutions based on the conditions stipulated by Zeno, i.e. the amount of time taken at each step is geometrically decreasing.[3][20] Aristotle's objection to the arrow paradox was that "Time is not composed of indivisible nows any more than any other magnitude is composed of indivisibles."[21] Saint Thomas Aquinas, commenting on Aristotle's objection, wrote "Instants are not parts of time, for time is not made up of instants any more than a magnitude is made of points, as we have already proved. Hence it does not follow that a thing is not in motion in a given time, just because it is not in motion in any instant of that time."[22] Bertrand Russell offered what is known as the "at-at theory of motion". It agrees that there can be no motion "during" a durationless instant, and contends that all that is required for motion is that the arrow be at one point at one time, at another point another time, and at appropriate points between those two points for intervening times. In this view motion is a function of position with respect to time.[23][24] Nick Huggett argues that Zeno is begging the question when he says that objects that occupy the same space as they do at rest must be at rest.[13]
Zeno's paradoxes Peter Lynds has argued that all of Zeno's motion paradoxes are resolved by the conclusion that instants in time and instantaneous magnitudes do not physically exist.[25][26][27] Lynds argues that an object in relative motion cannot have an instantaneous or determined relative position (for if it did, it could not be in motion), and so cannot have its motion fractionally dissected as if it does, as is assumed by the paradoxes. Another proposed solution is to question one of the assumptions Zeno used in his paradoxes (particularly the Dichotomy), which is that between any two different points in space (or time), there is always another point. Without this assumption there are only a finite number of distances between two points, hence there is no infinite sequence of movements, and the paradox is resolved. The ideas of Planck length and Planck time in modern physics place a limit on the measurement of time and space, if not on time and space themselves. According to Hermann Weyl, the assumption that space is made of finite and discrete units is subject to a further problem, given by the "tile argument" or "distance function problem".[28][29] According to this, the length of the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle in discretized space is always equal to the length of one of the two sides, in contradiction to geometry. Jean Paul Van Bendegem has argued that the Tile Argument can be resolved, and that discretization can therefore remove the paradox.[3][30] Hans Reichenbach has proposed that the paradox may arise from considering space and time as separate entities. In a theory like general relativity, which presumes a single space-time continuum, the paradox may be blocked.[31]
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The paradoxes in modern times

Infinite processes remained theoretically troublesome in mathematics until the late 19th century. The epsilon-delta version of Weierstrass and Cauchy developed a rigorous formulation of the logic and calculus involved. These works resolved the mathematics involving infinite processes.[32] While mathematics can be used to calculate where and when the moving Achilles will overtake the Tortoise of Zeno's paradox, philosophers such as Brown and Moorcroft[4][5] claim that mathematics does not address the central point in Zeno's argument, and that solving the mathematical issues does not solve every issue the paradoxes raise. Zeno's arguments are often misrepresented in the popular literature. That is, Zeno is often said to have argued that the sum of an infinite number of terms must itself be infinitewith the result that not only the time, but also the distance to be travelled, become infinite. However, none of the original ancient sources has Zeno discussing the sum of any infinite series. Simplicius has Zeno saying "it is impossible to traverse an infinite number of things in a finite time". This presents Zeno's problem not with finding the sum, but rather with finishing a task with an infinite number of steps: how can one ever get from A to B, if an infinite number of (non-instantaneous) events can be identified that need to precede the arrival at B, and one cannot reach even the beginning of a "last event"?[4][5][6][33] Today there is still a debate on the question of whether or not Zeno's paradoxes have been resolved. In The History of Mathematics, Burton writes, "Although Zeno's argument confounded his contemporaries, a satisfactory explanation incorporates a now-familiar idea, the notion of a 'convergent infinite series.'"[34] Bertrand Russell offered a "solution" to the paradoxes based on modern physics, but Brown concludes "Given the history of 'final resolutions', from Aristotle onwards, it's probably foolhardy to think we've reached the end. It may be that Zeno's arguments on motion, because of their simplicity and universality, will always serve as a kind of 'Rorschach image' onto which people can project their most fundamental phenomenological concerns (if they have any)."[4]
Zeno's paradoxes
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The quantum Zeno effect

In 1977,[35] physicists E. C. G. Sudarshan and B. Misra studying quantum mechanics discovered that the dynamical evolution (motion) of a quantum system can be hindered (or even inhibited) through observation of the system.[36] This effect is usually called the "quantum Zeno effect" as it is strongly reminiscent of Zeno's arrow paradox. This effect was first theorized in 1958.[37]
Zeno behaviour
In the field of verification and design of timed and hybrid systems, the system behaviour is called Zeno if it includes an infinite number of discrete steps in a finite amount of time.[38] Some formal verification techniques exclude these behaviours from analysis, if they are not equivalent to non-Zeno behaviour.[39][40] In systems design these behaviours will also often be excluded from system models, since they cannot be implemented with a digital controller.[41] A simple example of a system showing Zeno behaviour is a bouncing ball coming to rest. The physics of a bouncing ball can be mathematically analyzed in such a way, ignoring factors other than rebound, to predict an infinite number of bounces.
Writings about Zenos paradoxes

Zenos paradoxes have inspired many writers Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace (Part 11, Chapter I) discusses the race of Achilles and the tortoise when critiquing "historical science". In the dialogue "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles", Lewis Carroll describes what happens at the end of the race. The tortoise discusses with Achilles a simple deductive argument. Achilles fails in demonstrating the argument because the tortoise leads him into an infinite regression. In Gdel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, the various chapters are separated by dialogues between Achilles and the tortoise, inspired by Lewis Carrolls works. The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges discusses Zenos paradoxes many times in his work, showing their relationship with infinity. Borges also used Zenos paradoxes as a metaphor for some situations described by Kafka. Borges traces, in an essay entitled "Avatars of the Tortoise", the many recurrences of this paradox in works of philosophy. The successive references he traces are Agrippa the Skeptic, Thomas Aquinas, Hermann Lotze, F.H. Bradley and William James.[42] In Tom Stoppard's play Jumpers, the philosopher George Moore attempts a practical disproof with bow and arrow of the Dichotomy Paradox, with disastrous consequences for the hare and the tortoise. Harry Mulisch's philosophical magnum opus, De compositie van de wereld (Amsterdam, 1980) is based on Zeno's Paradoxes mostly. Along with Herakleitos' thoughts and Cusanus' coincidentia oppositorum they constitute the foundation for his own system of the 'octave'. In the novel Small Gods by Terry Pratchett the prophet Brutha encounters several Ephebian (Greek) philosophers in the country, attempting to disprove Zeno's paradox by shooting arrows at a succession of tortoises. So far, this has resulted only in a succession of "tortoise-kabobs."
In popular culture
The Firesign Theatre's 1969 album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All contains a section originally titled "The Policemen's Brawl" but retitled "Zeno's Evil" when released on CD. In this segment, as the lead character is driving along in his new car, a series of audible highway signs reports that the distance to the Antelope Freeway is 1 mile, then 12 mile, then 14 mile, 18 mile, and so on. The signs' monolog is interrupted just after reaching the 1512 mile mark.
Zeno's paradoxes The web comic xkcd makes reference to Zeno's paradoxes: the comic Advent Calendar [43] shows an advent calendar version of Achilles and the Tortoise paradox, and the comic Proof [44] shows a courtroom where Zeno claims to be able to prove that his client could not have killed anyone with an arrow, referencing the arrow paradox.
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Notes
[1] Aristotle's Physics (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. html) "Physics" by Aristotle translated by R. P. Hardie and R. K. Gaye [2] ([fragment 65], Diogenes Laertius. IX (http:/ / classicpersuasion. org/ pw/ diogenes/ dlzeno-eleatic. htm) 25ff and VIII 57). [3] Boyer, Carl (1959). The History of the Calculus and Its Conceptual Development (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=w3xKLt_da2UC& dq=zeno+ calculus& q=zeno#v=snippet& q=zeno). Dover Publications. p.295. ISBN978-0-486-60509-8. . Retrieved 2010-02-26. "If the paradoxes are thus stated in the precise mathematical terminology of continuous variables (...) the seeming contradictions resolve themselves." [4] Brown, Kevin. "Zeno and the Paradox of Motion" (http:/ / www. mathpages. com/ rr/ s3-07/ 3-07. htm). Reflections on Relativity. . Retrieved 2010-06-06. [5] Moorcroft, Francis. "Zeno's Paradox" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20100418141459id_/ http:/ / www. philosophers. co. uk/ cafe/ paradox5. htm). Archived from the original (http:/ / www. philosophers. co. uk/ cafe/ paradox5. htm) on 2010-04-18. . [6] Papa-Grimaldi, Alba (1996). "Why Mathematical Solutions of Zeno's Paradoxes Miss the Point: Zeno's One and Many Relation and Parmenides' Prohibition" (http:/ / philsci-archive. pitt. edu/ 2304/ 1/ zeno_maths_review_metaphysics_alba_papa_grimaldi. pdf) (PDF). The Review of Metaphysics 50: 299314. . [7] Diogenes Laertius, Lives, 9.23 and 9.29. [8] "Math Forum" (http:/ / mathforum. org/ isaac/ problems/ zeno1. html). ., matchforum.org [9] Huggett, Nick (2010). "Zeno's Paradoxes: 3.2 Achilles and the Tortoise" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ paradox-zeno/ #AchTor). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved 2011-03-07. [10] Huggett, Nick (2010). "Zeno's Paradoxes: 3.1 The Dichotomy" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ paradox-zeno/ #Dic). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved 2011-03-07. [11] Aristotle. "Physics" (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. 6. vi. html#752). The Internet Classics Archive. . "Zeno's reasoning, however, is fallacious, when he says that if everything when it occupies an equal space is at rest, and if that which is in locomotion is always occupying such a space at any moment, the flying arrow is therefore motionless. This is false, for time is not composed of indivisible moments any more than any other magnitude is composed of indivisibles." [12] Laertius, Diogenes (about 230 CE). "Pyrrho" (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ Lives_of_the_Eminent_Philosophers/ Book_IX#Pyrrho). Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. IX. passage 72. ISBN1-116-71900-2. . [13] Huggett, Nick (2010). "Zeno's Paradoxes: 3.3 The Arrow" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ paradox-zeno/ #Arr). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved 2011-03-07. [14] Aristotle Physics IV:1, 209a25 (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. 4. iv. html) [15] Aristotle Physics VII:5, 250a20 (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. 7. vii. html) [16] Aristotle Physics VI:9, 239b33 (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. 6. vi. html) [17] Aristotle. Physics 6.9 [18] Aristotle's observation that the fractional times also get shorter does not guarantee, in every case, that the task can be completed. One case in which it does not hold is that in which the fractional times decrease in a harmonic series, while the distances decrease geometrically, such as: 1/2 s for 1/2 m gain, 1/3 s for next 1/4 m gain, 1/4 s for next 1/8 m gain, 1/5 s for next 1/16 m gain, 1/6 s for next 1/32 m gain, etc. In this case, the distances form a convergent series, but the times form a divergent series, the sum of which has no limit. Archimedes developed a more explicitly mathematical approach than Aristotle. [19] Aristotle. Physics 6.9; 6.2, 233a21-31 [20] George B. Thomas, Calculus and Analytic Geometry, Addison Wesley, 1951 [21] Aristotle. Physics (http:/ / classics. mit. edu/ Aristotle/ physics. 6. vi. html). VI. Part 9 verse: 239b5. ISBN0-585-09205-2. . [22] Aquinas. Commentary on Aristotle's Physics, Book 6.861 [23] Huggett, Nick (1999). Space From Zeno to Einstein. ISBN0-262-08271-3. [24] Salmon, Wesley C. (1998). Causality and Explanation (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=uPRbOOv1YxUC& pg=PA198& lpg=PA198& dq=at+ at+ theory+ of+ motion+ russell#v=onepage& q=at at theory of motion russell& f=false). p.198. ISBN978-0-19-510864-4. . [25] Lynds, Peter. Zeno's Paradoxes: a Timely Solution (http:/ / philsci-archive. pitt. edu/ 1197/ ) [26] Lynds, Peter. Time and Classical and Quantum Mechanics: Indeterminacy vs. Discontinuity. Foundations of Physics Letter s (Vol. 16, Issue 4, 2003). doi:10.1023/A:1025361725408 [27] Times Up Einstein (http:/ / www. wired. com/ wired/ archive/ 13. 06/ physics. html), Josh McHugh, Wired Magazine, June 2005 [28] Van Bendegem, Jean Paul (17 March 2010). "Finitism in Geometry" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ geometry-finitism/ #SomParSolProDea). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved 2012-01-03. [29] Cohen, Marc (11 December 2000). "ATOMISM" (https:/ / www. aarweb. org/ syllabus/ syllabi/ c/ cohen/ phil320/ atomism. htm). History of Ancient Philosophy, University of Washington. . Retrieved 2012-01-03.
Zeno's paradoxes
[30] van Bendegem, Jean Paul (1987). "Discussion:Zeno's Paradoxes and the Tile Argument". Philosophy of Science (Belgium) 54 (2): 295302. doi:10.1086/289379. JSTOR187807. [31] Hans Reichenbach (1958) The Philosophy of Space and Time. Dover [32] Lee, Harold (1965). "Are Zeno's Paradoxes Based on a Mistake?". Mind (Oxford University Press) 74 (296): 563570. JSTOR2251675. [33] Huggett, Nick (2010). "Zeno's Paradoxes: 5. Zeno's Influence on Philosophy" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ paradox-zeno/ #ZenInf). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved 2011-03-07. [34] Burton, David, A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, McGraw Hill, 2010, ISBN 978-0-07-338315-6 [35] Sudarshan, E. C. G.; Misra, B. (1977). "The Zenos paradox in quantum theory". Journal of Mathematical Physics 18 (4): 756763. Bibcode1977JMP....18..756M. doi:10.1063/1.523304 [36] W.M.Itano; D.J.Heinsen, J.J.Bokkinger, D.J.Wineland (1990). "Quantum Zeno effect" (http:/ / www. boulder. nist. gov/ timefreq/ general/ pdf/ 858. pdf) (PDF). PRA 41 (5): 22952300. Bibcode1990PhRvA..41.2295I. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.41.2295. . [37] Khalfin, L.A. (1958). Soviet Phys. JETP 6: 1053. Bibcode1958JETP....6.1053K [38] Paul A. Fishwick, ed. (1 June 2007). "15.6 "Pathological Behavior Classes" in chapter 15 "Hybrid Dynamic Systems: Modeling and Execution" by Pieter J. Mosterman, The Mathworks, Inc." (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=cM-eFv1m3BoC& pg=SA15-PA22). Handbook of dynamic system modeling. Chapman & Hall/CRC Computer and Information Science (hardcover ed.). Boca Raton, Florida, USA: CRC Press. pp.1522 to 1523. ISBN978-1-58488-565-8. . Retrieved 2010-03-05. [39] Lamport, Leslie (2002) (PDF). Specifying Systems (http:/ / research. microsoft. com/ en-us/ um/ people/ lamport/ tla/ book-02-08-08. pdf). Addison-Wesley. p.128. ISBN0-321-14306-X. . Retrieved 2010-03-06. [40] Zhang, Jun; Johansson, Karl; Lygeros, John; Sastry, Shankar (2001). "Zeno hybrid systems" (http:/ / aphrodite. s3. kth. se/ ~kallej/ papers/ zeno_ijnrc01. pdf). International Journal for Robust and Nonlinear control. . Retrieved 2010-02-28. [41] Franck, Cassez; Henzinger, Thomas; Raskin, Jean-Francois (2002). A Comparison of Control Problems for Timed and Hybrid Systems (http:/ / mtc. epfl. ch/ ~tah/ Publications/ a_comparison_of_control_problems_for_timed_and_hybrid_systems. html). . Retrieved 2010-03-02. [42] Borges, Jorge Luis (1964). Labyrinths. London: Penguin. pp.237243. ISBN0-8112-0012-4. [43] http:/ / xkcd. com/ 994/ [44] http:/ / xkcd. com/ 1153/
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References
Kirk, G. S., J. E. Raven, M. Schofield (1984) The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27455-9. Huggett, Nick (2010). "Zeno's Paradoxes" (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/paradox-zeno/). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2011-03-07. Plato (1926) Plato: Cratylus. Parmenides. Greater Hippias. Lesser Hippias, H. N. Fowler (Translator), Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99185-0. Sainsbury, R.M. (2003) Paradoxes, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48347-6.
External links
Silagadze, Z . K. " Zeno meets modern science, (http://uk.arxiv.org/abs/physics/0505042)" Zeno's Paradox: Achilles and the Tortoise (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/ ZenosParadoxAchillesAndTheTortoise/) by Jon McLoone, Wolfram Demonstrations Project. Kevin Brown on Zeno and the Paradox of Motion (http://www.mathpages.com/rr/s3-07/3-07.htm) Palmer, John (2008). "Zeno of Elea" (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zeno-elea/). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This article incorporates material from Zeno's paradox on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
Platonism
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Platonism
Platonism (with a capital "P") is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. With a lower case "p", "platonism' refers to the philosophy that affirms the existence of abstract objects, which are asserted to "exist" in a "third realm distinct both from the sensible external world and from the internal world of consciousness, and is the opposite of nominalism (with a lower case "n").[1] Lower case "platonists" need not accept any of the doctrines of Plato.[1] In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism. The central concept of Platonism is the distinction between that reality which is perceptible, but not intelligible, and that which is intelligible, but imperceptible; to this distinction the Theory of Forms is essential. The forms are typically described in dialogues such as the Phaedo, Symposium and Republic as transcendent, perfect archetypes, of which objects in the everyday world are imperfect copies. In the Republic the highest form is identified as the Form of the Good, the source of all other forms, which could be known by reason. In the Sophist, a later work, the forms being, sameness and difference are listed among the primordial "Great Kinds". In the 3rd century BC, Arcesilaus adopted skepticism, which became a central tenet of the school until 90 BC when Antiochus added Stoic elements, rejected skepticism, and began a period known as Middle Platonism. In the 3rd century AD, Plotinus added mystical elements, establishing Neoplatonism, in which the summit of existence was the One or the Good, the source of all things; in virtue and meditation the soul had the power to elevate itself to attain union with the One. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought, and many Platonic notions were adopted by the Christian church which understood Platonic forms as God's thoughts, whilst Neoplatonism became a major influence on Christian mysticism, in the West through St Augustine, Doctor of the Catholic Church whose Christian writings were heavily influenced by Plotinus' Enneads,[2] and in turn were foundations for the whole of Western Christian thought.[3]
Philosophy
The primary concept is the Theory of Forms. The only true being is founded upon the forms, the eternal, unchangeable, perfect types, of which particular objects of sense are imperfect copies. The multitude of objects of sense, being involved in perpetual change, are thereby deprived of all genuine existence.[4] The number of the forms is defined by the number of universal concepts which can be derived from the particular objects of sense.[4] The following excerpt may be representative of Plato's middle period metaphysics and epistemology: [Socrates:]"Since the beautiful is opposite of the ugly, they are two." [Glaucon:]"Of course." "And since they are two, each is one?" "I grant that also." "And the same account is true of the just and unjust, the good and the bad, and all the forms. Each of them is itself one, but because they manifest themselves everywhere in association with actions, bodies, and one another, each of them appears to be many." "That's right." "So, I draw this distinction: On one side are those you just now called lovers of sights, lovers of crafts, and practical people; on the other side are those we are now arguing about and whom one would alone call philosophers." "How do you mean?" "The lovers of sights and sounds like beautiful sounds, colors, shapes, and everything fashioned out of them, but their thought is unable to see and embrace the nature of the beautiful itself." "That's for sure." "In fact, there are very few people who would be able to reach the beautiful itself and see it by itself. Isn't that so?"
Platonism "Certainly." "What about someone who believes in beautiful things, but doesn't believe in the beautiful itself and isn't able to follow anyone who could lead him to the knowledge of it? Don't you think he is living in a dream rather than a wakened state? Isn't this dreaming: whether asleep or awake, to think that a likeness is not a likeness but rather the thing itself that it is like?" "I certainly think that someone who does that is dreaming." "But someone who, to take the opposite case, believes in the beautiful itself, can see both it and the things that participate in it and doesn't believe that the participants are it or that it itself is the participants--is he living in a dream or is he awake? "He's very much awake." (Republic Bk. V, 475e-476d, translation G.M.A Grube) Book VI of the Republic identifies the highest form as the Form of the Good, the cause of all other Ideas, and that on which the being and knowing of all other Forms is contingent. Conceptions derived from the impressions of sense can never give us the knowledge of true being; i.e. of the forms.[4] It can only be obtained by the soul's activity within itself, apart from the troubles and disturbances of sense; that is to say, by the exercise of reason.[4] Dialectic, as the instrument in this process, leading us to knowledge of the forms, and finally to the highest form of the Good, is the first of sciences.[4] Later Neoplatonism, beginning with Plotinus, identified the Good of the Republic with the so-called transcendent, absolute One of the first hypothesis of the Parmenides (137c-142a). Platonist ethics is based on the Form of the Good. Virtue is knowledge, the recognition of the supreme form of the Good.[4] And, since in this cognition, the three parts of the soul, which are reason, spirit, and appetite, all have their share, we get the three virtues, Wisdom, Courage, and Moderation.[4] The bond which unites the other virtues is the virtue of Justice, by which each part of the soul is confined to the performance of its proper function.[4] Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. In many interpretations of the Timaeus Platonism,[5] like Aristotelianism, poses an eternal universe, as opposed to the nearby Judaic tradition that the universe had been created in historical time, with its continuous history recorded. Unlike Aristotelianism, Platonism describes idea as prior to matter and identifies the person with the soul. Many Platonic notions secured a permanent place in Christianity.[6]
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History
The Academy
Platonism was originally expressed in the dialogues of Plato, in which the figure of Socrates is used to expound certain doctrines, that may or may not be similar to the thought of the historical Socrates, Plato's master. Plato delivered his lectures at the Academy, a precinct containing a sacred grove outside the walls of Athens. The school continued there long after. There were three periods: the Old, Middle, and New Academy. The chief figures in the Old Academy were Speusippus (Plato's nephew), who succeeded him as the head of the school (until 339 BC), and Xenocrates (till 313 BC). Both of them sought to fuse Pythagorean speculations on number with Plato's theory of forms.
Site of Plato's Academy in Athens
Around 266 BC, Arcesilaus became head of the Academy. This phase, known as the Middle Academy, strongly emphasized Academic skepticism. It was characterized by its attacks on the Stoics and their assertion of the certainty
Platonism of truth and our knowledge of it. The New Academy began with Carneades in 155 BC, the fourth head in succession from Arcesilaus. It was still largely skeptical, denying the possibility of knowing an absolute truth; both Arcesilaus and Carneades believed that they were maintaining a genuine tenet of Plato.
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Middle Platonism
Around 90 BC, Antiochus of Ascalon rejected skepticism, making way for the period known as Middle Platonism, in which Platonism was fused with certain Peripatetic and many Stoic dogmas. In Middle Platonism, the Platonic Forms were not transcendent but immanent to rational minds, and the physical world was a living, ensouled being, the World-Soul. Pre-eminence in this period belongs to Plutarch. The eclectic nature of Platonism during this time is shown by its incorporation into Pythagoreanism (Numenius of Apamea) and into Jewish philosophy (Philo of Alexandria).
Neoplatonism
In the third century, Plotinus recast Plato's system, establishing Neoplatonism, in which Middle Platonism was fused with oriental mysticism. At the summit of existence stands the One or the Good, as the source of all things.[7] It generates from itself, as if from the reflection of its own being, reason, the nous, - wherein is contained the infinite store of ideas.[7] The world-soul, the copy of the nous, is generated by and contained in it, as the nous is in the One, and, by informing matter in itself nonexistent, constitutes bodies whose existence is contained in the world-soul.[7] Nature therefore is a whole, endowed with life and soul. Soul, being chained to matter, longs to escape from the bondage of the body and return to its original source.[7] In virtue and philosophical thought it has the power to elevate itself above the reason into a state of ecstasy, where it can behold, or ascend to, that one good primary Being whom reason cannot know.[7] To attain this union with the Good, or God, is the true function of human beings.[7] Plotinus' disciple, Porphyry, followed by Iamblichus, developed the system in conscious opposition to Christianity. The Platonic Academy was re-established during this time period; its most renowned head was Proclus (died 485), a celebrated commentator on Plato's writings. The Academy persisted until Roman emperor Justinian closed it in 529
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Christianity and Platonism

Platonism influenced Christianity through Clement of Alexandria and Origen,[6] and the Cappadocian Fathers.[8] St. Augustine was heavily influenced by Platonism as well, which he encountered through the Latin translations of Marius Victorinus of the works of Porphyry and/or Plotinus.[6] Platonism was considered authoritative in the Middle Ages, and many Platonic notions are now permanent elements of Christianity.[6] Platonism also influenced both Eastern and Western mysticism.[6][9] Meanwhile, Platonism influenced various philosophers.[6] While Aristotle became more influential than Plato in the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas's philosophy was still in certain respects fundamentally Platonic.[6] With the Renaissance, scholars became more interested in Plato himself.[6] In 16th, 17th century, and 19th century England, Plato's ideas influenced many religious thinkers.[6] Orthodox Protestantism in continental Europe, however, distrusts natural reason and has often been critical of Platonism.[6] Christoplatonism is a term used to refer to a dualism opined by Plato, which influenced the Church, which holds spirit is good but matter is evil.[10] According to the Methodist Church, Christoplatonism directly "contradicts the Biblical record of God calling everything He created good."[10]
Many Western churchmen, including Augustine of Hippo, have been influenced by Platonism
Modern Platonism
Apart from historical Platonism originating from thinkers such as Plato himself, Numenius, Plotinus, Augustine and Proclus, we may wish to consider the theory of abstract objects in the modern sense. Platonism is the view that there exist such things as abstract objects where an abstract object is an object that does not exist in space or time and which is therefore entirely non-physical and non-mental. Platonism in this sense is a contemporary view.[11] This modern Platonism (sometimes rendered "platonism," with a lower-case p, to distinguish it from the ancient schools) has been endorsed in one way or another at one time or another by numerous philosophers (most of whom taking a particular interest in the philosophy and foundations of logic and mathematics), including Bernard Bolzano, Gottlob Frege, Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, Alonzo Church, Kurt Gdel, W.V. Quine, Hilary Putnam, George Bealer and Edward Zalta. Modern Platonism recognizes a range of objects, including numbers, sets, truth values, properties, types, propositions and meanings.
References
[1] "Philosophers who affirm the existence of abstract objects are sometimes called platonists; those who deny their existence are sometimes called nominalists. This terminology is lamentable, since these words have established senses in the history of philosophy, where they denote positions that have little to do with the modern notion of an abstract object. However, the contemporary senses of these terms are now established, and so the reader should be aware of them... In this connection, it is essential to bear in mind that modern platonists (with a small p) need not accept any of the doctrines of Plato, just as modern nominalists need not accept the doctrines of the medieval Nominalists. ", "Abstract Objects", Gideon Rosen, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ archives/ spr2012/ entries/ abstract-objects/ ) [2] O'Connell SJ, RJ, The Enneads and St Augustine's Vision of Happiness. Vigiliae Christianae 17 (1963) 129-164 (JSTOR)
Platonism
[3] Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Vol 1, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition 100-600; Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. Vol 3, The Growth of Mediaeval Theology 600-1300, section, "The Augustinian Synthesis" [4] Oskar Seyffert, (1894), Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, page 481 [5] cf. Proclus' commentary on the Timaeus; Cornford 1937 [6] "Platonism." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 [7] Oskar Seyffert, (1894), Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, page 484 [8] Armstrong, A. H., ed., The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, Cambridge, 1970. [9] Louth, Andrew. The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. [10] Robin Russell (6 April 2009). "Heavenly minded: It's time to get our eschatology right, say scholars, authors" (http:/ / www. umportal. org/ article. asp?id=5101). UM Portal. . Retrieved 10 March 2011. "Greek philosopherswho believed that spirit is good but matter is evilalso influenced the church, says Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven (Tyndale, 2004). He coined the term "Christoplatonism" to describe that kind of dualism, which directly contradicts the biblical record of God calling everything he created "good."" [11] http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ platonism/
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External links
Christian Platonists and Neoplatonists (http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/cp.htm) Islamic Platonists and Neoplatonists (http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/ip.htm) Orphic Platonism (http://orphicplatonism.com/)
Plato
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Plato
Plato ()
Plato: copy of portrait bust by Silanion Born c. 428427 BC Athens [1]
Died
c. 348347 BC (aged c. 80) Athens Greek Platonic realism Socrates, Homer, Hesiod, Aristophanes, Aesop, Protagoras, Parmenides, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Orphism Most of subsequent western philosophy, including Aristotle, Augustine, Neoplatonism, Cicero, Plutarch, Stoicism, Anselm, Machiavelli, Descartes, Hobbes, Leibniz, Mill, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Arendt, Gadamer, Imam Khomeini, Russell and countless other philosophers and theologians Perictione Ariston
Nationality Knownfor Influencedby Influenced
Parents
Plato (pron.: /pleto/; Greek: , Pltn, "broad";[2] 424/423 BC[a] 348/347 BC) was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[3] In the words of A. N. Whitehead: The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. I do not mean the systematic scheme of thought which scholars have doubtfully extracted from his writings. I allude to the wealth of general ideas scattered through them.[4] Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues; thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have been ascribed to him. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts.[5] Plato's dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematics. Plato is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy.
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Biography
Early life
Birth and family The exact place and time of Plato's birth are not known, but it is certain that he belonged to an aristocratic and influential family. Based on ancient sources, most modern scholars believe that he was born in Athens or Aegina[b] between 429 and 423 BC.[a] His father was Ariston. According to a disputed tradition, reported by Diogenes Laertius, Ariston traced his descent from the king of Athens, Codrus, and the king of Messenia, Melanthus.[6] Plato's mother was Perictione, whose family boasted of a relationship with the famous Athenian lawmaker and lyric poet Solon.[7] Perictione was sister of Charmides and niece of Critias, both prominent figures of the Thirty Tyrants, the brief oligarchic regime, which followed on the collapse of Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian War (404403 BC).[8] Besides Plato himself, Ariston and Perictione had three other children; these were two sons, Adeimantus and Glaucon, and a daughter Potone, the mother of Speusippus (the nephew and successor of Plato as head of his philosophical Academy).[8] According to the Republic, Adeimantus and Glaucon were older than Plato.[9] Nevertheless, in his Memorabilia, Xenophon presents Glaucon as younger than Plato.[10] The traditional date of Plato's birth (428/427) is based on a dubious interpretation of Diogenes Laertius, who says, "When [Socrates] was gone, [Plato] joined Cratylus the Heracleitean and Hermogenes, who philosophized in the manner of Parmenides. Then, at twenty-eight, Hermodorus says, [Plato] went to Euclides in Megara." As Debra Nails argues, "The text itself gives no reason to infer that Plato left immediately for Megara and implies the very opposite."[11] In his Seventh Letter, Plato notes that his coming of age coincided with the taking of power by the Thirty, remarking, "But a youth under the age of twenty made himself a laughingstock if he attempted to enter the political arena." Thus, Nails dates Plato's birth to 424/423.[12] According to some accounts, Ariston tried to force his attentions on Perictione, but failed in his purpose; then the god Apollo appeared to him in a vision, and as a result, Ariston left Perictione unmolested.[13] Another legend related that, when Plato was an infant, bees settled on his lips while he was sleeping: an augury of the sweetness of style in which he would discourse philosophy.[14] Ariston appears to have died in Plato's childhood, although the precise dating of his death is difficult.[15] Perictione then married Pyrilampes, her mother's brother,[16] who had served many times as an ambassador to the Persian court and was a friend of Pericles, the leader of the democratic faction in Athens.[17] Pyrilampes had a son from a previous marriage, Demus, who was famous for his beauty.[18] Perictione gave birth to Pyrilampes' second son, Antiphon, the half-brother of Plato, who appears in Parmenides.[19] In contrast to his reticence about himself, Plato often introduced his distinguished relatives into his dialogues, or referred to them with some precision: Charmides has a dialogue named after him; Critias speaks in both Charmides and Protagoras; and Adeimantus and Glaucon take prominent parts in the Republic.[20] These and other references suggest a considerable amount of family pride and enable us to reconstruct Plato's family tree. According to Burnet, "the opening scene of the Charmides is a glorification of the whole [family] connection ... Plato's dialogues are not only a memorial to Socrates, but also the happier days of his own family."[21] Name According to Diogenes Lartius, the philosopher was named Aristocles after his grandfather, but his wrestling coach, Ariston of Argos, dubbed him Platon, meaning "broad," on account of his robust figure.[22] According to the sources mentioned by Diogenes (all dating from the Alexandrian period), Plato derived his name from the breadth (platyts) of his eloquence, or else because he was very wide (plats) across the forehead.[23] Recent scholars have argued that the legend about his name being Aristocles originated in the Hellenistic age.[24] Plato was a common name, of which 31 instances are known at Athens alone.[25]
Plato Education Apuleius informs us that Speusippus praised Plato's quickness of mind and modesty as a boy, and the "first fruits of his youth infused with hard work and love of study".[26] Plato must have been instructed in grammar, music, and gymnastics by the most distinguished teachers of his time.[27] Dicaearchus went so far as to say that Plato wrestled at the Isthmian games.[28] Plato had also attended courses of philosophy; before meeting Socrates, he first became acquainted with Cratylus (a disciple of Heraclitus, a prominent pre-Socratic Greek philosopher) and the Heraclitean doctrines.[29] W. A. Borody argues that an Athenian openness towards a wider range of sexuality may have contributed to the Athenian philosophers openness towards a wider range of thought, a cultural situation Borody describes as polymorphously discursive.[30]
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Plato and Socrates

The precise relationship between Plato and Socrates remains an area of contention among scholars. Plato makes it clear in his Apology of Socrates, that he was a devoted young follower. In that dialogue, Socrates is presented as mentioning Plato by name as one of those youths close enough to him to have been corrupted, if he were in fact guilty of corrupting the youth, and questioning why their fathers and brothers did not step forward to testify against him if he was indeed guilty of such a crime (33d-34a). Later, Plato is mentioned along with Crito, Critobolus, and Apollodorus as offering to pay a fine of 30 minas on Socrates' behalf, in lieu of the death penalty proposed by Meletus (38b). In the Phaedo, the title character lists those who were in attendance at the prison on Socrates' last day, explaining Plato's absence by saying, "Plato was ill." (Phaedo 59b) Plato never speaks in his own voice in his dialogues. In the Second Letter, it says, "no writing of Plato exists or ever will exist, but those Plato and Socrates in a medieval depiction now said to be his are those of a Socrates become beautiful and new" (341c); if the Letter is Plato's, the final qualification seems to call into question the dialogues' historical fidelity. In any case, Xenophon and Aristophanes seem to present a somewhat different portrait of Socrates from the one Plato paints. Some have called attention to the problem of taking Plato's Socrates to be his mouthpiece, given Socrates' reputation for irony and the dramatic nature of the dialogue form.[31] Aristotle attributes a different doctrine with respect to the ideas to Plato and Socrates (Metaphysics 987b111). Putting it in a nutshell, Aristotle merely suggests that his idea of forms can be discovered through investigation of the natural world, unlike Plato's Forms that exist beyond and outside the ordinary range of human understanding.
Later life
Plato may have traveled in Italy, Sicily, Egypt and Cyrene.[32] Said to have returned to Athens at the age of forty, Plato founded one of the earliest known organized schools in Western Civilization on a plot of land in the Grove of Hecademus or Academus.[33] The Academy was "a large enclosure of ground that was once the property of a citizen at Athens named Academus (some, however, say that it received its name from an ancient hero).[34] The Academy operated until it was destroyed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 84 BC. Neoplatonists revived the Academy in the early 5th century, and it operated until AD 529, when it was closed by Justinian I of Byzantium, who saw it as a threat to the propagation of Christianity. Many intellectuals were schooled in the Academy, the most prominent one being Aristotle.[35]
Plato Throughout his later life, Plato became entangled with the politics of the city of Syracuse. According to Diogenes Laertius, Plato initially visited Syracuse while it was under the rule of Dionysus.[36] During this first trip Dionysus's brother-in-law, Dion of Syracuse, became one of Plato's disciples, but the tyrant himself turned against Plato. Plato was sold into slavery and almost faced death in Cyrene, a city at war with Athens, before an admirer bought Plato's freedom and sent him home. After Dionysius's death, according to Plato's Seventh Letter, Dion requested Plato return to Syracuse to tutor Dionysus II and guide him to become a philosopher king. Dionysius II seemed to accept Plato's teachings, but he became suspicious of Dion, his uncle. Dionysus expelled Dion and kept Plato against his will. Eventually Plato left Syracuse. Dion would return to overthrow Dionysus and ruled Syracuse for a short time before being usurped by Calippus, a fellow disciple of Plato.
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Death
A variety of sources have given accounts of Plato's death. One story, based on a mutilated manuscript,[37] suggests Plato died in his bed, whilst a young Thracian girl played the flute to him.[38] Another tradition suggests Plato died at a wedding feast. The account is based on Diogenes Laertius's reference to an account by Hermippus, a third century Alexandrian.[39] According to Tertullian, Plato simply died in his sleep.[39]
Philosophy
Recurrent themes
Plato often discusses the father-son relationship and the "question" of whether a father's interest in his sons has much to do with how well his sons turn out. A boy in ancient Athens was socially located by his family identity, and Plato often refers to his characters in terms of their paternal and fraternal relationships. Socrates was not a family man, and saw himself as the son of his mother, who was apparently a midwife. A divine fatalist, Socrates mocks men who spent exorbitant fees on tutors and trainers for their sons, and repeatedly ventures the idea that good character is a gift from the gods. Crito reminds Socrates that orphans are at the mercy of chance, but Socrates is unconcerned. In the Theaetetus, he is found recruiting as a disciple a young man whose inheritance has been squandered. Socrates twice compares the relationship of the older man and his boy lover to the father-son relationship (Lysis 213a, Republic 3.403b), and in the Phaedo, Socrates' disciples, towards whom he displays more concern than his biological sons, say they will feel "fatherless" when he is gone.
In several dialogues, Socrates floats the idea that knowledge is a matter of recollection, and not of learning, observation, or study.[40] He maintains this view somewhat at his own expense, because in many dialogues, Socrates complains of his forgetfulness. Socrates is often found arguing that knowledge is not empirical, and that it comes from divine insight. In many middle period dialogues, such as the Phaedo, Republic and Phaedrus Plato advocates a belief in the immortality of the soul, and several dialogues end with long speeches imagining the afterlife. More than one dialogue contrasts knowledge and opinion, perception and reality, nature and custom, and body and soul. Several dialogues tackle questions about art: Socrates says that poetry is inspired by the muses, and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms of divine madness (drunkenness, eroticism, and dreaming) in the Phaedrus (265ac), and yet in the Republic wants to outlaw Homer's great poetry, and laughter as well. In Ion, Socrates gives no hint of the disapproval of Homer that he expresses in the Republic. The dialogue Ion suggests that
Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience, while holding a copy of his Nicomachean Ethics in his hand. Plato holds his Timaeus and gestures to the heavens, representing his belief in The Forms
Plato Homer's Iliad functioned in the ancient Greek world as the Bible does today in the modern Christian world: as divinely inspired literature that can provide moral guidance, if only it can be properly interpreted. On politics and art, religion and science, justice and medicine, virtue and vice, crime and punishment, pleasure and pain, rhetoric and rhapsody, human nature and sexuality, love and wisdom, Socrates and his company of disputants had something to say.
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Metaphysics
"Platonism" is a term coined by scholars to refer to the intellectual consequences of denying, as Socrates often does, the reality of the material world. In several dialogues, most notably the Republic, Socrates inverts the common man's intuition about what is knowable and what is real. While most people take the objects of their senses to be real if anything is, Socrates is contemptuous of people who think that something has to be graspable in the hands to be real. In the Theaetetus, he says such people are "eu a-mousoi", an expression that means literally, "happily without the muses" (Theaetetus 156a). In other words, such people live without the divine inspiration that gives him, and people like him, access to higher insights about reality. Socrates's idea that reality is unavailable to those who use their senses is what puts him at odds with the common man, and with common sense. Socrates says that he who sees with his eyes is blind, and this idea is most famously captured in his allegory of the cave, and more explicitly in his description of the divided line. The allegory of the cave (begins Republic 7.514a) is a paradoxical analogy wherein Socrates argues that the invisible world is the most intelligible ("noeton") and that the visible world ("(h)oraton") is the least knowable, and the most obscure. Socrates says in the Republic that people who take the sun-lit world of the senses to be good and real are living pitifully in a den of evil and ignorance. Socrates admits that few climb out of the den, or cave of ignorance, and those who do, not only have a terrible struggle to attain the heights, but when they go back down for a visit or to help other people up, they find themselves objects of scorn and ridicule. According to Socrates, physical objects and physical events are "shadows" of their ideal or perfect forms, and exist only to the extent that they instantiate the perfect versions of themselves. Just as shadows are temporary, inconsequential epiphenomena produced by physical objects, physical objects are themselves fleeting phenomena caused by more substantial causes, the ideals of which they are mere instances. For example, Socrates thinks that perfect justice exists (although it is not clear where) and his own trial would be a cheap copy of it. The allegory of the cave (often said by scholars to represent Plato's own epistemology and metaphysics) is intimately connected to his political ideology (often said to also be Plato's own), that only people who have climbed out of the cave and cast their eyes on a vision of goodness are fit to rule. Socrates claims that the enlightened men of society must be forced from their divine contemplations and be compelled to run the city according to their lofty insights. Thus is born the idea of the "philosopher-king", the wise person who accepts the power thrust upon him by the people who are wise enough to choose a good master. This is the main thesis of Socrates in the Republic, that the most wisdom the masses can muster is the wise choice of a ruler. The word metaphysics derives from the fact that Aristotle's musings about divine reality came after ("meta") his lecture notes on his treatise on nature ("physics"). The term is in fact applied to Aristotle's own teacher, and Plato's "metaphysics" is understood as Socrates' division of reality into the warring and irreconcilable domains of the material and the spiritual. The theory has been of incalculable influence in the history of Western philosophy and religion.
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Theory of Forms
The Theory of Forms (Greek: ) typically refers to the belief expressed by Socrates in some of Plato's dialogues, that the material world as it seems to us is not the real world, but only an image or copy of the real world. Socrates spoke of forms in formulating a solution to the problem of universals. The forms, according to Socrates, are roughly speaking archetypes or abstract representations of the many types of things, and properties we feel and see around us, that can only be perceived by reason (Greek: ); (that is, they are universals). In other words, Socrates sometimes seems to recognise two worlds: the apparent world, which constantly changes, and an unchanging and unseen world of forms, which may be a cause of what is apparent.
Epistemology
Many have interpreted Plato as statingeven having been the first to writethat knowledge is justified true belief, an influential view that informed future developments in epistemology.[41] This interpretation is partly based on a reading of the Theaetetus wherein Plato argues that knowledge is distinguished from mere true belief by the knower having an "account" of the object of her or his true belief (Theaetetus 201c-d). And this theory may again be seen in the Meno, where it is suggested that true belief can be raised to the level of knowledge if it is bound with an account as to the question of "why" the object of the true belief is so (Meno 97d-98a).[42] Many years later, Edmund Gettier famously demonstrated the problems of the justified true belief account of knowledge. That the modern theory of justified true belief as knowledge which Gettier addresses is equivalent to Plato's is accepted by some scholars but rejected by others.[43] Later in the Meno, Socrates uses a geometrical example to expound Plato's view that knowledge in this latter sense is acquired by recollection. Socrates elicits a fact concerning a geometrical construction from a slave boy, who could not have otherwise known the fact (due to the slave boy's lack of education). The knowledge must be present, Socrates concludes, in an eternal, non-experiential form. In other dialogues, the Sophist, Statesman, Republic, and the Parmenides, Plato himself associates knowledge with the apprehension of unchanging Forms and their relationships to one another (which he calls "expertise" in Dialectic), including through the process of More explicitly, Plato himself argues in the Timaeus that knowledge is always proportionate to the realm from which it is gained. In other words, if one derives one's account of something experientially, because the world of sense is in flux, the views therein attained will be mere opinions. And opinions are characterized by a lack of necessity and stability. On the other hand, if one derives one's account of something by way of the non-sensible forms, because these forms are unchanging, so too is the account derived from them. That apprehension of Forms is required for knowledge may be taken to cohere with Plato's theory in the Theaetetus and Meno.[44] Indeed, the apprehension of Forms may be at the base of the "account" required for justification, in that it offers foundational knowledge which itself needs no account, thereby avoiding an infinite regress.[45]
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The state
Plato's philosophical views had many societal implications, especially on the idea of an ideal state or government. There is some discrepancy between his early and later views. Some of the most famous doctrines are contained in the Republic during his middle period, as well as in the Laws and the Statesman. However, because Plato wrote dialogues, it is assumed that Socrates is often speaking for Plato. This assumption may not be true in all cases. Plato, through the words of Socrates, asserts that societies have a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite/spirit/reason structure of the individual soul. The appetite/spirit/reason stand for different parts of the body. The body parts symbolize the castes of society.[46] Productive, which represents the abdomen. (Workers) the labourers, carpenters, plumbers, masons, merchants, farmers, ranchers, etc. These correspond to the "appetite" part of the soul.
Papirus Oxyrhynchus, with fragment of Plato's Republic
Protective, which represents the chest. (Warriors or Guardians) those who are adventurous, strong and brave; in the armed forces. These correspond to the "spirit" part of the soul. Governing, which represents the head. (Rulers or Philosopher Kings) those who are intelligent, rational, self-controlled, in love with wisdom, well suited to make decisions for the community. These correspond to the "reason" part of the soul and are very few. According to this model, the principles of Athenian democracy (as it existed in his day) are rejected as only a few are fit to rule. Instead of rhetoric and persuasion, Plato says reason and wisdom should govern. As Plato puts it: "Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leading men genuinely and adequately philosophise, that is, until political power and philosophy entirely coincide, while the many natures who at present pursue either one exclusively are forcibly prevented from doing so, cities will have no rest from evils,... nor, I think, will the human race." (Republic 473c-d) Plato describes these "philosopher kings" as "those who love the sight of truth" (Republic 475c) and supports the idea with the analogy of a captain and his ship or a doctor and his medicine. According to him, sailing and health are not things that everyone is qualified to practice by nature. A large part of the Republic then addresses how the educational system should be set up to produce these philosopher kings. However, it must be taken into account that the ideal city outlined in the Republic is qualified by Socrates as the ideal luxurious city, examined to determine how it is that injustice and justice grow in a city (Republic 372e). According to Socrates, the "true" and Plato in his academy, drawing after a painting by Swedish painter Carl Johan Wahlbom "healthy" city is instead the one first outlined in book II of the Republic, 369c372d, containing farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and wage-earners, but lacking the guardian class of philosopher-kings as well as delicacies such as "perfumed oils, incense, prostitutes, and pastries", in addition to paintings, gold, ivory, couches, a multitude of occupations such as poets and hunters, and war.
Plato In addition, the ideal city is used as an image to illuminate the state of one's soul, or the will, reason, and desires combined in the human body. Socrates is attempting to make an image of a rightly ordered human, and then later goes on to describe the different kinds of humans that can be observed, from tyrants to lovers of money in various kinds of cities. The ideal city is not promoted, but only used to magnify the different kinds of individual humans and the state of their soul. However, the philosopher king image was used by many after Plato to justify their personal political beliefs. The philosophic soul according to Socrates has reason, will, and desires united in virtuous harmony. A philosopher has the moderate love for wisdom and the courage to act according to wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge about the Good or the right relations between all that exists. Wherein it concerns states and rulers, Plato has made interesting arguments. For instance he asks which is bettera bad democracy or a country reigned by a tyrant. He argues that it is better to be ruled by a bad tyrant, than be a bad democracy (since here all the people are now responsible for such actions, rather than one individual committing many bad deeds.) This is emphasised within the Republic as Plato describes the event of mutiny on board a ship.[47] Plato suggests the ships crew to be in line with the democratic rule of many and the captain, although inhibited through ailments, the tyrant. Plato's description of this event is parallel to that of democracy within the state and the inherent problems that arise. According to Plato, a state made up of different kinds of souls will, overall, decline from an aristocracy (rule by the best) to a timocracy (rule by the honorable), then to an oligarchy (rule by the few), then to a democracy (rule by the people), and finally to tyranny (rule by one person, rule by a tyrant).[48] Aristocracy is the form of government (politeia) advocated in Plato's Republic. This regime is ruled by a philosopher king, and thus is grounded on wisdom and reason. The aristocratic state, and the man whose nature corresponds to it, are the objects of Plato's analyses throughout much of the Republic, as opposed to the other four types of states/men, who are discussed later in his work. In Book VIII, Plato states in order the other four imperfect societies with a description of the state's structure and individual character. In timocracy the ruling class is made up primarily of those with a warrior-like character. In his description, Plato has Sparta in mind. Oligarchy is made up of a society in which wealth is the criterion of merit and the wealthy are in control. In democracy, the state bears resemblance to ancient Athens with traits such as equality of political opportunity and freedom for the individual to do as he likes. Democracy then degenerates into tyranny from the conflict of rich and poor. It is characterized by an undisciplined society existing in chaos, where the tyrant rises as popular champion leading to the formation of his private army and the growth of oppression.[49]
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Unwritten doctrines
For a long time, Plato's unwritten doctrine[50][51][52] had been controversial. Many modern books on Plato seem to diminish its importance; nevertheless, the first important witness who mentions its existence is Aristotle, who in his Physics (209 b) writes: "It is true, indeed, that the account he gives there [i.e. in Timaeus] of the participant is different from what he says in his so-called unwritten teachings ( )." The term literally means unwritten doctrines and it stands for the most fundamental metaphysical teaching of Plato, which he disclosed only orally, and some say only to his most trusted fellows, and which he may have kept secret from the public. The importance of the unwritten doctrines does not seem to have been seriously questioned before the 19th century. A reason for not revealing it to everyone is partially discussed in Phaedrus (276 c) where Plato criticizes the written transmission of knowledge as faulty, favoring instead the spoken logos: "he who has knowledge of the just and the good and beautiful ... will not, when in earnest, write them in ink, sowing them through a pen with words, which cannot defend themselves by argument and cannot teach the truth effectually." The same argument is repeated in Plato's Seventh Letter (344 c): "every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing." In the same letter he writes (341 c): "I can certainly declare concerning all these writers who claim to know the subjects that I seriously study ... there does not exist, nor will there ever exist, any treatise of mine dealing therewith." Such secrecy is necessary in order not "to expose them to unseemly and degrading treatment" (344 d).
Plato It is, however, said that Plato once disclosed this knowledge to the public in his lecture On the Good ( ), in which the Good ( ) is identified with the One (the Unity, ), the fundamental ontological principle. The content of this lecture has been transmitted by several witnesses - among others, Aristoxenus, who describes the event in the following words: "Each came expecting to learn something about the things that are generally considered good for men, such as wealth, good health, physical strength, and altogether a kind of wonderful happiness. But when the mathematical demonstrations came, including numbers, geometrical figures and astronomy, and finally the statement Good is One seemed to them, I imagine, utterly unexpected and strange; hence some belittled the matter, while others rejected it." Simplicius quotes Alexander of Aphrodisias, who states that "according to Plato, the first principles of everything, including the Forms themselves are One and Indefinite Duality ( ), which he called Large and Small ( ) ... one might also learn this from Speusippus and Xenocrates and the others who were present at Plato's lecture on the Good". Their account is in full agreement with Aristotle's description of Plato's metaphysical doctrine. In Metaphysics he writes: "Now since the Forms are the causes of everything else, he [i.e. Plato] supposed that their elements are the elements of all things. Accordingly the material principle is the Great and Small [i.e. the Dyad], and the essence is the One ( ), since the numbers are derived from the Great and Small by participation in the One" (987 b). "From this account it is clear that he only employed two causes: that of the essence, and the material cause; for the Forms are the cause of the essence in everything else, and the One is the cause of it in the Forms. He also tells us what the material substrate is of which the Forms are predicated in the case of sensible things, and the One in that of the Forms - that it is this the duality (the Dyad, ), the Great and Small ( ). Further, he assigned to these two elements respectively the causation of good and of evil" (988 a). The most important aspect of this interpretation of Plato's metaphysics is the continuity between his teaching and the neoplatonic interpretation of Plotinus[53] or Ficino[54] which has been considered erroneous by many but may in fact have been directly influenced by oral transmission of Plato's doctrine. A modern scholar who recognized the importance of the unwritten doctrine of Plato was Heinrich Gomperz who described it in his speech during the 7th International Congress of Philosophy in 1930.[55] All the sources related to the have been collected by Konrad Gaiser and published as Testimonia Platonica.[56] These sources have subsequently been interpreted by scholars from the German Tbingen School such as Hans Joachim Krmer or Thomas A. Szlezk.[57]
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Dialectic
The role of dialectic in Plato's thought is contested but there are two main interpretations; a type of reasoning and a method of intuition.[58] Simon Blackburn adopts the first, saying that Plato's dialectic is "the process of eliciting the truth by means of questions aimed at opening out what is already implicitly known, or at exposing the contradictions and muddles of an opponent's position."[59] A similar interpretation has been put forth by Louis Hartz, who suggests that elements of the dialectic are borrowed from Hegel.[60] According to this view, opposing arguments improve upon each other, and prevailing opinion is shaped by the synthesis of many conflicting ideas over time. Each new idea exposes a flaw in the accepted model, and the epistemological substance of the debate continually approaches the truth. Hartz's is a teleological interpretation at the core, in which philosophers will ultimately exhaust the available body of knowledge and thus reach "the end of history." Karl Popper, on the other hand, claims that dialectic is the art of intuition for "visualising the divine originals, the Forms or Ideas, of unveiling the Great Mystery behind the common man's everyday world of appearances."[61]
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The dialogues
Thirty-six dialogues and thirteen letters have traditionally been ascribed to Plato, though modern scholarship doubts the authenticity of at least some of these. Plato's writings have been published in several fashions; this has led to several conventions regarding the naming and referencing of Plato's texts. The usual system for making unique references to sections of the text by Plato derives from a 16th century edition of Plato's works by Henricus Stephanus. An overview of Plato's writings according to this system can be found in the Stephanus pagination article. One tradition regarding the arrangement of Plato's texts is according to tetralogies. This scheme is ascribed by Diogenes Laertius to an ancient scholar and court astrologer to Tiberius named Thrasyllus. In the list below, works by Plato are marked (1) if there is no consensus among scholars as to whether Plato is the author, and (2) if most scholars agree that Plato is not the author of the work. Unmarked works are assumed to have been written by Plato.[62] I. Euthyphro, Apology (of Socrates), Crito, Phaedo II. Cratylus, Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman III. Parmenides, Philebus, Symposium, Phaedrus IV. First Alcibiades (1), Second Alcibiades (2), Hipparchus (2), (Rival) Lovers (2) V. Theages (2), Charmides, Laches, Lysis VI. Euthydemus, Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno VII. (Greater) Hippias (major) (1), (Lesser) Hippias (minor), Ion, Menexenus VIII. Clitophon (1), Republic, Timaeus, Critias IX. Minos (2), Laws, Epinomis (2), Epistles (1).
Part of the series on:
The dialogues of Plato

Early dialogues: Apology Charmides Crito Euthyphro First Alcibiades Hippias Major Hippias Minor Ion Laches Lysis Transitional & middle dialogues: Cratylus Euthydemus Gorgias Menexenus Meno Phaedo Protagoras Symposium Later middle dialogues: Republic Phaedrus Parmenides Theaetetus Late dialogues: Clitophon Timaeus Critias Sophist Statesman
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Philebus Laws Of doubtful authenticity: Axiochus Demodocus Epinomis Epistles Eryxias Halcyon Hipparchus Minos On Justice On Virtue Rival Lovers Second Alcibiades Sisyphus Theages
The remaining works were transmitted under Plato's name, most of them already considered spurious in antiquity, and so were not included by Thrasyllus in his tetralogical arrangement. These works are labelled as Notheuomenoi ("spurious") or Apocrypha. Axiochus (2), Definitions (2), Demodocus (2), Epigrams (2), Eryxias (2), Halcyon (2), On Justice (2), On Virtue (2), Sisyphus (2).
Composition of the dialogues

No one knows the exact order Plato's dialogues were written in, nor the extent to which some might have been later revised and rewritten. Lewis Campbell was the first[63] to make exhaustive use of stylometry to prove objectively that the Critias, Timaeus, Laws, Philebus, Sophist, and Statesman were all clustered together as a group, while the Parmenides, Phaedrus, Republic, and Theaetetus belong to a separate group, which must be earlier (given Aristotle's statement in his Politics[64] that the Laws was written after the Republic; cf. Diogenes Laertius Lives 3.37). What is remarkable about Campbell's conclusions is that, in spite of all the stylometric studies that have been conducted since his time, perhaps the only chronological fact about Plato's works that can now be said to be proven by stylometry is the fact that Critias, Timaeus, Laws, Philebus, Sophist, and Statesman are the latest of Plato's dialogues, the others earlier.[65] Increasingly in the most recent Plato scholarship, writers are skeptical of the notion that the order of Plato's writings can be established with any precision,[66] though Plato's works are still often characterized as falling at least roughly into three groups.[67] The following represents one relatively common such division.[68] It should, however, be kept in mind that many of the positions in the ordering are still highly disputed, and also that the very notion that Plato's dialogues can or should be "ordered" is by no means universally accepted. Among those who classify the dialogues into periods of composition, Socrates figures in all of the "early dialogues" and they are considered the most faithful representations of the historical Socrates. They include The Apology of Socrates, Charmides, Crito, Euthyphro, Ion, Laches, Less Hippias, Lysis, Menexenus, and Protagoras (often considered one of the last of the "early dialogues"). Three dialogues are often considered "transitional" or "pre-middle": Euthydemus, Gorgias, and Meno. Whereas those classified as "early dialogues" often conclude in aporia, the so-called "middle dialogues" provide more clearly stated positive teachings that are often ascribed to Plato such as the theory of forms. These dialogues include Cratylus, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Republic, Symposium, Parmenides, and Theaetetus. Proponents of dividing the dialogues into periods often consider the Parmenides and Theaetetus to come late in this period and be transitional to the next, as they seem to treat the theory of forms critically (Parmenides) or not at all (Theaetetus). The remaining dialogues are classified as "late" and are generally agreed to be difficult and challenging pieces of philosophy. This grouping is the only one proven by stylometric analysis.[65] While looked to for Plato's "mature" answers to the questions posed by his earlier works, those answers are difficult to discern. Some scholars say that the theory of forms is absent from the late dialogues, its having been refuted in the Parmenides, but there isn't total consensus that the Parmenides actually refutes the theory of forms.[69] The so-called "late dialogues" include Critias,
Plato Laws, Philebus, Sophist, Statesman, and Timaeus.
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Narration of the dialogues

Plato never presents himself as a participant in any of the dialogues, and with the exception of the Apology, there is no suggestion that he heard any of the dialogues firsthand. Some dialogues have no narrator but have a pure "dramatic" form (examples: Meno, Gorgias, Phaedrus, Crito, Euthyphro), some dialogues are narrated by Socrates, wherein he speaks in first person (examples: Lysis, Charmides, Republic). One dialogue, Protagoras, begins in dramatic form but quickly proceeds to Socrates' narration of a conversation he had previously with the sophist for whom the dialogue is named; this narration continues uninterrupted till the dialogue's end. Two dialogues Phaedo and Symposium also begin in dramatic form but then proceed to virtually uninterrupted narration by followers of Socrates. Phaedo, an account of Socrates' final conversation and hemlock drinking, is narrated by Phaedo to Echecrates in a foreign city not long after the execution took place.[70] The Symposium is narrated by Apollodorus, a Socratic disciple, apparently to Plato's Symposium (Anselm Feuerbach, 1873) Glaucon. Apollodorus assures his listener that he is recounting the story, which took place when he himself was an infant, not from his own memory, but as remembered by Aristodemus, who told him the story years ago. The Theaetetus is a peculiar case: a dialogue in dramatic form imbedded within another dialogue in dramatic form. In the beginning of the Theaetetus (142c-143b), Euclides says that he compiled the conversation from notes he took based on what Socrates told him of his conversation with the title character. The rest of the Theaetetus is presented as a "book" written in dramatic form and read by one of Euclides' slaves (143c). Some scholars take this as an indication that Plato had by this date wearied of the narrated form.[71] With the exception of the Theaetetus, Plato gives no explicit indication as to how these orally transmitted conversations came to be written down.
Trial of Socrates
The trial of Socrates is the central, unifying event of the great Platonic dialogues. Because of this, Plato's Apology is perhaps the most often read of the dialogues. In the Apology, Socrates tries to dismiss rumors that he is a sophist and defends himself against charges of disbelief in the gods and corruption of the young. Socrates insists that long-standing slander will be the real cause of his demise, and says the legal charges are essentially false. Socrates famously denies being wise, and explains how his life as a philosopher was launched by the Oracle at Delphi. He says that his quest to resolve the riddle of the oracle put him at odds with his fellow man, and that this is the reason he has been mistaken for a menace to the city-state of Athens. If Plato's important dialogues do not refer to Socrates' execution explicitly, they allude to it, or use characters or themes that play a part in it. Five dialogues foreshadow the trial: In the Theaetetus (210d) and the Euthyphro (2ab) Socrates tells people that he is about to face corruption charges. In the Meno (94e95a), one of the men who brings legal charges against Socrates, Anytus, warns him about the trouble he may get into if he does not stop criticizing important people. In the Gorgias, Socrates says that his trial will be like a doctor prosecuted by a cook who asks a jury of children to choose between the doctor's bitter medicine and the cook's tasty treats (521e522a). In the Republic (7.517e), Socrates explains why an enlightened man (presumably himself) will stumble in a courtroom situation. The Apology is Socrates' defense speech, and the Crito and Phaedo take place in prison after the conviction. In the Protagoras, Socrates is a guest at the home of Callias, son of Hipponicus, a man whom Socrates disparages in the Apology as having wasted a great amount of money on sophists' fees.
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Unity and diversity of the dialogues

Two other important dialogues, the Symposium and the Phaedrus, are linked to the main storyline by characters. In the Apology (19b, c), Socrates says Aristophanes slandered him in a comic play, and blames him for causing his bad reputation, and ultimately, his death. In the Symposium, the two of them are drinking together with other friends. The character Phaedrus is linked to the main story line by character (Phaedrus is also a participant in the Symposium and the Protagoras) and by theme (the philosopher as divine emissary, etc.) The Protagoras is also strongly linked to the Symposium by characters: all of the formal speakers at the Symposium (with the exception of Aristophanes) are present at the home of Callias in that dialogue. Charmides and his guardian Critias are present for the discussion in the Protagoras. Examples of characters crossing between dialogues can be further multiplied. The Protagoras contains the largest gathering of Socratic associates. In the dialogues Plato is most celebrated and admired for, Socrates is concerned with human and political virtue, has a distinctive personality, and friends and enemies who "travel" with him from dialogue to dialogue. This is not to say that Socrates is consistent: a man who is his friend in one dialogue may be an adversary or subject of his mockery in another. For example, Socrates praises the wisdom of Euthyphro many times in the Cratylus, but makes him look like a fool in the Euthyphro. He disparages sophists generally, and Prodicus specifically in the Apology, whom he also slyly jabs in the Cratylus for charging the hefty fee of fifty drachmas for a course on language and grammar. However, Socrates tells Theaetetus in his namesake dialogue that he admires Prodicus and has directed many pupils to him. Socrates' ideas are also not consistent within or between or among dialogues.
Platonic scholarship
Although their popularity has fluctuated over the years, the works of Plato have never been without readers since the time they were written.[72] Plato's thought is often compared with that of his most famous student, Aristotle, whose reputation during the Western Middle Ages so completely eclipsed that of Plato that the Scholastic philosophers referred to Aristotle as "the Philosopher". However, in the Byzantine Empire, the study of Plato continued. The Medieval scholastic philosophers did not have access to most of the works of Plato, nor the knowledge of Greek needed to read them. Plato's original writings were essentially lost to Western civilization until they were brought from Constantinople in the century of its fall, by George Gemistos Plethon. It is believed that Plethon passed a copy of the Dialogues to Cosimo de' Medici when in 1438 the Council of Ferrara, called to unify the Greek and Latin Churches, was adjourned to Florence, where Plethon then lectured on the relation and differences of Plato and Aristotle, and fired Cosimo with his enthusiasm.[73] During the early Islamic era, Persian and Arab scholars translated much of Plato into Arabic and wrote commentaries and interpretations on Plato's, Aristotle's and other Platonist philosophers' works (see Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes, Hunayn ibn Ishaq). Many of these comments on Plato were translated from Arabic into Latin and as such influenced Medieval scholastic philosophers.[74]
"The safest general characterisation of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." (Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality, 1929).
Only in the Renaissance, with the general resurgence of interest in classical civilization, did knowledge of Plato's philosophy become widespread again in the West. Many of the greatest early modern scientists and artists who broke with Scholasticism and fostered the flowering of the Renaissance, with the support of the Plato-inspired Lorenzo de
Plato Medici, saw Plato's philosophy as the basis for progress in the arts and sciences. By the 19th century, Plato's reputation was restored, and at least on par with Aristotle's. Notable Western philosophers have continued to draw upon Plato's work since that time. Plato's influence has been especially strong in mathematics and the sciences. He helped to distinguish between pure and applied mathematics by widening the gap between "arithmetic", now called number theory and "logistic", now called arithmetic. He regarded logistic as appropriate for business men and men of war who "must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops," while arithmetic was appropriate for philosophers "because he has to arise out of the sea of change and lay hold of true being."[75] Plato's resurgence further inspired some of the greatest advances in logic since Aristotle, primarily through Gottlob Frege and his followers Kurt Gdel, Alonzo Church, and Alfred Tarski; the last of these summarised his approach by reversing the customary paraphrase of Aristotle's famous declaration of sedition from the Academy (Nicomachean Ethics 1096a15), from Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas ("Plato is a friend, but truth is a greater friend") to Inimicus Plato sed magis inimica falsitas ("Plato is an enemy, but falsehood is a greater enemy"). Albert Einstein suggested that the scientist that takes philosophy seriously would have to avoid systematization and take on many different roles, but possibly appearing as a Platonist or Pythagorean, in that such a one has "the viewpoint of logical simplicity as an indispensable and effective tool of his research."[76] Conversely, thinkers that diverged from ontological models and moral ideals in their own philosophy, have tended to disparage Platonism from more or less informed perspectives. Thus Friedrich Nietzsche attacked Plato's moral and political theories, Martin Heidegger argued against Plato's alleged obfuscation of Being, and Karl Popper argued in The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945) that Plato's alleged proposal for a government system in the Republic was prototypically totalitarian. Leo Strauss is considered by some as the prime thinker involved in the recovery of Platonic thought in its more political, and less metaphysical, form. Deeply influenced by Nietzsche and Heidegger, Strauss nonetheless rejects their condemnation of Plato and looks to the dialogues for a solution to what all three thinkers acknowledge as 'the crisis of the West.'
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Textual sources and history

The texts of Plato as received today apparently represent the complete written philosophical work of Plato and are generally good by the standards of textual criticism.[77] No modern edition of Plato in the original Greek represents a single source, but rather it is reconstructed from multiple sources which are compared with each other. These sources are medieval manuscripts written on vellum (mainly from 9th-13th century AD Byzantium), papyri (mainly from late antiquity in Egypt), and from the independent testimonia of other authors who quote various segments of the works (which come from a variety of sources). The text as presented is usually not much different than what appears in the Byzantine manuscripts, and papyri and testimonia just confirm the manuscript tradition. In some editions however the readings in the papyri or testimonia are favoured in some places by the editing critic of the text. In the first century AD, Thrasyllus of Mendes had compiled and published the works of Plato in the original Greek, both genuine and spurious. While it has not survived to the present day, all the extant medieval Greek manuscripts are based on his edition.[78] The oldest surviving complete manuscript for many of the dialogues is the Clarke Plato (Codex Oxoniensis Clarkianus 39, or Codex Boleianus MS E.D. Clarke 39), which was written in Constantinople in 895 and acquired by Oxford University in 1809.[79] The Clarke is given the siglum B in modern editions. B contains the first six tetralogies and is described internally as being written by "John the Calligrapher" on behalf of Arethas of Caesarea. It appears to have undergone corrections by Arethas himself.[80] For the last two tetralogies and the apocrypha, the oldest surviving complete manuscript is Codex Parisinus graecus 1807, designated A, which was written nearly contemporaneously to B, circa 900 AD.[81] A probably had an initial volume containing the first 7 tetralogies which is now lost, but of which a copy was made, Codex Venetus append. class. 4, 1, which has the siglum T. The oldest manuscript for the seventh tetralogy is Codex Vindobonensis 54. suppl. phil. Gr. 7, with siglum W, with a supposed date in the twelfth century.[82] In total there are fifty-one such Byzantine manuscripts known, while others may yet
Plato be found.[83] To help establish the text, the older evidence of papyri and the independent evidence of the testimony of commentators and other authors (i.e, those who quote and refer to an old text of Plato which is so longer extant) are also used. Many papyri which contain fragments of Plato's texts are among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. The 2003 Oxford Classical Texts edition by Slings even cites the Coptic translation of a fragment of the Republic in the Nag Hammadi library as evidence.[84] Important authors for testimony include Olympiodorus the Younger, Plutarch, Proclus, Iamblichus, Eusebius, and Stobaeus. During the early Renaissance, the Greek language and, along with it, Plato's texts were reintroduced to Western Europe by Byzantine scholars. In 1483 there was published a Latin edition of Plato's complete works translated by Marsilio Ficino at the behest of Cosimo de' Medici.[85] Cosimo had been influenced toward studying Plato by the many Byzantine Platonists in Florence during his day, including George Gemistus Plethon. Henri Estienne's edition, including parallel Greek and Latin, was published in 1578. It was this edition which established Stephanus pagination, still in use today.[86]
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Modern editions
The Oxford Classical Texts offers the current standard complete Greek text of Plato's complete works. In five volumes edited by John Burnet, its first edition was published 1900-1907, and it is still available from the publisher, having last been printed in 1993.[87][88] The second edition is still in progress with only the first volume, printed in 1995, and the Republic, printed in 2003, available. The Cambridge Greek and Latin Texts and Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries series includes Greek editions of the Protagoras, Symposium, Phaedrus, Alcibiades, and Clitophon, with English philological, literary, and, to an extent, philosophical commentary.[89][90] One distinguished edition of the Greek text is E. R. Dodds' of the Gorgias, which includes extensive English commentary.[91][92] The modern standard complete English edition is the 1997 Hackett Plato, Complete Works, edited by John M. Cooper.[93][94] For many of these translations Hackett offers separate volumes which include more by way of commentary, notes, and introductory material.[95] There is also the Clarendon Plato Series by Oxford University Press which offers English translations and thorough philosophical commentary by leading scholars on a few of Plato's works, including John McDowell's version of the Theaetetus.[96] Cornell University Press has also begun the Agora series of English translations of classical and medieval philosophical texts, including a few of Plato's.[97]
Notes
a. The grammarian Apollodorus of Athens argues in his Chronicles that Plato was born in the first year of the eighty-eighth Olympiad (427 BC), on the seventh day of the month Thargelion; according to this tradition the god Apollo was born this day.[98] According to another biographer of him, Neanthes, Plato was eighty-four years of age at his death.[98] If we accept Neanthes' version, Plato was younger than Isocrates by six years, and therefore he was born in the second year of the 87th Olympiad, the year Pericles died (429 BC).[99] According to the Suda, Plato was born in Aegina in the 88th Olympiad amid the preliminaries of the Peloponnesian war, and he lived 82 years.[100] Sir Thomas Browne also believes that Plato was born in the 88th Olympiad.[101] Renaissance Platonists celebrated Plato's birth on November 7.[102] Wilamowitz-Moellendorff estimates that Plato was born when Diotimos was archon eponymous, namely between July 29 428 BC and July 24 427 BC.[103] Greek philologist Ioannis Kalitsounakis believes that the philosopher was born on May 26 or 27 427 BC, while Jonathan Barnes regards 428 BC as year of Plato's birth.[104] For her part, Debra Nails asserts that the philosopher was born in 424/423 BC.[102] According to Seneca Plato died at the age of 81 on the same day he was born.[105] b. Diogenes Laertius mentions that Plato "was born, according to some writers, in Aegina in the house of Phidiades the son of Thales". Diogenes mentions as one of his sources the Universal History of Favorinus. According to Favorinus, Ariston, Plato's family, and his family were sent by Athens to settle as cleruchs (colonists retaining their Athenian citizenship), on the island of Aegina, from which they were expelled by the Spartans after Plato's birth
Plato there.[106] Nails points out, however, that there is no record of any Spartan expulsion of Athenians from Aegina between 431-411 BC.[107] On the other hand, at the Peace of Nicias, Aegina was silently left under Athens' control, and it was not until the summer of 411 that the Spartans overran the island.[108] Therefore, Nails concludes that "perhaps Ariston was a cleruch, perhaps he went to Aegina in 431, and perhaps Plato was born on Aegina, but none of this enables a precise dating of Ariston's death (or Plato's birth).[107] Aegina is regarded as Plato's place of birth by Suda as well.[100]
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Footnotes
[1] St-Andrews.ac.uk (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Plato. html), St. Andrews University [2] Diogenes Laertius 3.4; p. 21, David Sedley, Plato's Cratylus (http:/ / assets. cambridge. org/ 052158/ 4922/ sample/ 0521584922ws. pdf), Cambridge University Press 2003; Seneca, Epistulae, VI, 58, 30: illi nomen latitudo pectoris fecerat. [3] "Plato". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. [4] Process and Reality p. 39 [5] Irwin, T. H., "The Platonic Corpus" in Fine, G. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 6364 and 6870. [6] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, III * D. Nails, "Ariston", 53 * U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Plato, 46 [7] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, I [8] W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy', IV, 10 * A.E. Taylor, Plato, xiv * U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Plato, 47 [9] Plato, Republic, 2. 368a (http:/ / old. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?lookup=Plat. + Rep. + 2. 368a) * U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Plato, 47 [10] Xenophon, Memorabilia, 3.6. 1 (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0208& layout=& loc=3. 6. 1) [11] Nails, Debra (2002). The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-564-9. p247 [12] Nails, Debra (2002). The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. ISBN 0-87220-564-9, p 246 [13] Apuleius, De Dogmate Platonis, 1 * Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, I "Plato". Suda. [14] Cicero, De Divinatione, I, 36 [15] D. Nails, "Ariston", 53 * A.E. Taylor, Plato, xiv [16] Plato, Charmides, 158a (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0176& query=section=#376& layout=& loc=Charm. 157e) * D. Nails, "Perictione", 53 [17] Plato, Charmides, 158a (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0176& query=section=#376& layout=& loc=Charm. 157e) * Plutarch, Pericles, IV [18] Plato, Gorgias, 481d (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0178;query=section=#620;layout=;loc=Gorg. 481c) and 513b (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0178;query=section=#778;layout=;loc=Gorg. 513chttp:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0178;query=section=#620;layout=;loc=Gorg. 481c) * Aristophanes, Wasps, 97 (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0044;query=card=#3;layout=;loc=54) [19] Plato, Parmenides, 126c (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0174;query=section=#3;layout=;loc=Parm. 126b) [20] W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, IV, 11 [21] C.H. Kahn, Plato and the Socratic Dialogue, 186 [22] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, IV [23] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, IV * A. Notopoulos, The Name of Plato, 135 [24] Tarn, L., "Plato's Alleged Epitaph" in Collected Papers (1962-1999) (Brill, 2001), p. 61. [25] Guthrie, W. K. C., A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. IV, Plato: the man and his dialogues, earlier period (Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 12 (footnote). [26] Apuleius, De Dogmate Platonis, 2 [27] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, IV * W. Smith, Plato, 393 [28] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, V
Plato
[29] Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1. 987a (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0052& query=section=#15& layout=& loc=1. 987b) [30] W. A. Borody (1998), Figuring the Phallogocentric Argument with Respect to the Classical Greek Philosophical Tradition, Nebula, A Netzine of the Arts and Science, Vol. 13, pp. 1-27 (http:/ / kenstange. com/ nebula/ feat013/ feat013. html [31] Leo Strauss, The City and Man (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964), 501. [32] McEvoy, James (1984). "Plato and The Wisdom of Egypt" (http:/ / poiesis. nlx. com/ display. cfm?clientId=0& advquery=toc. sect. ipj. 1. 2& infobase=postoc. nfo& softpage=GetClient42& view=browse). Irish Philosophical Journal (Belfast: Dept. of Scholastic Philosophy, Queen's University of Belfast) 1 (2). ISSN0266-9080. . Retrieved 2007-12-03. [33] Huntington Cairns, Introduction to Plato: The Collected Dialogues, p. xiii. [34] Robinson, Arch. Graec. I i 16. [35] "Biography of Aristotle" (http:/ / www. gradesaver. com/ classicnotes/ authors/ about_aristotle. html). ClassicNote. GradeSaver LLC. . Retrieved 2007-12-03. [36] Platonica: the anecdotes concerning the life and writings of Plato, p. 73. [37] Riginos, Alice (1976). Platonica : the anecdotes concerning the life and writings of Plato. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p.194. ISBN978-90-04-04565-1. [38] James V. Schall, S. J., "On the Death of Plato" (http:/ / www. morec. com/ schall/ docs/ dieplato. htm) The American Scholar, 65 (Summer, 1996.) [39] Riginios, 195. [40] Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN0-13-158591-6. [41] Fine, G., "Introduction" in Plato on Knowledge and Forms: Selected Essays (Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 5. [42] McDowell, J., Plato: Theaetetus (Oxford University Press, 1973), p. 230. [43] Fine, G., "Knowledge and Logos in the Theaetetus", Philosophical Review, vol. 88, no. 3 (July, 1979), p. 366. Reprinted in Fine (2003). [44] Lee, M.-K., "The Theaetetus" in Fine, G. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 432. [45] Taylor, C. C. W., "Plato's Epistemology" in Fine, G. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 189. [46] Gaarder, Jostein (1996). Sophie's World. New York City: Berkley. p.91. [47] The Republic; p282 [48] Luke Mastin, Plato (2008). The Basics of Philosophy (http:/ / www. philosophybasics. com/ philosophers_plato. html) Retrieved on April 22, 2012. [49] Plato, Republic, translated with an introduction by Desmond Lee, Penguin Group (Second revised edition, 1974) pp.298-320. ISBN 0-14-044048-8 [50] Rodriguez- Grandjean, Pablo. Philosophy and Dialogue: Plato's Unwritten Doctrines from a Hermeneutical Point of View (http:/ / www. bu. edu/ wcp/ Papers/ Anci/ AnciRodr. htm), Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, in Boston, Massachusetts from August 1015, 1998. [51] Reale, Giovanni, and Catan, John R., A History of Ancient Philosophy, SUNY Press, 1990. ISBN 0-7914-0516-8. Cf. p.14 and onwards. [52] Krmer, Hans Joachim, and Catan, John R., Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics: A Work on the Theory of the Principles and Unwritten Doctrines of Plato with a Collection of the Fundamental Documents, (Translated by John R. Catan), SUNY Press, 1990. ISBN 0-7914-0433-1, Cf. pp.38-47 [53] Plotinus describes this in the last part of his final Ennead (VI, 9) entitled On the Good, or the One ( ). Jens Halfwassen states in Der Aufstieg zum Einen (http:/ / ccat. sas. upenn. edu/ bmcr/ 2006/ 2006-08-16. html) (2006) that "Plotinus' ontologywhich should be called Plotinus' henology - is a rather accurate philosophical renewal and continuation of Plato's unwritten doctrine, i.e. the doctrine rediscovered by Krmer and Gaiser." [54] In one of his letters (Epistolae 1612) Ficino writes: "The main goal of the divine Plato ... is to show one principle of things, which he called the One ( )", cf. Marsilio Ficino, Briefe des Mediceerkreises (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=KuYYAAAAIAAJ), Berlin, 1926, p. 147. [55] H. Gomperz, Plato's System of Philosophy, in: G. Ryle (ed.), Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Philosophy (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=zN0MAAAAIAAJ), London 1931, pp. 426-431. Reprinted in: H. Gomperz, Philosophical Studies (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=ox81AAAAIAAJ), Boston, 1953, pp. 119-24. [56] K. Gaiser, Testimonia Platonica. Le antiche testimonianze sulle dottrine non scritte di Platone, Milan, 1998. First published as Testimonia Platonica. Quellentexte zur Schule und mndlichen Lehre Platons as an appendix to Gaiser's Platons Ungeschriebene Lehre, Stuttgart, 1963. [57] For a bried description of the problem see for example K. Gaiser, Plato's enigmatic lecture "On the Good" (http:/ / www. ingentaconnect. com/ content/ brill/ phr/ 1980/ 00000025/ F0020001/ art00002), Phronesis 25 (1980), pp. 5-37. A detailed analysis is given by Krmer in his Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics: A Work on the Theory of the Principles and Unwritten Doctrines of Plato With a Collection of the Fundamental Documents (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=T2k6edyBklwC), Albany: SUNY Press, 1990. Another good description is by Giovanni Reale: Toward a New Interpretation of Plato (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=xmsGAAAACAAJ), Washington, D.C.: CUA Press, 1997. Reale summarizes the results of his research in A History of Ancient Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=QfvRZSlJd3MC), Albany: SUNY Press, 1990. However the most complete analysis of the consequences of such an approach is given by Thomas A. Szlezak in his fundamental Reading Plato (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=x34szlJIRIgC), New York: Routledge, 1999. Another supporter of this interpretation is the german philosopher Karl Albert, cf. Griechische Religion und platonische Philosophie (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=5D4NAAAAIAAJ), Hamburg, 1980 or Einfhrung in die philosophische Mystik (http:/ /
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books. google. com/ books?id=VFvoAAAACAAJ), Darmstadt, 1996. Hans-Georg Gadamer is also sympathetic towards it, cf. J. Grondin, Gadamer and the Tbingen School (http:/ / www. philo. umontreal. ca/ prof/ documents/ GadamerandtheTubingenSchool2006. doc06. doc) and Gadamer's 1968 article Plato's Unwritten Dialectic reprinted in his Dialogue and Dialectic (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?hl=en& lr=& id=HfNUhz7T6ocC). Gadamer's final position on the subject is stated in his introduction to La nuova interpretazione di Platone. Un dialogo tra Hans-Georg Gadamer e la scuola di Tubinga (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=wNzXAQAACAAJ), Milano 1998. [58] Blackburn, Simon. 1996. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 104 [59] Blackburn, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, 104 [60] Hartz, Louis. 1984. A Synthesis of World History. Zurich: Humanity Press [61] Popper, K. (1962) The Open Society and its Enemies, Volume 1, London, Routledge, p. 133. [62] The extent to which scholars consider a dialogue to be authentic is noted in John M. Cooper, ed., Complete Works, by Plato (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997), vvi. [63] p. 9, John Burnet, Platonism, University of California Press 1928. [64] 1264b24-27 (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 01. 0058& layout=& loc=2. 1264b) [65] p. xiv, J. Cooper (ed.), Plato: Complete Works, Hackett 1997. [66] Richard Kraut, "Plato" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ plato/ ), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed 24 June 2008; Malcolm Schofield (1998, 2002), "Plato", in E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge.com (http:/ / www. rep. routledge. com/ article/ A088), accessed 24 June 2008; Christopher Rowe, "Interpreting Plato", in H. Benson (ed.), A Companion to Plato, Blackwell 2006. [67] T. Brickhouse & N. Smith, "Plato" (http:/ / www. iep. utm. edu/ p/ plato. htm), The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed 24 June 2008. [68] See W. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4, Cambridge University Press 1975; G. Vlastos, Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher, Cambridge University Press 1991; T. Penner, "Socrates and the Early Dialogues", in R. Kraut (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Plato, Cambridge University Press 1992; C. Kahn, Plato and the Socratic Dialogue, Cambridge University Press 1996; G. Fine, Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion, and the Soul, Oxford University Press 1999. [69] Constance Chu Meinwald, Plato's Parmenides (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). [70] "The time is not long after the death of Socrates; for the Pythagoreans [Echecrates & co.] have not heard any details yet" (J. Burnet, Plato's Phaedo, Oxford 1911, p. 1.) [71] sect. 177, J. Burnet, Greek Philosophy, MacMillan 1950. [72] John M. Cooper, "Introduction" in Plato: Complete Works (Hackett, 1997), p. vii. [73] D. F. Lackner, "The Camaldolese Academy: Ambrogio Traversari, Marsilio Ficino and the Christian Platonic Tradition" in Allen and Rees (eds.), Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy (Brill, 2001), p. 24. [74] See: Burrell, D., "Platonism in Islamic Philosophy" in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Routledge, 1998); D. N. Hasse, "Plato arabico-latinus" in Gersh and Hoenen (eds.), The Platonic Tradition (De Gruyter , 2002), pp. 33-45. [75] Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The age of Plato and Aristotle". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. p.86. ISBN0-471-54397-7. "Plato is important in the history of mathematics largely for his role as inspirer and director of others, and perhaps to him is due the sharp distinction in ancient Greece between arithmetic (in the sense of the theory of numbers) and logistic (the technique of computation). Plato regarded logistic as appropriate for the businessman and for the man of war, who "must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." The philosopher, on the other hand, must be an arithmetician "because he has to arise out of the sea of change and lay hold of true being."" [76] Einstein, "Remarks to the Essays Appearing in this Collective Volume in Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, The Library of Living Philosophers, vol. 7. (MJF Books, 1970), pp. 683684. [77] Irwin, T. H., "The Platonic Corpus" in Fine, G. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 64 & 74. [78] John M. Cooper, "Introduction" in Plato: Complete Works (Hackett, 1997), pp. viii-xii. [79] Manuscripts - Philosophy Faculty Library (http:/ / www. ouls. ox. ac. uk/ philosophy/ collections/ manuscripts) [80] Dodds, E. R., Plato Gorgias (Oxford University Press, 1959), pp. 35-36. [81] Dodds, E. R., Plato Gorgias (Oxford University Press, 1959), p. 37. [82] Dodds, op. cit., p. 39. [83] Irwin, T. H., "The Platonic Corpus" in Fine, G. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Plato (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 71. [84] Slings, S. R., Platonis Rempublicam (Oxford University Press, 2003), xxiii. [85] Michael J. B. Allen, "Introduction" in Marsilio Ficino: The Philebus Commentary (University of California Press, 1979), p. 12. [86] Bernard Suzanna, Les dialogues de Platon: L'dition d'Henri Estienne... (http:/ / plato-dialogues. org/ stephanus. htm) [87] John M. Cooper, op. cit., pp. xii & xxvii. [88] Oxford Classical Texts - Classical Studies & Ancient History Series - Series - Academic, Professional, & General - Oxford University Press (http:/ / ukcatalogue. oup. com/ category/ academic/ series/ classicalstudies/ oct. do) [89] Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics - Series - Academic and Professional Books - Cambridge University Press (http:/ / www. cambridge. org/ ca/ knowledge/ series/ series_display/ item3936986/ Cambridge-Greek-and-Latin-Classics/ ) [90] Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries - Series - Academic and Professional Books - Cambridge University Press (http:/ / www. cambridge. org/ ca/ knowledge/ series/ series_display/ item3936941/ Cambridge-Classical-Texts-and-Commentaries/ ) [91] Terence Irwin, "Preface" and "Introduction" in Plato, Gorgias (Oxford University Press, 1979), pp. vi & 11. [92] E. R. Dodds, Plato, Gorgias (Oxford University press, 1959).
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[93] Gail Fine, Plato 1 (Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 382. [94] Complete Works - Philosophy (http:/ / www. hackettpublishing. com/ philosophy/ complete-works) [95] http:/ / www. hackettpublishing. com/ catalogsearch/ result/ ?q=Plato [96] Clarendon Plato Series - Philosophy Series - Series - Academic, Professional, & General - Oxford University Press (http:/ / ukcatalogue. oup. com/ category/ academic/ series/ philosophy/ cps. do) [97] Cornell University Press : Agora Editions (http:/ / www. cornellpress. cornell. edu/ collections/ ?collection_id=137) [98] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, II [99] F.W. Nietzsche, Werke, 32 [100] "Plato". Suda. [101] T. Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, XII [102] D. Nails, The Life of Plato of Athens, 1 [103] U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Plato, 46 [104] "Plato". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. | birth_place = *"Plato". Encyclopaedic Dictionary The Helios Volume V (in Greek). 1952. [105] Seneca, Epistulae, VI, 58, 31: natali suo decessit et annum umum atque octogensimum. [106] Diogenes Laertius, Life of Plato, III [107] D. Nails, "Ariston", 54 [108] Thucydides, 5.18 | birth_place = * Thucydides, 8.92
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Apuleius, De Dogmate Platonis, I. See original text in Latin Library (http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/apuleius/ apuleius.dog1.shtml). Aristophanes, The Wasps. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0043:line=1). Aristotle, Metaphysics. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0051:book=1:section=980a). Cicero, De Divinatione, I. See original text in Latin library (http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cicero/ divinatione1.shtml). Diogenes Lartius, Life of Plato, translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925). Plato. Charmides. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Wikisource.. See original text in Perseus program (http://www. perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0175:text=Charm.:section=153a). Plato. Gorgias. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Wikisource.. See original text in Perseus program (http://www. perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0177:text=Gorg.:section=447a). Plato, Parmenides. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0173:text=Parm.:section=126a). Plato. The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Wikisource.. See original text in Perseus program (http://www. perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0168). Plutarch (1683) [written in the late 1st century]. " Pericles". Lives. Trans. John Dryden. Wikisource.. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01. 0181:text=Per.:chapter=39:section=1). Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Richard Crawley. Wikisource., V, VIII. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0199). Xenophon, Memorabilia. See original text in Perseus program (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0207:book=1:chapter=1:section=1).
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Browne, Sir Thomas (1646-1672). Pseudodoxia Epidemica (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/pseudodoxia/ pseudo412.html#b26). Guthrie, W.K.C. (1986). A History of Greek Philosophy: Volume 4, Plato: The Man and His Dialogues: Earlier Period. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-31101-2. Kahn, Charles H. (2004). "The Framework". Plato and the socratic dialogue: The Philosophical Use of a Literary Form. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-64830-0. Kierkegaard, Sren (1992). "Plato". The Concept of Irony. Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0-691-02072-3. Nails, Debra (2006). "The Life of Plato of Athens". A Companion to Plato edited by Hugh H. Benson. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN1-4051-1521-1. Nails, Debra (2002). "Ariston/Perictione". The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. ISBN0-87220-564-9. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1967). "Vorlesungsaufzeichnungen". Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe (in German). Walter de Gruyter. ISBN3-11-013912-X. Notopoulos, A. (April 1939). "The Name of Plato". Classical Philology (The University of Chicago Press) 34 (2): 135145. doi:10.1086/362227. "Plato". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. "Plato". Encyclopaedic Dictionary The Helios Volume XVI (in Greek). 1952. "Plato" (http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?search_method=QUERY&login=guest&enlogin=guest& page_num=1&user_list=LIST&searchstr=Plato&field=hw_eng&num_per_page=25&db=REAL). Suda. 10th century. Smith, William (1870). "Plato" (http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2725.html). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Tarn, Leonardo (2001). Collected Papers 1962-1999. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN90-04-12304-0.. Taylor, Alfred Edward (2001). Plato: The Man and his Work. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-41605-4. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Ulrich von (2005 (first edition 1917)). Plato: his Life and Work (translated in Greek by Xenophon Armyros). Kaktos. ISBN960-382-664-2.
Further reading
Alican, Necip Fikri (2012). Rethinking Plato: A Cartesian Quest for the Real Plato. Rodopi. ISBN978-90-420-3537-9. Allen, R. E. (2006). Studies in Plato's Metaphysics II. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-18-6 Ambuel, David (2006). Image and Paradigm in Plato's Sophist. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-04-9 Arieti, James A. Interpreting Plato: The Dialogues as Drama, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-8476-7662-5 Bakalis, Nikolaos (2005). Handbook of Greek Philosophy: From Thales to the Stoics Analysis and Fragments, Trafford Publishing ISBN 1-4120-4843-5 Barrow, Robin (2007). Plato: Continuum Library of Educational Thought. Continuum. ISBN0-8264-8408-5. Cadame, Claude (1999). Indigenous and Modern Perspectives on Tribal Initiation Rites: Education According to Plato, pp.278312, in Padilla, Mark William (editor), "Rites of Passage in Ancient Greece: Literature, Religion, Society" (http://books.google.com/books?id=-0JVScga2oYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rites+of+passage+ in+ancient+greece), Bucknell University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8387-5418-X Cooper, John M. & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN0-87220-349-2. Corlett, J. Angelo (2005). Interpreting Plato's Dialogues. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-02-5
Plato Durant, Will (1926). The Story of Philosophy. Simon & Schuster. ISBN0-671-69500-2. Derrida, Jacques (1972). La dissmination, Paris: Seuil. (esp. cap.: La Pharmacie de Platon, 69-199) ISBN 2-02-001958-2 Field, G.C. (Guy Cromwell) (1969). The Philosophy of Plato (2nd ed. with an appendix by R. C. Cross. ed.). London: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-888040-5. Fine, Gail (2000). Plato 1: Metaphysics and Epistemology Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0-19-875206-7 Finley, M. I. (1969). Aspects of antiquity: Discoveries and Controversies The Viking Press, Inc., USA Garvey, James (2006,). Twenty Greatest Philosophy Books. Continuum. ISBN0-8264-9053-0. Guthrie, W. K. C. (1986). A History of Greek Philosophy (Plato - The Man & His Dialogues - Earlier Period), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-31101-2 Guthrie, W. K. C. (1986). A History of Greek Philosophy (Later Plato & the Academy) Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-31102-0 Havelock, Eric (2005). Preface to Plato (History of the Greek Mind), Belknap Press, ISBN 0-674-69906-8 Hamilton, Edith & Cairns, Huntington (Eds.) (1961). The Collected Dialogues of Plato, Including the Letters. Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN0-691-09718-6. Harvard University Press publishes the hardbound series Loeb Classical Library, containing Plato's works in Greek, with English translations on facing pages. Irwin, Terence (1995). Plato's Ethics, Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0-19-508645-7 Jackson, Roy (2001). Plato: A Beginner's Guide. London: Hoder & Stroughton. ISBN0-340-80385-1. Kochin, Michael S. (2002). Gender and Rhetoric in Plato's Political Thought. Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN0-521-80852-9. Kraut, Richard (Ed.) (1993). The Cambridge Companion to Plato. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-43610-9. Krmer, Hans Joachim (1990). Plato and the Foundations of Metaphysics (http://books.google.com/ books?id=T2k6edyBklwC). SUNY Press. ISBN0-7914-0433-1. Lilar, Suzanne (1954), Journal de l'analogiste, Paris, ditions Julliard; Reedited 1979, Paris, Grasset. Foreword by Julien Gracq Lilar, Suzanne (1963), Le couple, Paris, Grasset. Translated as Aspects of Love in Western Society in 1965, with a foreword by Jonathan Griffin London, Thames and Hudson. Lilar, Suzanne (1967) A propos de Sartre et de l'amour , Paris, Grasset. Lundberg, Phillip (2005). Tallyho - The Hunt for Virtue: Beauty,Truth and Goodness Nine Dialogues by Plato: Pheadrus, Lysis, Protagoras, Charmides, Parmenides, Gorgias, Theaetetus, Meno & Sophist. Authorhouse. ISBN1-4184-4977-6. Melchert, Norman (2002). The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. McGraw Hill. ISBN0-19-517510-7. Meinwald, Constance Chu (1991). Plato's Parmenides. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-506445-3. Miller, Mitchell (2004). The Philosopher in Plato's Statesman. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-16-2 Mohr, Richard D. (2006). God and Forms in Plato - and other Essays in Plato's Metaphysics. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-01-8 Moore, Edward (2007). Plato. Philosophy Insights Series. Tirril, Humanities-Ebooks. ISBN 978-1-84760-047-9 Nightingale, Andrea Wilson. (1995). "Genres in Dialogue: Plato and the Construct of Philosophy" (http://books. google.com/books?id=n3MeQikAp00C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0), Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48264-X Oxford University Press publishes scholarly editions of Plato's Greek texts in the Oxford Classical Texts series, and some translations in the Clarendon Plato Series. Reale, Giovanni (1990). A History of Ancient Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle (http://books.google.com/ books?id=QfvRZSlJd3MC). SUNY Press. ISBN0-7914-0516-8.
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Plato Reale, Giovanni (1997). Toward a New Interpretation of Plato (http://books.google.com/ books?id=xmsGAAAACAAJ). CUA Press. ISBN0-8132-0847-5. Sallis, John (1996). Being and Logos: Reading the Platonic Dialogues. Indiana University Press. ISBN0-253-21071-2. Sallis, John (1999). Chorology: On Beginning in Plato's "Timaeus". Indiana University Press. ISBN0-253-21308-8. Sayre, Kenneth M. (2006). Plato's Late Ontology: A Riddle Resolved. Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-09-4 Seung, T. K. (1996). Plato Rediscovered: Human Value and Social Order. Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 0-8476-8112-2 Smith, William. (1867 original). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. University of Michigan/Online version. Stewart, John. (2010). Kierkegaard and the Greek World - Socrates and Plato. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6981-4 Szlezak, Thomas A. (1999). Reading Plato (http://books.google.com/books?id=x34szlJIRIgC). Routledge. ISBN0-415-18984-5. Taylor, A. E. (2001). Plato: The Man and His Work, Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-41605-4 Thomas Taylor has translated Plato's complete works. Vlastos, Gregory (1981). Platonic Studies, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-10021-7 Vlastos, Gregory (2006). Plato's Universe - with a new Introducution by Luc Brisson, Parmenides Publishing. ISBN 978-1-930972-13-1 Zuckert, Catherine (2009). Plato's Philosophers: The Coherence of the Dialogues, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0-226-99335-5
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External links
Plato (https://inpho.cogs.indiana.edu/thinker/3724) at the Indiana Philosophy Ontology Project Plato (http://philpapers.org/browse/plato) at PhilPapers Plato (http://www.iep.utm.edu/Plato) entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Works available on-line: Works by Plato (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Plato) at Perseus Project - Greek & English hyperlinked text Works of Plato (Jowett, 1892) (http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show. php?title=166&Itemid=99999999) Works by Plato (http://www.gutenberg.org/author/Plato) at Project Gutenberg Spurious and doubtful works (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/authrec?fk_authors=688) at Project Gutenberg Plato complete works, annotated and searchable, at ELPENOR (http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/ greek-texts/ancient-greece/plato/default.asp) Euthyphro (http://librivox.org/euthyphro-by-plato/) LibriVox recording Ion (http://librivox.org/ion-by-plato/) LibriVox recording The Apology of Socrates (http://librivox.org/apology-of-socrates-by-plato/) (Greek), LibriVox recording Quick Links to Plato's Dialogues (English, Greek, French, Spanish) (http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/ tetral.htm)
The Dialogues of Plato -5 vols (mp3) tr. by B. Jowett (http://www.archive.org/details/ DIALOGUES-OF-PLATO-BJ-V2-3ED) at archive.org Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Plato Plato (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato/) Plato's Ethics (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-ethics/) Friendship and Eros (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-friendship/) Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-metaphysics/) Plato on Utopia (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-utopia/) Rhetoric and Poetry (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-rhetoric/)
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Other Articles: Excerpt from W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. IV, Plato: the man and his dialogues, earlier period, Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 8-38 (http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ ancient-greece/guthrie-plato.asp) Website on Plato and his works: Plato and his dialogues by Bernard Suzanne (http://plato-dialogues.org/ plato.htm) Reflections on Reality and its Reflection: comparison of Plato and Bergson; do forms exist? (http://www.sfo. com/~eameece/rrr.html) "Plato and Totalitarianism: A Documentary Study" (http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/ Quotes/plato.htm) "Plato and Platonism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. Online library "Vox Philosophiae" (http://web.archive.org/web/20080126175146/http://www.filozofie.eu/ index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=34) Comprehensive Research Materials: Approaching Plato: A Guide to the Early and Middle Dialogues (http://campus.belmont.edu/philosophy/ Book.pdf) Works by or about Plato (http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79-139459) in libraries (WorldCat catalog) Other sources: Interview with Mario Vegetti on Plato's political thought. The interview, available in full on video, both in Italian and English, is included in the series Multi-Media Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences (http://www. conoscenza.rai.it/site/it-IT/?ContentID=850&Guid=d0e858c408994cdb8db858e320e6bece).
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Conic section
In mathematics, a conic section (or just conic) is a curve obtained as the intersection of a cone (more precisely, a right circular conical surface) with a plane. In analytic geometry, a conic may be defined as a plane algebraic curve of degree 2. There are a number of other geometric definitions possible. One of the most useful, in that it involves only the plane, is that a conic consists of those points whose distances to some point, called a focus, and some line, called a directrix, are in a fixed ratio, called the eccentricity. Traditionally, the three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the ellipse. The circle is a special case of the ellipse, and is of sufficient interest in its own right that it is sometimes called the fourth type of conic section. The type of a conic corresponds to its eccentricity, those with eccentricity less than 1 being ellipses, those with eccentricity equal to 1 being parabolas, and those with eccentricity greater than 1 being hyperbolas. In the focus-directrix definition of a conic the circle is a limiting case with eccentricity 0. In modern geometry certain degenerate cases, such as the union of two lines, are included as conics as well. The conic sections were named and studied at least since 200 BC, when Apollonius of Perga undertook a systematic study of their properties.
Types of conic sections: 1. Parabola 2. Circle and ellipse 3. Hyperbola
History
Menaechmus and early works
It is believed that the first definition of a conic section is due to Menaechmus (died 320 BC). His work did not survive and is
Table of conics, Cyclopaedia, 1728
only known through secondary accounts. The definition used at that time differs from the one commonly used today in that it requires the plane cutting the cone to be perpendicular to one of the lines, (a generatrix), that generates the
Conic section cone as a surface of revolution. Thus the shape of the conic is determined by the angle formed at the vertex of the cone (between two opposite generatrices): If the angle is acute then the conic is an ellipse; if the angle is right then the conic is a parabola; and if the angle is obtuse then the conic is a hyperbola. Note that the circle cannot be defined this way and was not considered a conic at this time. Euclid ( fl. 300 BC ) is said to have written four books on conics but these were lost as well.[1] Archimedes (died c. 212 BC) is known to have studied conics, having determined the area bounded by a parabola and an ellipse. The only part of this work to survive is a book on the solids of revolution of conics.
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Apollonius of Perga
The greatest progress in the study of conics by the ancient Greeks is due to Apollonius of Perga (died c.190 BC) ), whose eight volume Conic Sections summarized the existing knowledge at the time and greatly extended it. Apollonius's major innovation was to characterize a conic using properties within the plane and intrinsic to the curve; this greatly simplified analysis. With this tool, it was now possible to show that any plane cutting the cone, regardless of its angle, will produce a conic according to the earlier definition, leading to the definition commonly used today. Pappus of Alexandria (died c. 350 CE) is credited with discovering importance of the concept of a focus of a conic, and the discovery of the related concept of a directrix.
Al-Kuhi
An instrument for drawing conic sections was first described in 1000 CE by the Islamic mathematician Al-Kuhi.[2][3]
Omar Khayym
Apollonius's work was translated into Arabic (the technical language of the time) and much of his work only survives through the Arabic version. Persians found applications to the theory; the most notable of these was the Persian[4] mathematician and poet Omar Khayym who used conic sections to solve algebraic equations.
Europe
Johannes Kepler extended the theory of conics through the "principle of continuity", a precursor to the concept of limits. Girard Desargues and Blaise Pascal developed a theory of conics using an early form of projective geometry and this helped to provide impetus for the study of this new field. In particular, Pascal discovered a theorem known as the hexagrammum mysticum from which many other properties of conics can be deduced. Meanwhile, Ren Descartes applied his newly discovered Analytic geometry to the study of conics. This had the effect of reducing the geometrical problems of conics to problems in algebra.
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Features
The three types of conics are the ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola. The circle can be considered as a fourth type (as it was by Apollonius) or as a kind of ellipse. The circle and the ellipse arise when the intersection of cone and plane is a closed curve. The circle is obtained when the cutting plane is parallel to the plane of the generating circle of the cone for a right cone as in the picture at the top of the page this means that the cutting plane is perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the cone. If the cutting plane is parallel to exactly one generating line of the cone, then the conic is unbounded and is called a parabola. In the remaining case, the figure is a hyperbola. In this case, the plane will intersect both halves (nappes) of the cone, producing two separate unbounded curves. Various parameters are associated with a conic section, as shown in the following table. (For the ellipse, the table gives the case of a>b, for which the major axis is horizontal; for the reverse case, interchange the symbols a and b. For the hyperbola the east-west opening case is given. In all cases, a and b are positive.)
conic section circle ellipse equation Conics are of three types: parabolas, ellipses, including circles, and hyperbolas.
eccentricity (e) linear eccentricity (c) semi-latus rectum () focal parameter (p)
parabola hyperbola
Conic sections are exactly those curves that, for a point F, a line L not containing F and a non-negative number e, are the locus of points whose distance to F equals e times their distance to L. F is called the focus, L the directrix, and e the eccentricity. The linear eccentricity (c) is the distance between the center and the focus (or one of the two foci). The latus rectum (2) is the chord parallel to the directrix and passing through the focus (or one of the two foci). The semi-latus rectum () is half the latus rectum. The focal parameter (p) is the distance from the focus (or one of the two foci) to the directrix. The following relations hold:
Conic parameters in the case of an ellipse
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Construction
There are many methods to construct a conic. One of them, that is useful in engineering applications, being parallelogram method, where a conic is constructed point by point by means of connecting certain equally spaced points on horizontal line and vertical line.
Properties
Just as two (distinct) points determine a line, five points determine a conic. Formally, given any five points in the plane in general linear position, meaning no three collinear, there is a unique conic passing through them, which will be non-degenerate; this is true over both the affine plane and projective plane. Indeed, given any five points there is a conic passing through them, but if three of the points are collinear the conic will be degenerate (reducible, because it contains a line), and may not be unique; see further discussion. Irreducible conic sections are always "smooth". This is important for many applications, such as aerodynamics, where a smooth surface is required to ensure laminar flow and to prevent turbulence.
Intersection at infinity
An algebro-geometrically intrinsic form of this classification is by the intersection of the conic with the line at infinity, which gives further insight into their geometry: ellipses intersect the line at infinity in 0 points rather, in 0 real points, but in 2 complex points, which are conjugate; parabolas intersect the line at infinity in 1 double point, corresponding to the axis they are tangent to the line at infinity, and close at infinity, as distended ellipses; hyperbolas intersect the line at infinity in 2 points, corresponding to the asymptotes hyperbolas pass through infinity, with a twist. Going to infinity along one branch passes through the point at infinity corresponding to the asymptote, then re-emerges on the other branch at the other side but with the inside of the hyperbola (the direction of curvature) on the other side left vs. right (corresponding to the non-orientability of the real projective plane) and then passing through the other point at infinity returns to the first branch. Hyperbolas can thus be seen as ellipses that have been pulled through infinity and re-emerged on the other side, flipped.
Degenerate cases
There are five degenerate cases: three in which the plane passes through apex of the cone, and three that arise when the cone itself degenerates to a cylinder (a doubled line can occur in both cases). When the plane passes through the apex, the resulting conic is always degenerate, and is either: a point (when the angle between the plane and the axis of the cone is larger than tangential); a straight line (when the plane is tangential to the surface of the cone); or a pair of intersecting lines (when the angle is smaller than the tangential). These correspond respectively to degeneration of an ellipse, parabola, and a hyperbola, which are characterized in the same way by angle. The straight line is more precisely a double line (a line with multiplicity 2) because the plane is tangent to the cone, and thus the intersection should be counted twice. Where the cone is a cylinder, i.e. with the vertex at infinity, cylindric sections are obtained;[5] this corresponds to the apex being at infinity. Cylindrical sections are ellipses (or circles), unless the plane is vertical (which corresponds to passing through the apex at infinity), in which case three degenerate cases occur: two parallel lines, known as a ribbon (corresponding to an ellipse with one axis infinite and the other axis real and non-zero, the distance between the lines), a double line (an ellipse with one infinite axis and one axis zero), and no intersection (an ellipse with one
Conic section infinite axis and the other axis imaginary).
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Eccentricity, focus and directrix

The four defining conditions above can be combined into one condition that depends on a fixed point (the focus), a line (the directrix) not containing and a nonnegative real number (the eccentricity). The corresponding conic section consists of the locus of all points whose distance to equals times their distance to obtain an ellipse, for a hyperbola. For an ellipse and a hyperbola, two focus-directrix combinations can be taken, each giving the same full ellipse or hyperbola. The distance from the center to the directrix is , where is the semi-major axis of the ellipse, or the distance from the center to the tops of the hyperbola. The distance from the center to a focus is . In the case of a circle, the eccentricity , . For we a parabola, and for
Ellipse (e=1/2), parabola (e=1) and hyperbola (e=2) with fixed focus F and directrix (e=).
and one can imagine the directrix to be infinitely far removed from the center. However, the statement that the circle consists of all points whose distance to F is e times the distance to L is not useful, because we get zero times infinity. The eccentricity of a conic section is thus a measure of how far it deviates from being circular. For a given , the closer is to 1, the smaller is the semi-minor axis.
Generalizations
Conics may be defined over other fields, and may also be classified in the projective plane rather than in the affine plane. Over the complex numbers ellipses and hyperbolas are not distinct, since there is no meaningful difference between 1 and 1; precisely, the ellipse becomes a hyperbola under the substitution geometrically a complex rotation, yielding a hyperbola is simply an ellipse with an imaginary axis length. Thus there is a 2-way classification: ellipse/hyperbola and parabola. Geometrically, this corresponds to intersecting the line at infinity in either 2 distinct points (corresponding to two asymptotes) or in 1 double point (corresponding to the axis of a parabola), and thus the real hyperbola is a more suggestive image for the complex ellipse/hyperbola, as it also has 2 (real) intersections with the line at infinity. In projective space, over any division ring, but in particular over either the real or complex numbers, all non-degenerate conics are equivalent, and thus in projective geometry one simply speaks of "a conic" without specifying a type, as type is not meaningful. Geometrically, the line at infinity is no longer special (distinguished), so while some conics intersect the line at infinity differently, this can be changed by a projective transformation pulling an ellipse out to infinity or pushing a parabola off infinity to an ellipse or a hyperbola.
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In other areas of mathematics

The classification into elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic is pervasive in mathematics, and often divides a field into sharply distinct subfields. The classification mostly arises due to the presence of a quadratic form (in two variables this corresponds to the associated discriminant), but can also correspond to eccentricity. Quadratic form classifications: quadratic forms Quadratic forms over the reals are classified by Sylvester's law of inertia, namely by their positive index, zero index, and negative index: a quadratic form in n variables can be converted to a diagonal form, as where the number of +1 coefficients, k, is the positive index, the number of 1 coefficients, l, is the negative index, and the remaining variables are the zero index m, so In two variables the non-zero quadratic forms are classified as: positive-definite (the negative is also included), corresponding to ellipses, degenerate, corresponding to parabolas, and indefinite, corresponding to hyperbolas. In two variables quadratic forms are classified by discriminant, analogously to conics, but in higher dimensions the more useful classification is as definite, (all positive or all negative), degenerate, (some zeros), or indefinite (mix of positive and negative but no zeros). This classification underlies many that follow. curvature The Gaussian curvature of a surface describes the infinitesimal geometry, and may at each point be either positive elliptic geometry, zero Euclidean geometry (flat, parabola), or negative hyperbolic geometry; infinitesimally, to second order the surface looks like the graph of , (or 0), or . Indeed, by the uniformization theorem every surface can be taken to be globally (at every point) positively curved, flat, or negatively curved. In higher dimensions the Riemann curvature tensor is a more complicated object, but manifolds with constant sectional curvature are interesting objects of study, and have strikingly different properties, as discussed at sectional curvature. Second order PDEs Partial differential equations (PDEs) of second order are classified at each point as elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic, accordingly as their second order terms correspond to an elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic quadratic form. The behavior and theory of these different types of PDEs are strikingly different representative examples is that the Poisson equation is elliptic, the heat equation is parabolic, and the wave equation is hyperbolic. Eccentricity classifications include: Mbius transformations Real Mbius transformations (elements of PSL2(R) or its 2-fold cover, SL2(R)) are classified as elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic accordingly as their half-trace is or mirroring the classification by eccentricity. Variance-to-mean ratio The variance-to-mean ratio classifies several important families of discrete probability distributions: the constant distribution as circular (eccentricity 0), binomial distributions as elliptical, Poisson distributions as parabolic, and negative binomial distributions as hyperbolic. This is elaborated at cumulants of some discrete probability distributions.
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Cartesian coordinates
In the Cartesian coordinate system, the graph of a quadratic equation in two variables is always a conic section though it may be degenerate, and all conic sections arise in this way. The equation will be of the form
As scaling all six constants yields the same locus of zeros, one can consider conics as points in the five-dimensional projective space
Discriminant classification
The conic sections described by this equation can be classified with the discriminant[6]
If the conic is non-degenerate, then: if if if if if we also have and , the equation represents an ellipse; , the equation represents a circle, which is a special case of an ellipse; , the equation represents a parabola; , the equation represents a hyperbola; , the equation represents a rectangular hyperbola.
To distinguish the degenerate cases from the non-degenerate cases, let be the determinant of the 33 matrix [A, B/2, D/2 ; B/2, C, E/2 ; D/2, E/2, F ]: that is, = (AC - B2/4)F + BED/4 - CD2/4 - AE2/4. Then the conic section is non-degenerate if and only if 0. If =0 we have a point ellipse, two parallel lines (possibly coinciding with each other) in the case of a parabola, or two intersecting lines in the case of a hyperbola.[7]:p.63 Moreover, in the case of a non-degenerate ellipse (with 0 but an imaginary ellipse if C > 0. An example is and 0), we have a real ellipse if C < , which has no real-valued solutions.
Note that A and B are polynomial coefficients, not the lengths of semi-major/minor axis as defined in some sources.
Matrix notation
The above equation can be written in matrix notation as
The type of conic section is solely determined by the determinant of middle matrix: if it is positive, zero, or negative then the conic is an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola respectively (see geometric meaning of a quadratic form). If both the eigenvalues of the middle matrix are non-zero (i.e. it is an ellipse or a hyperbola), we can do a transformation of variables to obtain
where a,c, and G satisfy The quadratic can also be written as
and
If the determinant of this 33 matrix is non-zero, the conic section is not degenerate. If the determinant equals zero, the conic is a degenerate parabola (two parallel or coinciding lines), a degenerate ellipse (a point ellipse), or a degenerate hyperbola (two intersecting lines).
Conic section Note that in the centered equation with constant term G, G equals minus one times the ratio of the 33 determinant to the 22 determinant.
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As slice of quadratic form

The equation
can be rearranged by taking the affine linear part to the other side, yielding
In this form, a conic section is realized exactly as the intersection of the graph of the quadratic form and the plane Parabolas and hyperbolas can be realized by a horizontal plane ( ), while ellipses require that the plane be slanted. Degenerate conics correspond of a positive-definite form. to degenerate intersections, such as taking slices such as
Eccentricity in terms of parameters of the quadratic form

When the conic section is written algebraically as the eccentricity can be written as a function of the parameters of the quadratic equation.[8] If 4AC = B2 the conic is a parabola and its eccentricity equals 1 (if it is non-degenerate). Otherwise, assuming the equation represents either a non-degenerate hyperbola or a non-degenerate, non-imaginary ellipse, the eccentricity is given by
where = 1 if the determinant of the 33 matrix is negative and = 1 if that determinant is positive.
Standard form
Through change of coordinates these equations can be put in standard forms: Circle: Ellipse: Parabola: Hyperbola: Rectangular hyperbola: Such forms will be symmetrical about the x-axis and for the circle, ellipse and hyperbola symmetrical about the y-axis. The rectangular hyperbola however is only symmetrical about the lines and . Therefore its inverse function is exactly the same as its original function. These standard forms can be written as parametric equations, Circle: Ellipse: Parabola: Hyperbola: , or . , ,
Rectangular hyperbola:
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Invariants of conics
The trace and determinant of are both invariant with respect to both rotation of axes and translation
of the plane (movement of the origin).[9] The constant term F is invariant under rotation only.
Modified form
For some practical applications, it is important to re-arrange the standard form so that the focal-point can be placed at the origin. The mathematical formulation for a general conic section is then given in the polar form by
and in the Cartesian form by
Three different types of conic sections. Focal-points corresponding to all conic sections are placed at the origin.
From the above equation, the linear eccentricity (c) is given by
From the general equations given above, different conic sections can be represented as shown below: Circle: Ellipse: Parabola: Hyperbola:
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Homogeneous coordinates
In homogeneous coordinates a conic section can be represented as:
Or in matrix notation
The matrix
is called the matrix of the conic section.
is called the determinant of the conic section. If = 0 then the conic section is said to be degenerate; this means that the conic section is either a union of two straight lines, a repeated line, a point or the empty set. For example, the conic section reduces to the union of two lines:
Similarly, a conic section sometimes reduces to a (single) repeated line:
is called the discriminant of the conic section. If =0 then the conic section is a parabola, if <0, it is an hyperbola and if >0, it is an ellipse. A conic section is a circle if >0 and A1 = A2 and B1 = 0, it is an rectangular hyperbola if <0 and A1 = A2. It can be proven that in the complex projective plane CP2 two conic sections have four points in common (if one accounts for multiplicity), so there are never more than 4 intersection points and there is always one intersection point (possibilities: four distinct intersection points, two singular intersection points and one double intersection points, two double intersection points, one singular intersection point and 1 with multiplicity 3, 1 intersection point with multiplicity 4). If there exists at least one intersection point with multiplicity > 1, then the two conic sections are said to be tangent. If there is only one intersection point, which has multiplicity 4, the two conic sections are said to be osculating.[10] Furthermore each straight line intersects each conic section twice. If the intersection point is double, the line is said to be tangent and it is called the tangent line. Because every straight line intersects a conic section twice, each conic section has two points at infinity (the intersection points with the line at infinity). If these points are real, the conic section must be a hyperbola, if they are imaginary conjugated, the conic section must be an ellipse, if the conic section has one double point at infinity it is a parabola. If the points at infinity are (1,i,0) and (1,-i,0), the conic section is a circle (see circular points at infinity). If a conic section has one real and one imaginary point at infinity or it has two imaginary points that are not conjugated then it not a real conic section (its coefficients are complex).
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Polar coordinates
In polar coordinates, a conic section with one focus at the origin and, if any, the other on the x-axis, is given by the equation
where e is the eccentricity and l is the semi-latus rectum (see above). As above, for e = 0, we have a circle, for 0 < e < 1 we obtain an ellipse, for e = 1 a parabola, and for e > 1 a hyperbola.
Pencil of conics
A (non-degenerate) conic is completely determined by five points in general position (no three collinear) in a plane and the system of conics which pass through a fixed set of four points (again in a plane and no three Development of the conic section as the eccentricity e increases collinear) is called a pencil of conics.[11] The four common points are called the base points of the pencil. Through any point other than a base point, there passes a single conic of the the pencil. This concept generalizes a pencil of circles. In a projective plane defined over an algebraically closed field any two conics meet in four points (counted with multiplicity) and so, detemine the pencil of conics based on these four points. Furthermore, the four base points determine three line pairs (degenerate conics through the base points, each line of the pair containing exactly two base points) and so each pencil of conics will contain at most three degenerate conics.[12] A pencil of conics can represented algebraically in the following way. Let C1 and C2 be two distinct conics in a projective plane defined over an algebraically closed field K. For every pair , of elements of K, not both zero, the expression:
represents a conic in the pencil determined by C1 and C2. This symbolic representation can be made concrete with a slight abuse of notation (using the same notation to denote the object as well as the equation defining the object.) Thinking of C1, say, as a ternary quadratic form, then C1=0 is the equation of the "conic C1". Another concrete realization would be obtained by thinking of C1 as the 33 symmetric matrix which represents it. If C1 and C2 have such concrete realizations then every member of the above pencil will as well. Since the setting uses homogeneous coordinates in a projective plane, two concrete representations (either equations or matrices) give the same conic if they differ by a non-zero multiplicative constant.
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Intersecting two conics

The solutions to a system of two second degree equations in two variables may be viewed as the coordinates of the points of intersection of two generic conic sections. In particular two conics may possess none, two or four possibly coincident intersection points. An efficient method of locating these solutions exploits the homogeneous matrix representation of conic sections, i.e. a 3x3 symmetric matrix which depends on six parameters. The procedure to locate the intersection points follows these steps, where the conics are represented by matrices: given the two conics and , consider the pencil of conics given by their linear combination which correspond to the degenerate conic of the pencil. This can be and solving for and . These turn out to be identify the homogeneous parameters done by imposing the condition that
the solutions of a third degree equation. given the degenerate conic , identify the two, possibly coincident, lines constituting it. intersect each identified line with either one of the two original conics; this step can be done efficiently using the dual conic representation of the points of intersection will represent the solutions to the initial equation system.
Applications
Conic sections are important in astronomy: the orbits of two massive objects that interact according to Newton's law of universal gravitation are conic sections if their common center of mass is considered to be at rest. If they are bound together, they will both trace out ellipses; if they are moving apart, they will both follow parabolas or hyperbolas. See two-body problem. In projective geometry, the conic sections in the projective plane are equivalent to each other up to projective transformations. For specific applications of each type of conic section, see the articles circle, ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola. For certain fossils in paleontology, understanding conic sections can help understand the three-dimensional shape of certain organisms.
The paraboloid shape of Archeocyathids produces conic sections on rock faces
Notes
[1] Heath, T.L., The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, Vol. I, Dover, 1956, pg.16 [2] Stillwell, John (2010). Mathematics and its history (3rd ed. ed.). New York: Springer. p.30. ISBN1-4419-6052-X. [3] "Apollonius of Perga Conics Books One to Seven" (http:/ / www. math. psu. edu/ katok_s/ Commentaries-new. pdf). . Retrieved 10 June 2011. [4] Turner, Howard R. (1997). Science in medieval Islam: an illustrated introduction (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=3VfY8PgmhDMC). University of Texas Press. p.53. ISBN0-292-78149-0. ., Chapter , p. 53 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=3VfY8PgmhDMC& pg=PA53) [5] "MathWorld: Cylindric section" (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CylindricSection. html). . [6] Fanchi, John R. (2006), Math refresher for scientists and engineers (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=75mAJPcAWT8C), John Wiley and Sons, pp.4445, ISBN0-471-75715-2, , Section 3.2, page 45 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=75mAJPcAWT8C& pg=PA45) [7] Lawrence, J. Dennis, A Catalog of Special Plane Curves, Dover Publ., 1972. [8] Ayoub, Ayoub B., "The eccentricity of a conic section," The College Mathematics Journal 34(2), March 2003, 116121. [9] Pettofrezzo, Anthony, Matrices and Transformations, Dover Publ., 1966, pp. 101-111. [10] Wilczynski, E. J. (1916), "Some remarks on the historical development and the future prospects of the differential geometry of plane curves", Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 22: 317329. [11] Faulkner 1952, pg. 64 [12] Samuel 1988, pg. 50
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References
Akopyan, A.V. and Zaslavsky, A.A. (2007). Geometry of Conics. American Mathematical Society. pp.134. ISBN0-8218-4323-0. Faulkner, T. E. (1952), Projective Geometry (2nd ed.), Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd Samuel, Pierre (1988), Projective Geometry, Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics (Readings in Mathematics), New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN0-387-96752-4
External links
Derivations of Conic Sections (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument& nodeId=196&bodyId=60) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) Conic sections (http://xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves_dir/ConicSections_dir/conicSections.html) at Special plane curves (http://xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves_dir/specialPlaneCurves.html). Weisstein, Eric W., " Conic Section (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ConicSection.html)" from MathWorld. Determinants and Conic Section Curves (http://math.fullerton.edu/mathews/n2003/ConicFitMod.html) Occurrence of the conics. Conics in nature and elsewhere (http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/jbconics.htm). Conics (http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/prime/articles/conics/index.asp). An essay on conics and how they are generated. See Conic Sections (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/proofs/conics.shtml) at cut-the-knot (http://www. cut-the-knot.org) for a sharp proof that any finite conic section is an ellipse and Xah Lee (http://xahlee.org/ PageTwo_dir/more.html) for a similar treatment of other conics. Cone-plane intersection (http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/19631) MATLAB code Eight Point Conic (http://math.kennesaw.edu/~mdevilli/eightpointconic.html) at Dynamic Geometry Sketches (http://math.kennesaw.edu/~mdevilli/JavaGSPLinks.htm) An interactive Java conics grapher; uses a general second-order implicit equation. (http://www.geogebra.org/ en/upload/files/nikenuke/conics04b.html)
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Euclid's Elements
Elements
The frontispiece of Sir Henry Billingsley's first English version of Euclid's Elements, 1570 Author(s) Euclid
Euclid's Elements (Ancient Greek: Stoicheia) is a mathematical and geometric treatise consisting of 13 books written by the Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria c. 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulates (axioms), propositions (theorems and constructions), and mathematical proofs of the propositions. The thirteen books cover Euclidean geometry and the ancient Greek version of elementary number theory. The work also includes an algebraic system that has become known as geometric algebra, which is powerful enough to solve many algebraic problems,[1] including the problem of finding the square root.[2] With the exception of Autolycus' On the Moving Sphere, the Elements is one of the oldest extant Greek mathematical treatises[3] and it is the oldest extant axiomatic deductive treatment of mathematics. It has proven instrumental in the development of logic and modern science. The name Elements comes from the plural of 'element'. According to Proclus the term was used to describe a theorem that is all-pervading and helps furnishing proofs of many other theorems. The word 'element' is in the Greek language the same as 'letter'. This suggests that theorems in the Elements should be seen as standing in the same relation to geometry as letters to language. Later commentators give a slightly different meaning to the term 'element', emphasizing on how the propositions progress in small steps, and continue to build on previous propositions in a well-defined order.[4] Euclid's Elements has been referred to as the most successful[5][6] and influential[7] textbook ever written. Being first set in type in Venice in 1482, it is one of the very earliest mathematical works to be printed after the invention of the printing press and was estimated by Carl Benjamin Boyer to be second only to the Bible in the number of editions published,[7] with the number reaching well over one thousand.[8] For centuries, when the quadrivium was included in the curriculum of all university students, knowledge of at least part of Euclid's Elements was required of all students. Not until the 20th century, by which time its content was universally taught through school books, did it cease to be considered something all educated people had read.
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History
Basis in earlier work
Scholars believe that the Elements is largely a collection of theorems proved by other mathematicians supplemented by some original work. Proclus, a Greek mathematician who lived several centuries after Euclid, wrote in his commentary of the Elements: "Euclid, who put together the Elements, collecting many of Eudoxus' theorems, perfecting many of Theaetetus', and also bringing to irrefragable demonstration the things which were only somewhat loosely proved by his predecessors". Pythagoras was probably the source of most of books I and II, Hippocrates of Chios (not the better known Hippocrates of Kos) of book III, and Eudoxus book V, while books IV, VI, XI, and XII probably came from other Pythagorean or Athenian mathematicians.[10] Euclid often replaced fallacious proofs with his own, more rigorous versions.[11] The use of definitions, postulates, and axioms dated back to Plato.[12] The Elements may have been based on an earlier textbook by Hippocrates of Chios, who also may have originated the use of letters to refer to figures.[13]
The frontispiece of an Adelard of Bath Latin translation of Euclid's Elements, c. 13091316; the oldest surviving Latin translation of the Elements is a 12th century work by Adelard, [9] which translates to Latin from the Arabic.
Transmission of the text

In the fourth century AD Theon of Alexandria produced an edition of Euclid which was so widely used that it became the only surviving source until Franois Peyrard's 1808 discovery at the Vatican of a manuscript not derived from Theon's. This manuscript, the Heiberg manuscript, is from a Byzantine workshop c. 900 and is the basis of modern editions.[14] Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29 is a tiny fragment of an even older manuscript, but only contains the statement of one proposition. Although known to, for instance, Cicero, there is no extant record of the text having been translated into Latin prior to Boethius in the fifth or sixth century.[9] The Arabs received the Elements from the Byzantines in approximately 760; this version, by a pupil of Euclid called Proclo, was translated into Arabic under Harun al Rashid c. 800.[9] The Byzantine scholar Arethas commissioned the copying of one of the extant Greek manuscripts of Euclid in the late ninth century.[15] Although known in Byzantium, the Elements was lost to Western Europe until c. 1120, when the English monk Adelard of Bath translated it into Latin from an Arabic translation.[16] The first printed edition appeared in 1482 (based on Campanus of Novara's 1260 edition),[17] and since then it has been translated into many languages and published in about a thousand different editions. Theon's Greek edition was recovered in 1533. In 1570, John Dee provided a widely respected "Mathematical Preface", along with copious notes and supplementary material, to the first English edition by Henry Billingsley. Copies of the Greek text still exist, some of which can be found in the Vatican Library and the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The manuscripts available are of variable quality, and invariably incomplete. By careful analysis of the translations and originals, hypotheses have been made about the contents of the original text (copies of which are no longer available). Ancient texts which refer to the Elements itself and to other mathematical theories that were current at the time it was written are also important in this process. Such analyses are conducted by J. L. Heiberg and Sir Thomas Little Heath
Euclid's Elements in their editions of the text. Also of importance are the scholia, or annotations to the text. These additions, which often distinguished themselves from the main text (depending on the manuscript), gradually accumulated over time as opinions varied upon what was worthy of explanation or further study.
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Influence
The Elements is still considered a masterpiece in the application of logic to mathematics. In historical context, it has proven enormously influential in many areas of science. Scientists Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Sir Isaac Newton were all influenced by the Elements, and applied their knowledge of it to their work. Mathematicians and philosophers, such as Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, and Baruch Spinoza, have attempted to create their own foundational "Elements" for their respective disciplines, by adopting the axiomatized deductive structures that Euclid's work introduced. The austere beauty of Euclidean geometry has been seen by many in western culture as a glimpse of an otherworldly system of perfection and certainty. Abraham Lincoln kept a copy of Euclid in his saddlebag, and studied it late at night by lamplight; he related that he said to himself, "You never can make a lawyer if you do not understand what demonstrate means; and I left my situation in Springfield, went home to my father's house, and stayed there till I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid at sight".[18] Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote in her sonnet Euclid Alone Has Looked on Beauty Bare, "O blinding hour, O holy, terrible day, When first the shaft into his vision shone Of light anatomized!". Einstein recalled a copy of the Elements and a magnetic compass as two gifts that had a great influence on him as a boy, referring to the Euclid as the "holy little geometry book".[19] The success of the Elements is due primarily to its logical presentation of most of the mathematical knowledge available to Euclid. Much of the material is not original to him, although many of the proofs are his. However, Euclid's systematic development of his subject, from a small set of axioms to deep results, and the consistency of his approach throughout the Elements, encouraged its use as a textbook for about 2,000 years. The Elements still influences modern geometry books. Further, its logical axiomatic approach and rigorous proofs remain the cornerstone of mathematics.
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Outline of Elements
Contents of the books
Books 1 through 4 deal with plane geometry: Book 1 contains Euclid's 10 axioms (5 named postulatesincluding the parallel postulateand 5 named axioms) and the basic propositions of geometry: the pons asinorum (proposition 5), the Pythagorean theorem (Proposition 47), equality of angles and areas, parallelism, the sum of the angles in a triangle, and the three cases in which triangles are "equal" (have the same area). Book 2 is commonly called the "book of geometric algebra" because most of the propositions can be seen as geometric interpretations of algebraic identities, such as a(b+c+...)=ab+ac+... or (2a+b)2+b2=2(a2+(a+b)2). It also contains a method of finding the square root of a given number. Book 3 deals with circles and their properties: inscribed angles, tangents, the power of a point, Thales' theorem. Book 4 constructs the incircle and circumcircle of a triangle, and constructs regular polygons with 4, 5, 6, and 15 sides. Books 5 through 10 introduce ratios and proportions: Book 5 is a treatise on proportions of magnitudes. Proposition 25 has as a special case the inequality of arithmetic and geometric means. Book 6 applies proportions to geometry: Similar figures. Book 7 deals strictly with elementary number theory: divisibility, prime A fragment of Euclid's elements found at Oxyrhynchus, which is dated to circa 100 numbers, Euclid's algorithm for finding AD. The diagram accompanies Proposition 5 of Book II of the Elements. the greatest common divisor, least common multiple. Propositions 30 and 32 together are essentially equivalent to the fundamental theorem of arithmetic stating that every positive integer can be written as a product of primes in an essentially unique way, though Euclid would have had trouble stating it in this modern form as he did not use the product of more than 3
A proof from Euclid's Elements that, given a line segment, an equilateral triangle exists that includes the segment as one of its sides. The proof is by construction: an equilateral triangle is made by drawing circles and centered on the points and , and taking one intersection of the circles as the third vertex of the triangle.
Euclid's Elements numbers. Book 8 deals with proportions in number theory and geometric sequences. Book 9 applies the results of the preceding two books and gives the infinitude of prime numbers (proposition 20), the sum of a geometric series (proposition 35), and the construction of even perfect numbers (proposition 36). Book 10 attempts to classify incommensurable (in modern language, irrational) magnitudes by using the method of exhaustion, a precursor to integration. Books 11 through to 13 deal with spatial geometry: Book 11 generalizes the results of Books 16 to space: perpendicularity, parallelism, volumes of parallelepipeds. Book 12 studies volumes of cones, pyramids, and cylinders in detail, and shows for example that the volume of a cone is a third of the volume of the corresponding cylinder. It concludes by showing the volume of a sphere is proportional to the cube of its radius by approximating it by a union of many pyramids. Book 13 constructs the five regular Platonic solids inscribed in a sphere, calculates the ratio of their edges to the radius of the sphere, and proves that there are no further regular solids.
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Euclid's method and style of presentation

Euclid's axiomatic approach and constructive methods were widely influential. As was common in ancient mathematical texts, when a proposition needed proof in several different cases, Euclid often proved only one of them (often the most difficult), leaving the others to the reader. Later editors such as Theon often interpolated their own proofs of these cases. Euclid's presentation was limited by the mathematical ideas and notations in common currency in his era, and this causes the treatment to seem awkward to the modern reader in some places. For example, there was no notion of an angle greater than two right angles,[20] the number 1 was sometimes treated separately from other positive integers, and as multiplication was treated geometrically he did not use the product of more than 3 different numbers. The geometrical treatment of number theory may have been because the alternative would have been the extremely awkward Alexandrian system of numerals.[21] The presentation of each result is given in a stylized form, which, although not invented by Euclid, is recognized as typically classical. It has six different parts: First is the enunciation which states the result in general terms (i.e. the statement of the proposition). Then the setting-out, which gives the figure and denotes particular geometrical objects by letters. Next comes the definition or specification which restates the enunciation in terms of the particular figure. Then the construction or machinery follows. It is here that the original figure is extended to forward the proof. Then, the proof itself follows. Finally, the conclusion connects the proof to the enunciation by stating the specific conclusions drawn in the proof, in the general terms of the enunciation.[22] No indication is given of the method of reasoning that led to the result, although the Data does provide instruction about how to approach the types of problems encountered in the first four books of the Elements.[23] Some scholars have tried to find fault in Euclid's use of figures in his proofs, accusing him of writing proofs that depended on the specific figures drawn rather than the general underlying logic, especially concerning Proposition II of Book I. However, Euclid's original proof of this proposition is general, valid, and does not depend on the figure used as an example to illustrate one given configuration.[24]
Codex Vaticanus 190
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Criticism
Euclid's list of axioms in the Elements was not exhaustive, but represented the principles that were the most important. His proofs often invoke axiomatic notions which were not originally presented in his list of axioms. Later editors have interpolated Euclid's implicit axiomatic assumptions in the list of formal axioms.[25] For example, in the first construction of Book 1, Euclid used a premise that was neither postulated nor proved: that two circles with centers at the distance of their radius will intersect in two points.[26] Later, in the fourth construction, he used superposition (moving the triangles on top of each other) to prove that if two sides and their angles are equal then they are congruent; during these considerations he uses some properties of superposition, but these properties are not described explicitly in the treatise. If superposition is to be considered a valid method of geometric proof, all of geometry would be full of such proofs. For example, propositions I.1I.3 can be proved trivially by using superposition.[27] Mathematician and historian W. W. Rouse Ball put the criticisms in perspective, remarking that "the fact that for two thousand years [the Elements] was the usual text-book on the subject raises a strong presumption that it is not unsuitable for that purpose."[28]
Apocrypha
It was not uncommon in ancient time to attribute to celebrated authors works that were not written by them. It is by these means that the apocryphal books XIV and XV of the Elements were sometimes included in the collection.[29] The spurious Book XIV was probably written by Hypsicles on the basis of a treatise by Apollonius. The book continues Euclid's comparison of regular solids inscribed in spheres, with the chief result being that the ratio of the surfaces of the dodecahedron and icosahedron inscribed in the same sphere is the same as the ratio of their volumes, the ratio being
The spurious Book XV was probably written, at least in part, by Isidore of Miletus. This book covers topics such as counting the number of edges and solid angles in the regular solids, and finding the measure of dihedral angles of faces that meet at an edge.[29]
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Editions
1460s, Regiomontanus (incomplete) 1482, Erhard Ratdolt (Venice), first printed edition[30] 1533, editio princeps by Simon Grynus 1557, by Jean Magnien and Pierre de Montdor, reviewed by Stephanus Gracilis (only propositions, no full proofs, includes original Greek and the Latin translation) 1572, Commandinus Latin edition 1574, Christoph Clavius
Translations
1505, Bartolomeo Zamberti (Latin) 1543, Niccol Tartaglia (Italian) 1557, Jean Magnien and Pierre de Montdor, reviewed by Stephanus Gracilis (Greek to Latin) 1558, Johann Scheubel (German) 1562, Jacob Kndig (German) 1562, Wilhelm Holtzmann (German) 15641566, Pierre Forcadel de Bziers (French) 1570, Henry Billingsley (English) 1575, Commandinus (Italian) 1576, Rodrigo de Zamorano (Spanish) 1594, Typografia Medicea (edition of the Arabic translation of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi) 1604, Jean Errard de Bar-le-Duc (French) 1606, Jan Pieterszoon Dou (Dutch) 1607, Matteo Ricci, Xu Guangqi (Chinese) 1613, Pietro Cataldi (Italian) 1615, Denis Henrion (French) 1617, Frans van Schooten (Dutch) 1637, L. Carduchi (Spanish) 1639, Pierre Hrigone (French) 1651, Heinrich Hoffmann (German) 1651, Thomas Rudd (English) 1660, Isaac Barrow (English) 1661, John Leeke and Geo. Serle (English) 1663, Domenico Magni (Italian from Latin) 1672, Claude Franois Milliet Dechales (French) 1680, Vitale Giordano (Italian) 1685, William Halifax (English) 1689, Jacob Knesa (Spanish) 1690, Vincenzo Viviani (Italian) 1694, Ant. Ernst Burkh v. Pirckenstein (German) 1695, C. J. Vooght (Dutch)
The Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (left) and the Chinese mathematician Xu Guangqi (right) published the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements ( ) in 1607.
1697, Samuel Reyher (German) 1702, Hendrik Coets (Dutch) 1705, Edmund Scarburgh (English)
Euclid's Elements 1708, John Keill (English) 1714, Chr. Schessler (German) 1714, W. Whiston (English) 1720s Jagannatha Samrat (Sanskrit, based on the Arabic translation of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi)[31] 1731, Guido Grandi (abbreviation to Italian) 1738, Ivan Satarov (Russian from French) 1744, Mrten Strmer (Swedish) 1749, Dechales (Italian) 1745, Ernest Gottlieb Ziegenbalg (Danish) 1752, Leonardo Ximenes (Italian) 1756, Robert Simson (English) 1763, Pubo Steenstra (Dutch) 1773, 1781, J. F. Lorenz (German) 1780, Baruch Ben-Yaakov Mshkelab (Hebrew)[32] 1781, 1788 James Williamson (English) 1781, William Austin (English) 1789, Pr. Suvoroff nad Yos. Nikitin (Russian from Greek) 1795, John PLayfair (English) 1803, H.C. Linderup (Danish) 1804, F. Peyrard (French) 1807, Jzef Czech (Polish based on Greek, Latin and English editions) 1807, J. K. F. Hauff (German) 1817, Jo. Czencha (Polish) 1818, Vincenzo Flauti (Italian) 1820, Benjamin of Lesbos (Modern Greek) 1826, George Phillips (English) 1828, Joh. Josh and Ign. Hoffmann (German) 1828, Dionysius Lardner (English) 1833, E. S. Unger (German) 1833, Thomas Perronet Thompson (English) 1836, H. Falk (Swedish) 1844, 1845, 1859 P. R. Brkenhjelm (Swedish) 1850, F. A. A. Lundgren (Swedish) 1850, H. A. Witt and M. E. Areskong (Swedish) 1862, Isaac Todhunter (English) 1865, Smuel Brassai (Hungarian) 1880, Vachtchenko-Zakhartchenko (Russian) 1901, Max Simon (German) 1908, Thomas Little Heath (English) 1939, R. Catesby Taliaferro (English)
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Currently in print
Euclid's Elements All thirteen books in one volume, Based on Heath's translation, Green Lion Press ISBN 1-888009-18-7. The Elements: Books I-XIII-Complete and Unabridged, (2006) Translated by Sir Thomas Heath, Barnes & Noble ISBN 0-7607-6312-7. The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements, translation and commentaries by Heath, Thomas L. (1956) in three volumes. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-60088-2 (vol. 1), ISBN 0-486-60089-0 (vol. 2), ISBN 0-486-60090-4 (vol. 3)
Notes
[1] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 372 [2] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 409 [3] Boyer (1991). "Euclid of Alexandria". p.101. "With the exception of the Sphere of Autolycus, surviving work by Euclid are the oldest Greek mathematical treatises extant; yet of what Euclid wrote more than half has been lost," [4] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 114 [5] Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece (2006) by Nigel Guy Wilson, page 278. Published by Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Quote:"Euclid's Elements subsequently became the basis of all mathematical education, not only in the Romand and Byzantine periods, but right down to the mid-20th century, and it could be argued that it is the most successful textbook ever written." [6] Boyer (1991). "Euclid of Alexandria". p.100. "As teachers at the school he called a band of leading scholars, among whom was the author of the most fabulously successful mathematics textbook ever written the Elements (Stoichia) of Euclid." [7] Boyer (1991). "Euclid of Alexandria". p.119. "The Elements of Euclid not only was the earliest major Greek mathematical work to come down to us, but also the most influential textbook of all times. [...]The first printed versions of the Elements appeared at Venice in 1482, one of the very earliest of mathematical books to be set in type; it has been estimated that since then at least a thousand editions have been published. Perhaps no book other than the Bible can boast so many editions, and certainly no mathematical work has had an influence comparable with that of Euclid's Elements." [8] The Historical Roots of Elementary Mathematics by Lucas Nicolaas Hendrik Bunt, Phillip S. Jones, Jack D. Bedient (1988), page 142. Dover publications. Quote:"the Elements became known to Western Europe via the Arabs and the Moors. There the Elements became the foundation of mathematical education. More than 1000 editions of the Elements are known. In all probability it is, next to the Bible, the most widely spread book in the civilization of the Western world." [9] Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. p. 212. [10] W.W. Rouse Ball, A Short Account of the History of Mathematics, 4th ed., 1908, p. 54 [11] Daniel Shanks (2002). Solved and Unsolved Problems in Number Theory. American Mathematical Society. [12] Ball, p. 43 [13] Ball, p. 38 [14] The Earliest Surviving Manuscript Closest to Euclid's Original Text (Circa 850) (http:/ / historyofinformation. com/ expanded. php?id=2749); an image (http:/ / www. ibiblio. org/ expo/ vatican. exhibit/ exhibit/ d-mathematics/ Greek_math. html) of one page [15] L.D. Reynolds and Nigel G. Wilson, Scribes and Scholars 2nd. ed. (Oxford, 1974) p. 57 [16] One older work claims Adelard disguised himself as a Muslim student in order to obtain a copy in Muslim Crdoba (Rouse Ball, p. 165). However, more recent biographical work has turned up no clear documentation that Adelard ever went to Muslim-ruled Spain, although he spent time in Norman-ruled Sicily and Crusader-ruled Antioch, both of which had Arabic-speaking populations. Charles Burnett, Adelard of Bath: Conversations with his Nephew (Cambridge, 1999); Charles Burnett, Adelard of Bath (University of London, 1987). [17] Busard, H.L.L. (2005) "Introduction to the Text" Campanus of Novara and Euclid's Elements I Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag ISBN978-3-515-08645-5 [18] Henry Ketcham, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, at Project Gutenberg, http:/ / www. gutenberg. org/ ebooks/ 6811 [19] Dudley Herschbach, "Einstein as a Student," Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA, page 3, web: HarvardChem-Einstein-PDF (http:/ / www. chem. harvard. edu/ herschbach/ Einstein_Student. pdf): about Max Talmud visited on Thursdays for six years. [20] Ball, p. 55 [21] Ball, pp. 58, 127 [22] Heath (1963), p. 216 [23] Ball, p. 54 [24] Godfried Toussaint, "A new look at Euclid's second proposition," The Mathematical Intelligencer, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1993, pp. 1223. [25] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 62 [26] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 242 [27] Heath (1956) (vol. 1), p. 249 [28] Ball (1960) p. 55.
Euclid's Elements
[29] Boyer (1991). "Euclid of Alexandria". pp.118119. "In ancient times it was not uncommon to attribute to a celebrated author works that were not by him; thus, some versions of Euclid's Elements include a fourteenth and even a fifteenth book, both shown by later scholars to be apocryphal. The so-called Book XIV continues Euclid's comparison of the regular solids inscribed in a sphere, the chief results being that the ratio of the surfaces of the dodecahedron and icosahedron inscribed in the same sphere is the same as the ratio of their volumes, the ratio being that of the edge of the cube to the edge of the icosahedron, that is, . It is thought that this book may have been
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composed by Hypsicles on the basis of a treatise (now lost) by Apollonius comparing the dodecahedron and icosahedron. [...] The spurious Book XV, which is inferior, is thought to have been (at least in part) the work of Isidore of Miletus (fl. ca. A.D. 532), architect of the cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) at Constantinople. This book also deals with the regular solids, counting the number of edges and solid angles in the solids, and finding the measures of the dihedral angles of faces meeting at an edge." [30] Alexanderson & Greenwalt 2012, pg. 163 [31] K. V. Sarma (1997), Helaine Selin, ed., Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=yoiXDTXSHi4C& pg=PA460& dq=rekhaganita), Springer, pp.460461, ISBN978-0-7923-4066-9, [32] JNUL Digitized Book Repository (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20090622080437/ http:/ / aleph500. huji. ac. il/ nnl/ dig/ books/ bk001139706. html)
References
Alexanderson, Gerald L.; Greenwalt, William S. (2012), "About the cover: Billingsley's Euclid in English", Bulletin (New Series) of the American Mathematical Society 49 (1): 163167 Ball, W.W. Rouse (1960). A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (4th ed. [Reprint. Original publication: London: Macmillan & Co., 1908] ed.). New York: Dover Publications. pp.5062. ISBN0-486-20630-0. Heath, Thomas L. (1956) (3 vols.). The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements (2nd ed. [Facsimile. Original publication: Cambridge University Press, 1925] ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-60088-2 (vol. 1), ISBN 0-486-60089-0 (vol. 2), ISBN 0-486-60090-4 (vol. 3). Heath's authoritative translation plus extensive historical research and detailed commentary throughout the text. Heath, Thomas L. (1963). A Manual of Greek Mathematics (http://books.google.com/ books?id=_HZNr_mGFzQC). Dover Publications. ISBN978-0-486-43231-1. Boyer, Carl B. (1991). A History of Mathematics (Second Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN0-471-54397-7.
External links
Euclid (David E. Joyce, ed. 1997) [c. 300 BC]. Elements (http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc. html). Retrieved 2006-08-30. In HTML with Java-based interactive figures. Euclid's Elements in English and Greek (http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/euclid/Elements.pdf) Richard Fitzpatrick a bilingual edition (http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/euclid.html) (typset in PDF format, with the original Greek and an English translation on facing pages; free in PDF form, available in print) ISBN 978-0-615-17984-1 Heath's English translation (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Euc.+1) (HTML, without the figures, public domain) (accessed February 4, 2010) Heath's English translation and commentary, with the figures (Google Books): vol. 1 (http://books.google. com/books?id=UhgPAAAAIAAJ), vol. 2 (http://books.google.com/books?id=lxkPAAAAIAAJ), vol. 3 (http://books.google.com/books?id=xhkPAAAAIAAJ), vol. 3 c. 2 (http://books.google.com/ books?id=KHMDAAAAYAAJ) Euclid's Elements in ancient Greek (typeset in PDF format, public domain; available in print (http://www.lulu. com/content/829379)--free download) Oliver Byrne's 1847 edition (http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Euclid/byrne.html) (also hosted at archive.org (http://archive.org/details/firstsixbooksofe00eucl)) an unusual version by Oliver Byrne (mathematician) who used color rather than labels such as ABC (scanned page images, public domain)
Euclid's Elements The First Six Books of the Elements (http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/21076) by John Casey and Euclid scanned by Project Gutenberg. Reading Euclid (http://mysite.du.edu/~etuttle/classics/nugreek/contents.htm) a course in how to read Euclid in the original Greek, with English translations and commentaries (HTML with figures) Sir Thomas More's manuscript (http://www.columbia.edu/acis/textarchive/rare/24.html) Latin translation (http://www.columbia.edu/acis/textarchive/rare/6.html) by Aethelhard of Bath Euclid Elements The original Greek text (http://www.physics.ntua.gr/~mourmouras/euclid/index.html) Greek HTML Clay Mathematics Institute Historical Archive The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements (http://www.claymath. org/library/historical/euclid/) copied by Stephen the Clerk for Arethas of Patras, in Constantinople in 888 AD Kitb Tarr ul li-qldis (http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/13079270) Arabic translation of the thirteen books of Euclid's Elements by Nasr al-Dn al-s. Published by Medici Oriental Press(also, Typographia Medicea). Facsimile hosted by Islamic Heritage Project (http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ihp/).
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Parallel postulate
In geometry, the parallel postulate, also called Euclid's fifth postulate because it is the fifth postulate in Euclid's Elements, is a distinctive axiom in Euclidean geometry. It states that, in two-dimensional geometry: If a line segment intersects two straight lines forming two interior angles on the same side that sum to less than two right angles, then the two lines, if extended indefinitely, meet on that side on which the angles sum to less than two right angles.
If the sum of the interior angles and is less than 180, the two straight lines, produced indefinitely, meet on that side.
Euclidean geometry is the study of geometry that satisfies all of Euclid's axioms, including the parallel postulate. A geometry where the parallel postulate does not hold is known as a non-Euclidean geometry. Geometry that is independent of Euclid's fifth postulate (i.e., only assumes the modern equivalent of the first four postulates) is known as absolute geometry (or, in other places known as neutral geometry).
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Equivalent properties
Probably the best known equivalent of Euclid's parallel postulate is Playfair's axiom, named after the Scottish mathematician John Playfair, which states: At most one line can be drawn through any point not on a given line parallel to the given line in a plane.[1] This axiom is not logically equivalent to the Euclidean parallel postulate since there are geometries in which one is true and the other is not. However, in the presence of the remaining axioms which give Euclidean geometry, each of these can be used to prove the other, so they are equivalent in the context of absolute geometry.[2] Many other statements equivalent to the parallel postulate have been suggested, some of them appearing at first to be unrelated to parallelism, and some seeming so self-evident that they were unconsciously assumed by people who claimed to have proven the parallel postulate from Euclid's other postulates. This is a summary 1. There is at most one line that can be drawn parallel to another given one through an external point. (Playfair's axiom) 2. The sum of the angles in every triangle is 180 (triangle postulate). 3. There exists a triangle whose angles add up to 180. 4. The sum of the angles is the same for every triangle. 5. There exists a pair of similar, but not congruent, triangles. 6. Every triangle can be circumscribed. 7. If three angles of a quadrilateral are right angles, then the fourth angle is also a right angle. 8. There exists a quadrilateral in which all angles are right angles. 9. There exists a pair of straight lines that are at constant distance from each other. 10. Two lines that are parallel to the same line are also parallel to each other. 11. In a right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides (Pythagoras' Theorem).[3][4] 12. There is no upper limit to the area of a triangle. (Wallis axiom)[5] 13. The summit angles of the Saccheri quadrilateral are 90. 14. If a line intersects one of two parallel lines, both of which are coplanar with the original line, then it also intersects the other. (Proclus' axiom)[6] However, the alternatives which employ the word "parallel" cease appearing so simple when one is obliged to explain which of the three common definitions of "parallel" is meant constant separation, never meeting, or same angles where crossed by a third line since the equivalence of these three is itself one of the unconsciously obvious assumptions equivalent to Euclid's fifth postulate. For example, if the word "parallel" in Playfair's axiom is taken to mean 'constant separation', then it is no longer equivalent to Euclid's fifth postulate, and is provable from the first four (the axiom says 'There is at most one line...', which is consistent with there being no such lines). However, if the definition is taken so that parallel lines are lines that do not intersect, Playfair's axiom is contextually equivalent to Euclid's fifth postulate and is thus logically independent of the first four postulates.
History
For two thousand years, many attempts were made to prove the parallel postulate using Euclid's first four postulates. The main reason that such a proof was so highly sought after was that, unlike the first four postulates, the parallel postulate isn't self-evident. If the order the postulates were listed in the Elements is significant, it indicates that Euclid included this postulate only when he realised he could not prove it or proceed without it.[7] Many attempts were made to prove the fifth postulate from the other four, many of them being accepted as proofs for long periods of time until the mistake was found. Invariably the mistake was assuming some 'obvious' property which turned out to be equivalent to the fifth postulate (Playfair's axiom). Although known from the time of Proclus, this became
Parallel postulate known as Playfair's Axiom after John Playfair wrote a famous commentary on Euclid in 1795 in which he proposed replacing Euclid's fifth postulate by his own axiom. Proclus (410-485) wrote a commentary on The Elements where he comments on attempted proofs to deduce the fifth postulate from the other four, in particular he notes that Ptolemy had produced a false 'proof'. Proclus then goes on to give a false proof of his own. However he did give a postulate which is equivalent to the fifth postulate. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965-1039), an Arab mathematician, made an attempt at proving the parallel postulate using a proof by contradiction,[8] in the course of which he introduced the concept of motion and transformation into geometry.[9] He formulated the Lambert quadrilateral, which Boris Abramovich Rozenfeld names the "Ibn al-HaythamLambert quadrilateral",[10] and his attempted proof contains elements similar to those found in Lambert quadrilaterals and Playfair's axiom.[11] Omar Khayym (10501123), a Persian, attempted to prove the fifth postulate from another explicitly given postulate (based on the fourth of the five principles due to the Philosopher (Aristotle), namely, "Two convergent straight lines intersect and it is impossible for two convergent straight lines to diverge in the direction in which they converge."[12] He derived some of the earlier results belonging to elliptical geometry and hyperbolic geometry, though his postulate excluded the latter possibility.[13] The Saccheri quadrilateral was also first considered by Omar Khayym in the late 11th century in Book I of Explanations of the Difficulties in the Postulates of Euclid.[10] Unlike many commentators on Euclid before and after him (including Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri), Khayym was not trying to prove the parallel postulate as such but to derive it from his equivalent postulate. He recognized that three possibilities arose from omitting Euclid's fifth postulate; if two perpendiculars to one line cross another line, judicious choice of the last can make the internal angles where it meets the two perpendiculars equal (it is then parallel to the first line). If those equal internal angles are right angles, we get Euclid's fifth postulate, otherwise, they must be either acute or obtuse. He showed that the acute and obtuse cases led to contradictions using his postulate, but his postulate is now known to be equivalent to the fifth postulate. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (12011274), in his Al-risala al-shafiya'an al-shakk fi'l-khutut al-mutawaziya (Discussion Which Removes Doubt about Parallel Lines) (1250), wrote detailed critiques of the parallel postulate and on Khayym's attempted proof a century earlier. Nasir al-Din attempted to derive a proof by contradiction of the parallel postulate.[14] He also considered the cases of what are now known as elliptical and hyperbolic geometry, though he ruled out both of them.[13] Nasir al-Din's son, Sadr al-Din (sometimes known as "Pseudo-Tusi"), wrote a book on the subject in 1298, based on his father's later thoughts, which presented one of the earliest arguments for a non-Euclidean hypothesis equivalent to the parallel postulate. "He essentially revised both Euclidean, elliptical and hyperbolic geometry. The Parallel Postulate is satisfied only for the Euclidean system of axioms and models of Euclidean geometry. postulates and the proofs of many propositions from the Elements."[14][15] His work was published in Rome in 1594 and was studied by European geometers. This work marked the starting point for Saccheri's work on the subject [14] which opened with a criticism of Sadr al-Din's work and the work of Wallis.[16] Giordano Vitale (1633-1711), in his book Euclide restituo (1680, 1686), used the Khayyam-Saccheri quadrilateral to prove that if three points are equidistant on the base AB and the summit CD, then AB and CD are everywhere equidistant. Girolamo Saccheri (1667-1733) pursued the same line of reasoning more thoroughly, correctly obtaining absurdity from the obtuse case (proceeding, like Euclid, from the implicit assumption that lines can be extended
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Parallel postulate indefinitely and have infinite length), but failing to refute the acute case (although he managed to wrongly persuade himself that he had). In 1766 Johann Lambert wrote, but did not publish, Theorie der Parallellinien in which he attempted, as Saccheri did, to prove the fifth postulate. He worked with a figure that today we call a Lambert quadrilateral, a quadrilateral with three right angles (can be considered half of a Saccheri quadrilateral). He quickly eliminated the possibility that the fourth angle is obtuse, as had Saccheri and Khayym, and then proceeded to prove many theorems under the assumption of an acute angle. Unlike Saccheri, he never felt that he had reached a contradiction with this assumption. He had proved the non-Euclidean result that the sum of the angles in a triangle increases as the area of the triangle decreases, and this led him to speculate on the possibility of a model of the acute case on a sphere of imaginary radius. He did not carry this idea any further.[17] Where Khayym and Saccheri had attempted to prove Euclid's fifth by disproving the only possible alternatives, the nineteenth century finally saw mathematicians exploring those alternatives and discovering the logically consistent geometries which result. In 1829, Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky published an account of acute geometry in an obscure Russian journal (later re-published in 1840 in German). In 1831, Jnos Bolyai included, in a book by his father, an appendix describing acute geometry, which, doubtlessly, he had developed independently of Lobachevsky. Carl Friedrich Gauss had also studied the problem, but he did not publish any of his results. Upon hearing of Bolyai's results in a letter from Bolyai's father, Farkas Bolyai, Gauss stated: "If I commenced by saying that I am unable to praise this work, you would certainly be surprised for a moment. But I cannot say otherwise. To praise it would be to praise myself. Indeed the whole contents of the work, the path taken by your son, the results to which he is led, coincide almost entirely with my meditations, which have occupied my mind partly for the last thirty or thirty-five years."[18] The resulting geometries were later developed by Lobachevsky, Riemann and Poincar into hyperbolic geometry (the acute case) and elliptic geometry (the obtuse case). The independence of the parallel postulate from Euclid's other axioms was finally demonstrated by Eugenio Beltrami in 1868.
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Converse of Euclid's parallel postulate

Euclid did not postulate the converse of his fifth postulate, which is one way to distinguish Euclidean geometry from elliptic geometry. The Elements contains the proof of an equivalent statement (Book I, Proposition 27): If a straight line falling on two straight lines make the alternate angles equal to one another, the straight lines will be parallel to one another. As De Morgan[19] pointed out, this is logically equivalent to (Book I, Proposition 16). These results do not depend upon the fifth postulate, but they do require the second postulate[20] which is violated in elliptic geometry.
If the sum of the two interior angles equals 180, the lines are parallel and will never intersect.
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Criticism
Attempts to logically prove the parallel postulate, rather than the eighth axiom,[21] were criticized by Schopenhauer, as described in Schopenhauer's criticism of the proofs of the Parallel Postulate. However, the argument used by Schopenhauer was that the postulate is evident by perception, not that it was not a logical consequence of the other axioms.
Notes
[1] Euclid's Parallel Postulate and Playfair's Axiom (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookI/ propI30. html) [2] Henderson & Taimia 2005, pg. 139 [3] Eric W. Weisstein (2003), CRC concise encyclopedia of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=aFDWuZZslUUC& pg=PA2147) (2nd ed.), p.2147, ISBN1-58488-347-2, , "The parallel postulate is equivalent to the Equidistance postulate, Playfair axiom, Proclus axiom, the Triangle postulate and the Pythagorean theorem." [4] Alexander R. Pruss (2006), The principle of sufficient reason: a reassessment (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=8qAxk1rXIjQC& pg=PA11), Cambridge University Press, p.11, ISBN0-521-85959-X, , "We could include...the parallel postulate and derive the Pythagorean theorem. Or we could instead make the Pythagorean theorem among the other axioms and derive the parallel postulate." [5] Bogomolny, Alexander. "Euclid's Fifth Postulate" (http:/ / www. cut-the-knot. org/ triangle/ pythpar/ Fifth. shtml). Cut The Knot. . Retrieved 30 September 2011. [6] Weisstein, Eric W.. "Proclus' Axiom MathWorld" (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ ProclusAxiom. html). . Retrieved 2009-09-05. [7] Florence P. Lewis (Jan 1920), "History of the Parallel Postulate", The American Mathematical Monthly (The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 27, No. 1) 27 (1): 1623, doi:10.2307/2973238, JSTOR2973238. [8] Katz 1998, pg. 269 [9] Katz 1998, p.269:
In effect, this method characterized parallel lines as lines always equidistant from one another and also introduced the concept of motion into geometry.
[10] Rozenfeld 1988, p.65 [11] Smith 1992 [12] Boris A Rosenfeld and Adolf P Youschkevitch (1996), Geometry, p.467 in Roshdi Rashed, Rgis Morelon (1996), Encyclopedia of the history of Arabic science, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-12411-5. [13] Boris A. Rosenfeld and Adolf P. Youschkevitch (1996), "Geometry", in Roshdi Rashed, ed., Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 2, p. 447-494 [469], Routledge, London and New York:
"Khayyam's postulate had excluded the case of the hyperbolic geometry whereas al-Tusi's postulate ruled out both the hyperbolic and elliptic geometries."
[14] Katz 1998, pg.271:
"But in a manuscript probably written by his son Sadr al-Din in 1298, based on Nasir al-Din's later thoughts on the subject, there is a new argument based on another hypothesis, also equivalent to Euclid's, [...] The importance of this latter work is that it was published in Rome in 1594 and was studied by European geometers. In particular, it became the starting point for the work of Saccheri and ultimately for the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry."
[15] Boris A. Rosenfeld and Adolf P. Youschkevitch (1996), "Geometry", in Roshdi Rashed, ed., Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 2, p. 447-494 [469], Routledge, London and New York:
"In Pseudo-Tusi's Exposition of Euclid, [...] another statement is used instead of a postulate. It was independent of the Euclidean postulate V and easy to prove. [...] He essentially revised both the Euclidean system of axioms and postulates and the proofs of many propositions from the Elements."
[16] MacTutor's Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Saccheri. html) [17] O'Connor, J.J.; Robertson, E.F. "Johann Heinrich Lambert" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Lambert. html). . Retrieved 16 September 2011. [18] Faber 1983, pg. 161 [19] Heath, T.L., The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements, Vol.1, Dover, 1956, pg.309. [20] Coxeter, H.S.M., Non-Euclidean Geometry, 6th Ed., MAA 1998, pg.3 [21] Schopenhauer is referring to Euclid's Common Notion 4: Figures coinciding with one another are equal to one another.
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References
Carroll, Lewis, Euclid and His Modern Rivals, Dover, ISBN 0-486-22968-8 Faber, Richard L. (1983), Foundations of Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometry, New York: Marcel Dekker Inc., ISBN0-8247-1748-1 Henderson, David W.; Taimia, Daina (2005), Experiencing Geometry: Euclidean and Non-Euclidean with History (3rd ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN0-13-143748-8 Katz, Victor J. (1998), History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Addison-Wesley, ISBN0-321-01618-1, OCLC38199387 60154481 Rozenfeld, Boris A. (1988), A History of Non-Euclidean Geometry: Evolution of the Concept of a Geometric Space, Springer Science+Business Media, ISBN0-387-96458-4, OCLC15550634 230166667 230980046 77693662 Smith, John D. (1992), "The Remarkable Ibn al-Haytham", The Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 76 (475): 189198, doi:10.2307/3620392, JSTOR3620392
External links
On Gauss' Mountains (http://www.mathpages.com/rr/s8-06/8-06.htm) Eder, Michelle (2000), Views of Euclid's Parallel Postulate in Ancient Greece and in Medieval Islam (http:/ / www. math.rutgers.edu/~cherlin/History/Papers2000/eder.html), Rutgers University, retrieved 2008-01-23
Euclidean geometry
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to the Alexandrian Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the Elements. Euclid's method consists in assuming a small set of intuitively appealing axioms, and deducing many other propositions (theorems) from these. Although many of Euclid's results had been stated by earlier mathematicians,[1] Euclid was the first to show how these propositions could fit into a comprehensive deductive and logical system.[2] The Elements begins with plane geometry, still taught in secondary school as the first axiomatic system and the first examples of formal proof. It goes on to the solid geometry of three dimensions. Much of the Elements states results of what are now called algebra and number theory, couched in geometrical language.[3]
A Greek mathematician (possilby Euclid or For over two thousand years, the adjective "Euclidean" was Archimedes) performing a geometric construction unnecessary because no other sort of geometry had been conceived. with a compass, from The School of Athens by Euclid's axioms seemed so intuitively obvious (with the possible Raphael exception of the parallel postulate) that any theorem proved from them was deemed true in an absolute, often metaphysical, sense. Today, however, many other self-consistent non-Euclidean geometries are known, the first ones having been discovered in the early 19th century. An implication of Einstein's theory of general relativity is that Euclidean space is a good approximation to the properties of physical space only where the gravitational field is weak.[4]
Euclidean geometry
229
The Elements
The Elements are mainly a systematization of earlier knowledge of geometry. Its superiority over earlier treatments was rapidly recognized, with the result that there was little interest in preserving the earlier ones, and they are now nearly all lost. Books IIV and VI discuss plane geometry. Many results about plane figures are proved, e.g., If a triangle has two equal angles, then the sides subtended by the angles are equal. The Pythagorean theorem is proved.[5] Books V and VIIX deal with number theory, with numbers treated geometrically via their representation as line segments with various lengths. Notions such as prime numbers and rational and irrational numbers are introduced. The infinitude of prime numbers is proved. Books XIXIII concern solid geometry. A typical result is the 1:3 ratio between the volume of a cone and a cylinder with the same height and base.
Axioms
Euclidean geometry is an axiomatic system, in which all theorems ("true statements") are derived from a small number of axioms.[6] Near the beginning of the first book of the Elements, Euclid gives five postulates (axioms) for plane geometry, stated in terms of constructions (as translated by Thomas Heath):[7] "Let the following be postulated": 1. "To draw a straight line from any point to any point." 2. "To produce [extend] a finite straight line continuously in a straight line." 3. "To describe a circle with any centre and distance [radius]."
The parallel postulate: If two lines intersect a third in such a way that the sum of the inner angles on one side is less than two right angles, then the two lines inevitably must intersect each other on that side if extended far enough.
4. "That all right angles are equal to one another." 5. The parallel postulate: "That, if a straight line falling on two straight lines make the interior angles on the same side less than two right angles, the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that side on which are the angles less than the two right angles."
Although Euclid's statement of the postulates only explicitly asserts the existence of the constructions, they are also taken to be unique. The Elements also include the following five "common notions": 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Things that are equal to the same thing are also equal to one another (Transitive property of equality). If equals are added to equals, then the wholes are equal. If equals are subtracted from equals, then the remainders are equal. Things that coincide with one another equal one another (Reflexive Property). The whole is greater than the part.
Parallel postulate
To the ancients, the parallel postulate seemed less obvious than the others. They were concerned with creating a system which was absolutely rigorous and to them it seemed as if the parallel line postulate should have been able to be proven rather than simply accepted as a fact. It is now known that such a proof is impossible. Euclid himself seems to have considered it as being qualitatively different from the others, as evidenced by the organization of the Elements: the first 28 propositions he presents are those that can be proved without it. Many alternative axioms can be formulated that have the same logical consequences as the parallel postulate. For example Playfair's axiom states:
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Methods of proof
Euclidean Geometry is constructive. Postulates 1, 2, 3, and 5 assert the existence and uniqueness of certain geometric figures, and these assertions are of a constructive nature: that is, we are not only told that certain things exist, but are also given methods for creating them with no more than a compass and an unmarked straightedge.[8] In this sense, Euclidean geometry is more concrete than many modern axiomatic systems such as set theory, which often assert the existence of objects without saying how to construct them, or even assert the existence of objects that cannot be constructed within the theory.[9] Strictly speaking, the lines on paper are models of the objects defined within the formal system, rather than instances of those objects. For example a Euclidean straight line has no width, but any real drawn line will. Though nearly all modern mathematicians consider nonconstructive methods just as sound as constructive ones, Euclid's constructive proofs often supplanted fallacious nonconstructive onese.g., some of the Pythagoreans' proofs that involved irrational numbers, which usually required a statement such as "Find the greatest common measure of ..."[10]
A proof from Euclid's elements that, given a line segment, an equilateral triangle exists that includes the segment as one of its sides. The proof is by construction: an equilateral triangle is made by drawing circles and centered on the points and , and taking one intersection of the circles as the third vertex of the triangle.
Euclid often used proof by contradiction. Euclidean geometry also allows the method of superposition, in which a figure is transferred to another point in space. For example, proposition I.4, side-angle-side congruence of triangles, is proved by moving one of the two triangles so that one of its sides coincides with the other triangle's equal side, and then proving that the other sides coincide as well. Some modern treatments add a sixth postulate, the rigidity of the triangle, which can be used as an alternative to superposition.[11]
System of measurement and arithmetic

Euclidean geometry has two fundamental types of measurements: angle and distance. The angle scale is absolute, and Euclid uses the right angle as his basic unit, so that, e.g., a 45-degree angle would be referred to as half of a right angle. The distance scale is relative; one arbitrarily picks a line segment with a certain length as the unit, and other distances are expressed in relation to it. A line in Euclidean geometry is a model of the real number line. A line segment is a part of a line that is bounded by two end points, and contains every point on the line between its end points. Addition is represented by a construction in which one line segment is copied onto the end of another line segment to extend its length, and similarly for subtraction. Measurements of area and volume are derived from distances. For example, a rectangle with a width of 3 and a length of 4 has an area that represents the product, 12. Because this geometrical interpretation of multiplication was limited to three dimensions (as to multiply three numbers in a Euclidean interpretation, a 3 dimensional rectangular prism would have to have been created, and if one would have wanted to a greater amount of numbers, they would have to move into higher dimensions, which Euclid did not accept the existence of ), there was no direct way of interpreting the product of four or more numbers, and Euclid avoided such products, although they are implied, e.g., in the proof of book IX, proposition 20.
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Euclid refers to a pair of lines, or a pair of planar or solid figures, as "equal" () if their lengths, areas, or volumes are equal, and similarly for angles. The stronger term "congruent" refers to the idea that an entire figure is the same size and shape as another figure. Alternatively, two figures are congruent if one can be moved on top of the other so that it matches up with it exactly. (Flipping it over is allowed.) Thus, for example, a 2x6 rectangle and a 3x4 rectangle are equal but not congruent, and the letter R is congruent to its mirror image. Figures that would be congruent except for their differing sizes are referred to as similar. Corresponding angles in a pair of similar shapes are congruent and corresponding sides are in proportion to each other.
An example of congruence. The two figures on the left are congruent, while the third is similar to them. The last figure is neither. Note that congruences alter some properties, such as location and orientation, but leave others unchanged, like distance and angles. The latter sort of properties are called invariants and studying them is the essence of geometry.
Notation and terminology

Naming of points and figures
Points are customarily named using capital letters of the alphabet. Other figures, such as lines, triangles, or circles, are named by listing a sufficient number of points to pick them out unambiguously from the relevant figure, e.g., triangle ABC would typically be a triangle with vertices at points A, B, and C.
Complementary and supplementary angles

Angles whose sum is a right angle are called complementary. Complementary angles are formed when one or more rays share the same vertex and are pointed in a direction that is in between the two original rays that form the right angle. The number of rays in between the two original rays are infinite. Those whose sum is a straight angle are supplementary. Supplementary angles are formed when one or more rays share the same vertex and are pointed in a direction that in between the two original rays that form the straight angle (180 degrees). The number of rays in between the two original rays are infinite like those possible in the complementary angle.
Modern versions of Euclid's notation

In modern terminology, angles would normally be measured in degrees or radians. Modern school textbooks often define separate figures called lines (infinite), rays (semi-infinite), and line segments (of finite length). Euclid, rather than discussing a ray as an object that extends to infinity in one direction, would normally use locutions such as "if the line is extended to a sufficient length," although he occasionally referred to "infinite lines." A "line" in Euclid could be either straight or curved, and he used the more specific term "straight line" when necessary.
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Some important or well known results
The bridge of asses theorem states that if A=B then C=D.
The sum of angles A, B, and C is equal to 180 degrees.
Pythagoras' theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) of a right triangle equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c).
Thales' theorem: if AC is a diameter, then the angle at B is a right angle.
Bridge of Asses
The Bridge of Asses (Pons Asinorum) states that in isosceles triangles the angles at the base equal one another, and, if the equal straight lines are produced further, then the angles under the base equal one another.[12] Its name may be attributed to its frequent role as the first real test in the Elements of the intelligence of the reader and as a bridge to the harder propositions that followed. It might also be so named because of the geometrical figure's resemblance to a steep bridge that only a sure-footed donkey could cross.[13]
Congruence of triangles
Triangles are congruent if they have all three sides equal (SSS), two sides and the angle between them equal (SAS), or two angles and a side equal (ASA) (Book I, propositions 4, 8, and 26). (Triangles with three equal angles (AAA) are similar, but not necessarily congruent. Also, triangles with two equal sides and an adjacent angle are not necessarily equal or congruent.)
Sum of the angles of a triangle acute, obtuse, and right angle limits
The sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to a straight angle (180 degrees).[14] This causes an equilateral triangle to have 3 interior angles of 60 degrees. Also, it causes every triangle to have at least 2 acute angles and up to 1 obtuse or right angle.
Pythagorean theorem
The celebrated Pythagorean theorem (book I, proposition 47) states that in any right triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle).
Congruence of triangles is determined by specifying two sides and the angle between them (SAS), two angles and the side between them (ASA) or two angles and a corresponding adjacent side (AAS). Specifying two sides and an adjacent angle (SSA), however, can yield two distinct possible triangles.
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Thales' theorem
Thales' theorem, named after Thales of Miletus states that if A, B, and C are points on a circle where the line AC is a diameter of the circle, then the angle ABC is a right angle. Cantor supposed that Thales proved his theorem by means of Euclid book I, prop 32 after the manner of Euclid book III, prop 31.[15] Tradition has it that Thales sacrificed an ox to celebrate this theorem.[16]
Scaling of area and volume

In modern terminology, the area of a plane figure is proportional to the square of any of its linear dimensions, , and the volume of a solid to the cube, . Euclid proved these results in various special cases such as the area of a circle[17] and the volume of a parallelepipedal solid.[18] Euclid determined some, but not all, of the relevant constants of proportionality. E.g., it was his successor Archimedes who proved that a sphere has 2/3 the volume of the circumscribing cylinder.[19]
Applications
Because of Euclidean geometry's fundamental status in mathematics, it would be impossible to give more than a representative sampling of applications here.
A surveyor uses a Level
Sphere packing applies to a stack of oranges.
A parabolic mirror brings parallel rays of light to a focus.
As suggested by the etymology of the word, one of the earliest reasons for interest in geometry was surveying,[20] and certain practical results from Euclidean geometry, such as the right-angle property of the 3-4-5 triangle, were used long before they were proved formally.[21] The fundamental types of measurements in Euclidean geometry are distances and angles, and both of these quantities can be measured directly by a surveyor. Historically, distances were often measured by chains such as Gunter's chain, and angles using graduated circles and, later, the theodolite. An application of Euclidean solid geometry is the determination of packing arrangements, such as the problem of finding the most efficient packing of spheres in n dimensions. This problem has applications in error detection and correction. Geometric optics uses Euclidean geometry to analyze the focusing of light by lenses and mirrors.
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Geometry is used in art and architecture.
The water tower consists of a cone, a cylinder, and a hemisphere. Its volume can be calculated using solid geometry.
Geometry can be used to design origami.
Geometry is used extensively in architecture. Geometry can be used to design origami. Some classical construction problems of geometry are impossible using compass and straightedge, but can be solved using origami.[22]
As a description of the structure of space

Euclid believed that his axioms were self-evident statements about physical reality. Euclid's proofs depend upon assumptions perhaps not obvious in Euclid's fundamental axioms,[23] in particular that certain movements of figures do not change their geometrical properties such as the lengths of sides and interior angles, the so-called Euclidean motions, which include translations and rotations of figures.[24] Taken as a physical description of space, postulate 2 (extending a line) asserts that space does not have holes or boundaries (in other words, space is homogeneous and unbounded); postulate 4 (equality of right angles) says that space is isotropic and figures may be moved to any location while maintaining congruence; and postulate 5 (the parallel postulate) that space is flat (has no intrinsic curvature).[25] As discussed in more detail below, Einstein's theory of relativity significantly modifies this view. The ambiguous character of the axioms as originally formulated by Euclid makes it possible for different commentators to disagree about some of their other implications for the structure of space, such as whether or not it is infinite[26] (see below) and what its topology is. Modern, more rigorous reformulations of the system[27] typically aim for a cleaner separation of these issues. Interpreting Euclid's axioms in the spirit of this more modern approach, axioms 1-4 are consistent with either infinite or finite space (as in elliptic geometry), and all five axioms are consistent with a variety of topologies (e.g., a plane, a cylinder, or a torus for two-dimensional Euclidean geometry).
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Later work
Archimedes and Apollonius
Archimedes (ca. 287 BCE ca. 212 BCE), a colorful figure about whom many historical anecdotes are recorded, is remembered along with Euclid as one of the greatest of ancient mathematicians. Although the foundations of his work were put in place by Euclid, his work, unlike Euclid's, is believed to have been entirely original.[28] He proved equations for the volumes and areas of various figures in two and three dimensions, and enunciated the Archimedean property of finite numbers. Apollonius of Perga (ca. 262 BCEca. 190 BCE) is mainly known for his investigation of conic sections.
A sphere has 2/3 the volume and surface area of its circumscribing cylinder. A sphere and cylinder were placed on the tomb of Archimedes at his request.
17th century: Descartes

Ren Descartes (15961650) developed analytic geometry, an alternative method for formalizing geometry which focused on turning geometry into algebra.[29] In this approach, a point is represented by its Cartesian (x, y) coordinates, a line is represented by its equation, and so on. In Euclid's original approach, the Pythagorean theorem follows from Euclid's axioms. In the Cartesian approach, the axioms are the axioms of algebra, and the equation expressing the Pythagorean theorem is then a definition of one of the terms in Euclid's axioms, which are now considered theorems. The equation
Ren Descartes. Portrait after Frans Hals, 1648.
defining the distance between two points P = (p, q) and Q = (r, s) is then known as the Euclidean metric, and other metrics define non-Euclidean geometries.
In terms of analytic geometry, the restriction of classical geometry to compass and straightedge constructions means a restriction to first- and second-order equations, e.g., y = 2x + 1 (a line), or x2 + y2 = 7 (a circle). Also in the 17th century, Girard Desargues, motivated by the theory of perspective, introduced the concept of idealized points, lines, and planes at infinity. The result can be considered as a type of generalized geometry, projective geometry, but it can also be used to produce proofs in ordinary Euclidean geometry in which the number of special cases is reduced.[30]
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18th century
Geometers of the 18th century struggled to define the boundaries of the Euclidean system. Many tried in vain to prove the fifth postulate from the first four. By 1763 at least 28 different proofs had been published, but all were found incorrect.[31] Leading up to this period, geometers also tried to determine what constructions could be accomplished in Euclidean geometry. For example, the problem of trisecting an angle with a compass and straightedge is one that naturally occurs within the theory, since the axioms refer to constructive operations that can be carried out with those tools. However, centuries of efforts failed to find a solution to Squaring the circle: the areas of this square and this problem, until Pierre Wantzel published a proof in 1837 that such a this circle are equal. In 1882, it was proven that construction was impossible. Other constructions that were proved this figure cannot be constructed in a finite number of steps with an idealized compass and impossible include doubling the cube and squaring the circle. In the straightedge. case of doubling the cube, the impossibility of the construction originates from the fact that the compass and straightedge method involve first- and second-order equations, while doubling a cube requires the solution of a third-order equation. Euler discussed a generalization of Euclidean geometry called affine geometry, which retains the fifth postulate unmodified while weakening postulates three and four in a way that eliminates the notions of angle (whence right triangles become meaningless) and of equality of length of line segments in general (whence circles become meaningless) while retaining the notions of parallelism as an equivalence relation between lines, and equality of length of parallel line segments (so line segments continue to have a midpoint).
19th century and non-Euclidean geometry

This time period was not only concerned with exploring the geometry that is created by looking at Non-Euclidean geometries, but also attempting to completely ensure that what Euclid said was true was actually true. In the early 19th century, Carnot and Mbius systematically developed the use of signed angles and line segments as a way of simplifying and unifying results.[32] The century's most significant development in geometry occurred when, around 1830, Jnos Bolyai and Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky separately published work on non-Euclidean geometry, in which the parallel postulate is not valid.[33] Since non-Euclidean geometry is provably relatively consistent with Euclidean geometry, the parallel postulate cannot be proved from the other postulates. In the 19th century, it was also realized that Euclid's ten axioms and common notions do not suffice to prove all of theorems stated in the Elements. For example, Euclid assumed implicitly that any line contains at least two points, but this assumption cannot be proved from the other axioms, and therefore must be an axiom itself. The very first geometric proof in the Elements, shown in the figure above, is that any line segment is part of a triangle; Euclid constructs this in the usual way, by drawing circles around both endpoints and taking their intersection as the third vertex. His axioms, however, do not guarantee that the circles actually intersect, because they do not assert the geometrical property of continuity, which in Cartesian terms is equivalent to the completeness property of the real numbers. Starting with Moritz Pasch in 1882, many improved axiomatic systems for geometry have been proposed, the best known being those of Hilbert,[34] George Birkhoff,[35] and Tarski.[36]
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20th century and general relativity

Einstein's theory of general relativity shows that the true geometry of spacetime is not Euclidean geometry.[37] For example, if a triangle is constructed out of three rays of light, then in general the interior angles do not add up to 180 degrees due to gravity. A relatively weak gravitational field, such as the Earth's or the sun's, is represented by a metric that is approximately, but not exactly, Euclidean. Until the 20th century, there was no technology capable of detecting the deviations from Euclidean geometry, but Einstein predicted that such deviations would exist. They were later verified by observations such as the slight bending of starlight by the Sun during a solar eclipse in 1919, and such considerations are now an integral part of the software that runs the GPS system.[38] It is possible to object to this interpretation of general relativity on the grounds that light rays might be improper physical models of Euclid's lines, or that relativity could be rephrased so as to avoid the geometrical interpretations. However, one of the consequences of Einstein's theory is that there is no possible physical test that can distinguish between a beam of light as a model of a geometrical line and any other physical model. Thus, the only logical possibilities are to accept non-Euclidean geometry as physically real, or to reject the entire notion of physical tests of the axioms of geometry, which can then be imagined as a formal system without any intrinsic real-world meaning.
A disproof of Euclidean geometry as a description of physical space. In a 1919 test of the general theory of relativity, stars (marked with short horizontal lines) were photographed during a solar eclipse. The rays of starlight were bent by the Sun's gravity on their way to the earth. This is interpreted as evidence in favor of Einstein's prediction that gravity would cause deviations from Euclidean geometry.
Treatment of infinity
Infinite objects
Euclid sometimes distinguished explicitly between "finite lines" (e.g., Postulate 2) and "infinite lines" (book I, proposition 12). However, he typically did not make such distinctions unless they were necessary. The postulates do not explicitly refer to infinite lines, although for example some commentators interpret postulate 3, existence of a circle with any radius, as implying that space is infinite.[26] The notion of infinitesimally small quantities had previously been discussed extensively by the Eleatic School, but nobody had been able to put them on a firm logical basis, with paradoxes such as Zeno's paradox occurring that had not been resolved to universal satisfaction. Euclid used the method of exhaustion rather than infinitesimals.[39] Later ancient commentators such as Proclus (410485 CE) treated many questions about infinity as issues demanding proof and, e.g., Proclus claimed to prove the infinite divisibility of a line, based on a proof by contradiction in which he considered the cases of even and odd numbers of points constituting it.[40] At the turn of the 20th century, Otto Stolz, Paul du Bois-Reymond, Giuseppe Veronese, and others produced controversial work on non-Archimedean models of Euclidean geometry, in which the distance between two points may be infinite or infinitesimal, in the NewtonLeibniz sense.[41] Fifty years later, Abraham Robinson provided a rigorous logical foundation for Veronese's work.[42]
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Infinite processes
One reason that the ancients treated the parallel postulate as less certain than the others is that verifying it physically would require us to inspect two lines to check that they never intersected, even at some very distant point, and this inspection could potentially take an infinite amount of time.[43] The modern formulation of proof by induction was not developed until the 17th century, but some later commentators consider it implicit in some of Euclid's proofs, e.g., the proof of the infinitude of primes.[44] Supposed paradoxes involving infinite series, such as Zeno's paradox, predated Euclid. Euclid avoided such discussions, giving, for example, the expression for the partial sums of the geometric series in IX.35 without commenting on the possibility of letting the number of terms become infinite.
Logical basis
Classical logic
Euclid frequently used the method of proof by contradiction, and therefore the traditional presentation of Euclidean geometry assumes classical logic, in which every proposition is either true or false, i.e., for any proposition P, the proposition "P or not P" is automatically true.
Modern standards of rigor

Placing Euclidean geometry on a solid axiomatic basis was a preoccupation of mathematicians for centuries.[45] The role of primitive notions, or undefined concepts, was clearly put forward by Alessandro Padoa of the Peano delegation at the 1900 Paris conference:[45][46] ...when we begin to formulate the theory, we can imagine that the undefined symbols are completely devoid of meaning and that the unproved propositions are simply conditions imposed upon the undefined symbols. Then, the system of ideas that we have initially chosen is simply one interpretation of the undefined symbols; but..this interpretation can be ignored by the reader, who is free to replace it in his mind by another interpretation.. that satisfies the conditions... Logical questions thus become completely independent of empirical or psychological questions... The system of undefined symbols can then be regarded as the abstraction obtained from the specialized theories that result when...the system of undefined symbols is successively replaced by each of the interpretations... Padoa,Essai d'une thorie algbrique des nombre entiers, avec une Introduction logique une thorie dductive qulelconque That is, mathematics is context-independent knowledge within a hierarchical framework. As said by Bertrand Russell:[47] If our hypothesis is about anything, and not about some one or more particular things, then our deductions constitute mathematics. Thus, mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true. Bertrand Russell,Mathematics and the metaphysicians Such foundational approaches range between foundationalism and formalism.
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Axiomatic formulations
Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures. George Poly,How to Solve It, p. 208 Euclid's axioms: In his dissertation to Trinity College, Cambridge, Bertrand Russell summarized the changing role of Euclid's geometry in the minds of philosophers up to that time.[48] It was a conflict between certain knowledge, independent of experiment, and empiricism, requiring experimental input. This issue became clear as it was discovered that the parallel postulate was not necessarily valid and its applicability was an empirical matter, deciding whether the applicable geometry was Euclidean or non-Euclidean. Hilbert's axioms: Hilbert's axioms had the goal of identifying a simple and complete set of independent axioms from which the most important geometric theorems could be deduced. The outstanding objectives were to make Euclidean geometry rigorous (avoiding hidden assumptions) and to make clear the ramifications of the parallel postulate. Birkhoff's axioms: Birkhoff proposed four postulates for Euclidean geometry that can be confirmed experimentally with scale and protractor.[49][50][51] The notions of angle and distance become primitive concepts.[52] Tarski's axioms: Alfred Tarski (19021983) and his students defined elementary Euclidean geometry as the geometry that can be expressed in first-order logic and does not depend on set theory for its logical basis,[53] in contrast to Hilbert's axioms, which involve point sets.[54] Tarski proved that his axiomatic formulation of elementary Euclidean geometry is consistent and complete in a certain sense: there is an algorithm that, for every proposition, can be shown either true or false.[36] (This doesn't violate Gdel's theorem, because Euclidean geometry cannot describe a sufficient amount of arithmetic for the theorem to apply.[55]) This is equivalent to the decidability of real closed fields, of which elementary Euclidean geometry is a model.
Constructive approaches and pedagogy

The process of abstract axiomatization as exemplified by Hilbert's axioms reduces geometry to theorem proving or predicate logic. In contrast, the Greeks used construction postulates, and emphasized problem solving.[56] For the Greeks, constructions are more primitive than existence propositions, and can be used to prove existence propositions, but not vice versa. To describe problem solving adequately requires a richer system of logical concepts.[56] The contrast in approach may be summarized:[57] Axiomatic proof: Proofs are deductive derivations of propositions from primitive premises that are true in some sense. The aim is to justify the proposition. Analytic proof: Proofs are non-deductive derivations of hypotheses from problems. The aim is to find hypotheses capable of giving a solution to the problem. One can argue that Euclid's axioms were arrived upon in this manner. In particular, it is thought that Euclid felt the parallel postulate was forced upon him, as indicated by his reluctance to make use of it,[58] and his arrival upon it by the method of contradiction.[59] Andrei Nicholaevich Kolmogorov proposed a problem solving basis for geometry.[60][61] This work was a precursor of a modern formulation in terms of constructive type theory.[62] This development has implications for pedagogy as well.[63] If proof simply follows conviction of truth rather than contributing to its construction and is only experienced as a demonstration of something already known to be true, it is likely to remain meaningless and purposeless in the eyes of students. Celia Hoyles,The curricular shaping of students' approach to proof
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Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Eves, vol. 1., p. 19 Eves (1963), vol. 1, p. 10 Eves, p. 19 Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler (1973), p. 47 Euclid, book IX, proposition 20 The assumptions of Euclid are discussed from a modern perspective in Harold E. Wolfe (2007). Introduction to Non-Euclidean Geometry (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=VPHn3MutWhQC& pg=PA9). Mill Press. p.9. ISBN1-4067-1852-1. . [7] tr. Heath, pp. 195202. [8] Ball, p. 56 [9] Within Euclid's assumptions, it is quite easy to give a formula for area of triangles and squares. However, in a more general context like set theory, it is not as easy to prove that the area of a square is the sum of areas of its pieces, for example. See Lebesgue measure and BanachTarski paradox. [10] Daniel Shanks (2002). Solved and Unsolved Problems in Number Theory. American Mathematical Society. [11] Coxeter, p. 5 [12] Euclid, book I, proposition 5, tr. Heath, p. 251 [13] Ignoring the alleged difficulty of Book I, Proposition 5, Sir Thomas L. Heath mentions another interpretation. This rests on the resemblance of the figure's lower straight lines to a steeply-inclined bridge that could be crossed by an ass but not by a horse: "But there is another view (as I have learnt lately) which is more complimentary to the ass. It is that, the figure of the proposition being like that of a trestle bridge, with a ramp at each end which is more practicable the flatter the figure is drawn, the bridge is such that, while a horse could not surmount the ramp, an ass could; in other words, the term is meant to refer to the surefootedness of the ass rather than to any want of intelligence on his part." (in "Excursis II," volume 1 of Heath's translation of The Thirteen Books of the Elements.) [14] Euclid, book I, proposition 32 [15] Heath, p. 135, Extract of page 135 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=drnY3Vjix3kC& pg=PA135) [16] Heath, p. 318 [17] Euclid, book XII, proposition 2 [18] Euclid, book XI, proposition 33 [19] Ball, p. 66 [20] Ball, p. 5 [21] Eves, vol. 1, p. 5; Mlodinow, p. 7 [22] Tom Hull. "Origami and Geometric Constructions" (http:/ / mars. wnec. edu/ ~thull/ omfiles/ geoconst. html). . [23] Richard J. Trudeau (2008). "Euclid's axioms" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=YRB4VBCLB3IC& pg=PA39). The Non-Euclidean Revolution. Birkhuser. pp.39 'ff. ISBN0-8176-4782-1. . [24] See, for example: Luciano da Fontoura Costa, Roberto Marcondes Cesar (2001). Shape analysis and classification: theory and practice (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=x_wiWedtc0cC& pg=PA314). CRC Press. p.314. ISBN0-8493-3493-4. . and Helmut Pottmann, Johannes Wallner (2010). Computational Line Geometry (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=3Mk2JIJKsGwC& pg=PA60). Springer. p.60. ISBN3-642-04017-9. . The group of motions underlie the metric notions of geometry. See Felix Klein (2004). Elementary Mathematics from an Advanced Standpoint: Geometry (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=fj-ryrSBuxAC& pg=PA167) (Reprint of 1939 Macmillan Company ed.). Courier Dover. p.167. ISBN0-486-43481-8. . [25] Roger Penrose (2007). The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=coahAAAACAAJ& dq=editions:cYahAAAACAAJ& hl=en& ei=i7DZTI62K46asAObz-jJBw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=book-thumbnail& resnum=1& ved=0CCcQ6wEwAA). Vintage Books. p.29. ISBN0-679-77631-1. . [26] Heath, p. 200 [27] e.g., Tarski (1951) [28] Eves, p. 27 [29] Ball, pp. 268ff [30] Eves (1963) [31] Hofstadter 1979, p. 91. [32] Eves (1963), p. 64 [33] Ball, p. 485 [34] * Howard Eves, 1997 (1958). Foundations and Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics. Dover. [35] Birkhoff, G. D., 1932, "A Set of Postulates for Plane Geometry (Based on Scale and Protractors)," Annals of Mathematics 33. [36] Tarski (1951) [37] Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler (1973), p. 191 [38] Rizos, Chris. University of New South Wales. GPS Satellite Signals (http:/ / www. gmat. unsw. edu. au/ snap/ gps/ gps_survey/ chap3/ 312. htm). 1999. [39] Ball, p. 31 [40] Heath, p. 268
Euclidean geometry
[41] Giuseppe Veronese, On Non-Archimedean Geometry, 1908. English translation in Real Numbers, Generalizations of the Reals, and Theories of Continua, ed. Philip Ehrlich, Kluwer, 1994. [42] Robinson, Abraham (1966). Non-standard analysis. [43] For the assertion that this was the historical reason for the ancients considering the parallel postulate less obvious than the others, see Nagel and Newman 1958, p. 9. [44] Cajori (1918), p. 197 [45] A detailed discussion can be found in James T. Smith (2000). "Chapter 2: Foundations" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=mWpWplOVQ6MC& pg=RA1-PA19). Methods of geometry. Wiley. pp.19 ff. ISBN0-471-25183-6. . [46] Socit franaise de philosophie (1900). Revue de mtaphysique et de morale, Volume 8 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=4aoLAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA592). Hachette. p.592. . [47] Bertrand Russell (2000). "Mathematics and the metaphysicians" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=_b2ShqRj8YMC& pg=PA1577). In James Roy Newman. The world of mathematics. 3 (Reprint of Simon and Schuster 1956 ed.). Courier Dover Publications. p.1577. ISBN0-486-41151-6. . [48] Bertrand Russell (1897). "Introduction" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=NecGAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA1). An essay on the foundations of geometry. Cambridge University Press. . [49] George David Birkhoff, Ralph Beatley (1999). "Chapter 2: The five fundamental principles" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=TB6xYdomdjQC& pg=PA38). Basic Geometry (3rd ed.). AMS Bookstore. pp.38 ff. ISBN0-8218-2101-6. . [50] James T. Smith. "Chapter 3: Elementary Euclidean Geometry" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=mWpWplOVQ6MC& pg=RA1-PA84). Cited work. pp.84 ff. . [51] Edwin E. Moise (1990). Elementary geometry from an advanced standpoint (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?cd=1& id=3UjvAAAAMAAJ& dq=isbn:9780201508673& q=Birkhoff#search_anchor) (3rd ed.). AddisonWesley. ISBN0-201-50867-2. . [52] John R. Silvester (2001). "1.4 Hilbert and Birkhoff" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=VtH_QG6scSUC& pg=PA5). Geometry: ancient and modern. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-850825-5. . [53] Alfred Tarski (2007). "What is elementary geometry" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=eVVKtnKzfnUC& pg=PA16). In Leon Henkin, Patrick Suppes & Alfred Tarski. Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics The Axiomatic Method with Special Reference to Geometry and Physics (Proceedings of International Symposium at Berkeley 19578; Reprint ed.). Brouwer Press. p.16. ISBN1-4067-5355-6. . "We regard as elementary that part of Euclidean geometry which can be formulated and established without the help of any set-theoretical devices" [54] Keith Simmons (2009). "Tarski's logic" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=K5dU9bEKencC& pg=PA574). In Dov M. Gabbay, John Woods. Logic from Russell to Church. Elsevier. p.574. ISBN0-444-51620-4. . [55] Franzn, Torkel (2005). Gdel's Theorem: An Incomplete Guide to its Use and Abuse. AK Peters. ISBN 1-56881-238-8. Pp. 2526. [56] Petri Menp (1999). "From backward reduction to configurational analysis" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=WFav-N0tv7AC& pg=PA210). In Michael Otte, Marco Panza. Analysis and synthesis in mathematics: history and philosophy. Springer. p.210. ISBN0-7923-4570-3. . [57] Carlo Cellucci (2008). "Why proof? What is proof?" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=jVPW-_qsYDgC& printsec=frontcover). In Rossella Lupacchini, Giovanna Corsi. Deduction, Computation, Experiment: Exploring the Effectiveness of Proof. Springer. p.1. ISBN88-470-0783-6. . [58] Eric W. Weisstein (2003). "Euclid's postulates" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Zg1_QZsylysC& pg=PA942). CRC concise encyclopedia of mathematics (2nd ed.). CRC Press. p.942. ISBN1-58488-347-2. . [59] Deborah J. Bennett (2004). Logic made easy: how to know when language deceives you (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=_fo3vTO8qGcC& pg=PA34). W. W. Norton & Company. p.34. ISBN0-393-05748-8. . [60] AN Kolmogorov, AF Semenovich, RS Cherkasov (1982). Geometry: A textbook for grades 68 of secondary school [Geometriya. Uchebnoe posobie dlya 68 klassov srednie shkoly] (3rd ed.). Moscow: "Prosveshchenie" Publishers. pp.372376. A description of the approach, which was based upon geometric transformations, can be found in Teaching geometry in the USSR Chernysheva, Firsov, and Teljakovskii (http:/ / unesdoc. unesco. org/ images/ 0012/ 001248/ 124809eo. pdf) [61] Viktor Vasilevich Prasolov, Vladimir Mikhalovich Tikhomirov (2001). Geometry (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=t7kbhDDUFSkC& pg=PA198). AMS Bookstore. p.198. ISBN0-8218-2038-9. . [62] Petri Menp (1998). "Analytic program derivation in type theory" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?hl=en& lr=& id=pLnKggT_In4C& oi=fnd& pg=PA113). In Giovanni Sambin, Jan M. Smith. Twenty-five years of constructive type theory: proceedings of a congress held in Venice, October 1995. Oxford University Press. p.113. ISBN0-19-850127-7. . [63] Celia Hoyles (Feb. 1997). "The curricular shaping of students' approach to proof". For the Learning of Mathematics (FLM Publishing Association) 17 (1): 716. JSTOR40248217.
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Euclidean geometry
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References
Ball, W.W. Rouse (1960). A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (4th ed. [Reprint. Original publication: London: Macmillan & Co., 1908] ed.). New York: Dover Publications. pp.5062. ISBN0-486-20630-0. Coxeter, H.S.M. (1961). Introduction to Geometry. New York: Wiley. Eves, Howard (1963). A Survey of Geometry. Allyn and Bacon. Heath, Thomas L. (1956) (3 vols.). The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements (2nd ed. [Facsimile. Original publication: Cambridge University Press, 1925] ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-60088-2 (vol. 1), ISBN 0-486-60089-0 (vol. 2), ISBN 0-486-60090-4 (vol. 3). Heath's authoritative translation of Euclid's Elements plus his extensive historical research and detailed commentary throughout the text. Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler (1973). Gravitation. W.H. Freeman. Mlodinow (2001). Euclid's Window. The Free Press. Nagel, E. and Newman, J.R. (1958). Gdel's Proof. New York University Press. Alfred Tarski (1951) A Decision Method for Elementary Algebra and Geometry. Univ. of California Press.
External links
Kiran Kedlaya, Geometry Unbound (http://www-math.mit.edu/~kedlaya/geometryunbound) (a treatment using analytic geometry; PDF format, GFDL licensed)
Fundamental theorem of arithmetic

In number theory, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, also called the unique factorization theorem or the unique-prime-factorization theorem, states that every integer greater than 1 is either prime itself or is the product of prime numbers, and that, although the order of the primes in the second case is arbitrary, the primes themselves are not.[1][2][3] For example,
The theorem is stating two things: first, that 1200 can be represented as a product of primes, and second, no matter how this is done, there will always be four 2s, one 3, two 5s, and no other primes in the product.
History
Book VII, propositions 30 and 32 of Euclid's Elements is essentially the statement and proof of the fundamental theorem. Article 16 of Gauss' Disquisitiones Arithmeticae is an early modern statement and proof employing modular arithmetic.
Applications
Canonical representation of a positive integer
Every positive integer n > 1 can be represented in exactly one way as a product of prime powers:
where p1 < p2 < ... < pk are primes and the i are positive integers; 1 is represented by the empty product. This representation is called the canonical representation[4] of n, or the standard form[5][6] of n. For example 999 = 3337, 1000 = 2353, 1001 = 71113
Fundamental theorem of arithmetic Note that factors p0 = 1 may be inserted without changing the value of n (e.g. 1000 = 233053). In fact, any positive integer can be uniquely represented as an infinite product taken over all the positive prime numbers,
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where a finite number of the ni are positive integers, and the rest are zero. Allowing negative exponents provides a canonical form for positive rational numbers.
Arithmetic operations
This representation is convenient for expressions like these for the product, gcd, and lcm:
While expressions like these are of great theoretical importance their practical use is limited by our ability to factor numbers.
Arithmetical functions
Many arithmetical functions are defined using the canonical representation. In particular, the values of additive and multiplicative functions are determined by their values on the powers of prime numbers.
Proof
The proof uses Euclid's lemma (Elements VII, 30): if a prime p divides the product of two natural numbers a and b, then p divides a or p divides b (or perhaps both). The article has proofs of the lemma.
Existence
By inspection, each of the small natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, ... is the product of primes. This is the basis for a proof by induction. Assume it is true for all numbers less than n. If n is prime, there is nothing more to prove. Otherwise, there are integers a and b, where n = ab and 1 < a b < n. By the induction hypothesis, a = p1p2...pn and b = q1q2...qm are products of primes. But then n = ab = p1p2...pnq1q2...qm is the product of primes.
Uniqueness
Assume that s > 1 is the product of prime numbers in two different ways:
We must show m = n and that the qj are a rearrangement of the pi. By Euclid's lemma p1 must divide one of the qj; relabeling the qj if necessary, say that p1 divides q1. But q1 is prime, so its only divisors are itself and 1. Therefore, p1 = q1, so that
Reasoning the same way, p2 must equal one of the remaining qj. Relabeling again if necessary, say p2 = q2. Then
Fundamental theorem of arithmetic This can be done for all m of the pi, showing that m n. If there were any qj left over we would have
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which is impossible, since the product of numbers greater than 1 cannot equal 1. Therefore m = n and every qj is a pi.
Generalizations
The first generalization of the theorem is found in Gauss's second monograph (1832) on biquadratic reciprocity. This paper introduced what is now called the ring of Gaussian integers, the set of all complex numbers a + bi where a and b are integers. It is now denoted by He showed that this ring has the four units 1 and i, that the non-zero, non-unit numbers fall into two classes, primes and composites, and that (except for order), the composites have unique factorization as a product of primes.[7] Similarly, in 1844 while working on cubic reciprocity, Eisenstein introduced the ring the six units In this ring one has[8] Examples like this caused the notion of "prime" to be modified. In it can be proven that if any of the , where
is a cube root of unity. This is the ring of Eisenstein integers, and he proved it has and that it has unique factorization. .
However, it was also discovered that unique factorization does not always hold. An example is given by
factors above can be represented as a product, e.g. 2 = ab, then one of a or b must be a unit. This is the traditional definition of "prime". It can also be proven that none of these factors obeys Euclid's lemma; e.g. 2 divides neither (1 + 5) nor (1 5) even though it divides their product 6. In algebraic number theory 2 is called irreducible (only divisible by itself or a unit) but not prime (if it divides a product it must divide one of the factors). Using these definitions it can be proven that in any ring a prime must be irreducible. Euclid's classical lemma can be rephrased as "in the ring of integers every irreducible is prime". This is also true in and but not in The rings where every irreducible is prime are called unique factorization domains. As the name indicates, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic is true in them. Important examples are Euclidean domains and principal ideal domains. In 1843 Kummer introduced the concept of ideal number, which was developed further by Dedekind (1876) into the modern theory of ideals, special subsets of rings. Multiplication is defined for ideals, and the rings in which they have unique factorization are called Dedekind domains.
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Long (1972, p.44) Pettofrezzo & Byrkit (1970, p.53) Hardy & Wright, Thm 2 Long (1972, p.45) Pettofrezzo & Byrkit (1970, p.55) Hardy & Wright 1.2 Gauss, BQ, 3134 Hardy & Wright, 14.6
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References
The Disquisitiones Arithmeticae has been translated from Latin into English and German. The German edition includes all of his papers on number theory: all the proofs of quadratic reciprocity, the determination of the sign of the Gauss sum, the investigations into biquadratic reciprocity, and unpublished notes. Gauss, Carl Friedrich; Clarke, Arthur A. (translator into English) (1986), Disquisitiones Arithemeticae (Second, corrected edition), New York: Springer, ISBN0387962549 Gauss, Carl Friedrich; Maser, H. (translator into German) (1965), Untersuchungen uber hohere Arithmetik (Disquisitiones Arithemeticae & other papers on number theory) (Second edition), New York: Chelsea, ISBN0-8284-0191-8 The two monographs Gauss published on biquadratic reciprocity have consecutively numbered sections: the first contains 123 and the second 2476. Footnotes referencing these are of the form "Gauss, BQ, n". Footnotes referencing the Disquisitiones Arithmeticae are of the form "Gauss, DA, Art. n". Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1828), Theoria residuorum biquadraticorum, Commentatio prima, Gttingen: Comment. Soc. regiae sci, Gttingen 6 Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1832), Theoria residuorum biquadraticorum, Commentatio secunda, Gttingen: Comment. Soc. regiae sci, Gttingen 7 These are in Gauss's Werke, Vol II, pp.6592 and 93148; German translations are pp.511533 and 534586 of the German edition of the Disquisitiones. Baker, Alan (1984), A Concise Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-28654-1 Hardy, G. H.; Wright, E. M. (1979), An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers (fifth ed.), USA: Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-853171-5 A. Kornilowicz and P. Rudnicki. Fundamental theorem of arithmetic. Formalized Mathematics, 12(2):179185, 2004. Long, Calvin T. (1972), Elementary Introduction to Number Theory (2nd ed.), Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company, LCCN77-171950. Pettofrezzo, Anthony J.; Byrkit, Donald R. (1970), Elements of Number Theory, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, LCCN77-81766. Riesel, Hans (1994), Prime Numbers and Computer Methods for Factorization (second edition), Boston: Birkhuser, ISBN0-8176-3743-5 Weisstein, Eric W., " Abnormal number (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/AbnormalNumber.html)" from MathWorld. Weisstein, Eric W., " Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ FundamentalTheoremofArithmetic.html)" from MathWorld.
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External links
GCD and the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/gcd_fta.shtml) at cut-the-knot PlanetMath: Proof of fundamental theorem of arithmetic (http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/ ProofOfFundamentalTheoremOfArithmetic.html) Fermat's Last Theorem Blog: Unique Factorization (http://fermatslasttheorem.blogspot.com/2005/06/ unique-factorization.html), A blog that covers the history of Fermat's Last Theorem from Diophantus of Alexandria to the proof by Andrew Wiles. "Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic" (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/ FundamentalTheoremOfArithmetic/) by Hector Zenil, Wolfram Demonstrations Project, 2007.
Prime number
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. A natural number greater than 1 that is not a prime number is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because only 1 and 5 divide it, whereas 6 is composite because it has the divisors 2 and 3 in addition to 1 and 6. The fundamental theorem of arithmetic establishes the central role of primes in number theory: any integer greater than 1 can be expressed as a product of primes that is unique up to ordering. The uniqueness in this theorem requires excluding 1 as a prime because it is the multiplicative identity. The property of being prime is called primality. A simple but slow method of verifying the primality of a given number n is known as trial division. It consists of testing whether n is a multiple of any integer between 2 and . Algorithms that are much more efficient than trial division have been devised to test the primality of large numbers. Particularly fast methods are available for primes of special forms, such as Mersenne primes. As of 2011, the largest known prime number has nearly 13 million decimal digits. There are infinitely many primes, as demonstrated by Euclid around 300 BC. There is no known useful formula that yields all of the prime numbers and no composites. However, the distribution of primes, that is to say, the statistical behaviour of primes in the large, can be modeled. The first result in that direction is the prime number theorem, proven at the end of the 19th century, which says that the probability that a given, randomly chosen number n is prime is inversely proportional to its number of digits, or the logarithm of n. Many questions around prime numbers remain open, such as Goldbach's conjecture, which asserts that every even integer greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two primes, and the twin prime conjecture, which says that there are infinitely many pairs of primes whose difference is 2. Such questions spurred the development of various branches of number theory, focusing on analytic or algebraic aspects of numbers. Primes are used in several routines in information technology, such as public-key cryptography, which makes use of properties such as the difficulty of factoring large numbers into their prime factors. Prime numbers give rise to various generalizations in other mathematical domains, mainly algebra, such as prime elements and prime ideals.
Prime number
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Definition and examples

A natural number (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.) is called a prime or a prime number if it has exactly two positive divisors, 1 and the number itself.[1] Natural numbers greater than 1 that are not prime are called composite. Among the numbers 1 to 6, the numbers 2, 3, and 5 are the prime numbers, while 1, 4, and 6 are not prime. 1 is excluded as a prime number, for reasons explained below. 2 is a prime number, since the only natural numbers dividing it are 1 and 2. Next, 3 is prime, too: 1 and 3 do divide 3 without remainder, but 3 divided by 2 gives remainder 1. Thus, 3 is prime. However, 4 is composite, since 2 is another number (in addition to 1 and 4) dividing 4 without remainder: 4 = 2 2. 5 is again prime: none of the numbers 2, 3, or 4 divide 5. Next, 6 is divisible by 2 or 3, since 6 = 2 3.
Hence, 6 is not prime. The image at the right illustrates that 12 is not prime: 12 = 3 4. In general, no even number greater than 2 is prime: any such number n has at least three distinct divisors, namely 1, 2, and n. This implies that n is not prime. Accordingly, the term odd prime refers to any prime number greater than 2. In a similar vein, all prime numbers bigger than 5, written in the usual decimal system, end in 1, 3, 7, or 9, since even numbers are multiples of 2 and numbers ending in 0 or 5 are multiples of 5. If n is a natural number, then 1 and n divide n without remainder. Therefore, the condition of being a prime can also be restated as: a number is prime if it is greater than one and if none of 2, 3, ..., n 1 divides n (without remainder). Yet another way to say the same is: a number n > 1 is prime if it cannot be written as a product of two integers a and b, both of which are larger than1: n = a b. In other words, n is prime if n items cannot be divided up into smaller equal-size groups of more than one item. The smallest 168 prime numbers (all the prime numbers under 1000) are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113, 127, 131, 137, 139, 149, 151, 157, 163, 167, 173, 179, 181, 191, 193, 197, 199, 211, 223, 227, 229, 233, 239, 241, 251, 257, 263, 269, 271, 277, 281, 283, 293, 307, 311, 313, 317, 331, 337, 347, 349, 353, 359, 367, 373, 379, 383, 389, 397, 401, 409, 419, 421, 431, 433, 439, 443, 449, 457, 461, 463, 467, 479, 487, 491, 499, 503, 509, 521, 523, 541, 547, 557, 563, 569, 571, 577, 587, 593, 599, 601, 607, 613, 617, 619, 631, 641, 643, 647, 653, 659, 661, 673, 677, 683, 691, 701, 709, 719, 727, 733, 739, 743, 751, 757, 761, 769, 773, 787, 797, 809, 811, 821, 823, 827, 829, 839, 853, 857, 859, 863, 877, 881, 883, 887, 907, 911, 919, 929, 937, 941, 947, 953, 967, 971, 977, 983, 991, 997 (sequence A000040 in OEIS). The set of all primes is often denoted P.
The number 12 is not a prime, as 12 items can be placed into 3 equal-size columns of 4 each (among other ways). 11 items cannot be all placed into several equal-size columns of more than 1 item each, there will always be some extra items left (a remainder). Therefore the number 11 is a prime.
Prime number
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The crucial importance of prime numbers to number theory and mathematics in general stems from the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, which states that every positive integer larger than 1 can be written as a product of one or more primes in a way that is unique except for the order of the prime factors.[2] Primes can thus be considered the basic building blocks of the natural numbers. For example:
23244 = 2 2 3 13 149 = 22 3 13 149. (22 denotes the square or second power of 2.)
As in this example, the same prime factor may occur multiple times. A decomposition: n = p1 p2 ... pt of a number n into (finitely many) prime factors p1, p2, ... to pt is called prime factorization of n. The fundamental theorem of arithmetic can be rephrased so as to say that any factorization into primes will be identical except for the order of the factors. So, albeit there are many prime factorization algorithms to do this in practice for larger numbers, they all have to yield the same result. If p is a prime number and p divides a product ab of integers, then p divides a or p divides b. This proposition is known as Euclid's lemma.[3] It is used in some proofs of the uniqueness of prime factorizations.
Primality of one
Most early Greeks did not even consider 1 to be a number,[4] so did not consider it a prime. In the 19th century however, many mathematicians did consider the number 1 a prime. For example, Derrick Norman Lehmer's list of primes up to 10,006,721, reprinted as late as 1956,[5] started with 1 as its first prime.[6] Henri Lebesgue is said to be the last professional mathematician to call 1 prime.[7] Although a large body of mathematical work is also valid when calling 1 a prime, the above fundamental theorem of arithmetic does not hold as stated. For example, the number 15 can be factored as 3 5 or 1 3 5. If 1 were admitted as a prime, these two presentations would be considered different factorizations of 15 into prime numbers, so the statement of that theorem would have to be modified. Furthermore, the prime numbers have several properties that the number 1 lacks, such as the relationship of the number to its corresponding value of Euler's totient function or the sum of divisors function.[8][9]
Prime number
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History
There are hints in the surviving records of the ancient Egyptians that they had some knowledge of prime numbers: the Egyptian fraction expansions in the Rhind papyrus, for instance, have quite different forms for primes and for composites. However, the earliest surviving records of the explicit study of prime numbers come from the Ancient Greeks. Euclid's Elements (circa 300 BC) contain important theorems about primes, including the infinitude of primes and the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. Euclid also showed how to construct a perfect number from a Mersenne prime. The Sieve of Eratosthenes, attributed to Eratosthenes, is a simple method to compute primes, although the large primes found today with computers are not generated this way.
The Sieve of Eratosthenes is a simple algorithm for finding all prime numbers up to a specified integer. It was created in the 3rd century BC by Eratosthenes, an ancient Greek mathematician. (Click to see animation.)
After the Greeks, little happened with the study of prime numbers until the 17th century. In 1640 Pierre de Fermat stated (without proof) Fermat's little theorem (later proved by Leibniz and Euler). A special case of Fermat's theorem may have been known much earlier by the Chinese. Fermat conjectured that all numbers of the form 22n+1 are prime (they are called Fermat numbers) and he verified this up to n=4 (or 216+1). However, the very next Fermat number 232+1 is composite (one of its prime factors is641), as Euler discovered later, and in fact no further Fermat numbers are known to be prime. The French monk Marin Mersenne looked at primes of the form 2p1, with p a prime. They are called Mersenne primes in his honor. Euler's work in number theory included many results about primes. He showed the infinite series 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/5 + 1/7 + 1/11 + is divergent. In 1747 he showed that the even perfect numbers are precisely the integers of the form 2p1(2p1), where the second factor is a Mersenne prime. At the start of the 19th century, Legendre and Gauss independently conjectured that as x tends to infinity, the number of primes up to x is asymptotic to x/ln(x), where ln(x) is the natural logarithm of x. Ideas of Riemann in his 1859 paper on the zeta-function sketched a program that would lead to a proof of the prime number theorem. This outline was completed by Hadamard and de la Valle Poussin, who independently proved the prime number theorem in 1896. Proving a number is prime is not done (for large numbers) by trial division. Many mathematicians have worked on primality tests for large numbers, often restricted to specific number forms. This includes Ppin's test for Fermat numbers (1877), Proth's theorem (around 1878), the LucasLehmer primality test (originated 1856),[10] and the generalized Lucas primality test. More recent algorithms like APRT-CL, ECPP, and AKS work on arbitrary numbers but remain much slower. For a long time, prime numbers were thought to have extremely limited application outside of pure mathematics; this changed in the 1970s when the concepts of public-key cryptography were invented, in which prime numbers formed the basis of the first algorithms such as the RSA cryptosystem algorithm. Since 1951 all the largest known primes have been found by computers. The search for ever larger primes has generated interest outside mathematical circles. The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search and other distributed
Prime number computing projects to find large primes have become popular in the last ten to fifteen years, while mathematicians continue to struggle with the theory of primes.
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Number of prime numbers

There are infinitely many prime numbers. Another way of saying this is that the sequence 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ... of prime numbers never ends. This statement is referred to as Euclid's theorem in honor of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, since the first known proof for this statement is attributed to him. Many more proofs of the infinitude of primes are known, including an analytical proof by Euler, Goldbach's proof based on Fermat numbers,[11] Frstenberg's proof using general topology,[12] and Kummer's elegant proof.[13]
Euclid's proof
Euclid's proof (Book IX, Proposition 20[14]) considers any finite set S of primes. The key idea is to consider the product of all these numbers plus one:
Like any other natural number, N is divisible by at least one prime number (it is possible that N itself is prime). None of the primes by which N is divisible can be members of the finite set S of primes with which we started, because dividing N by any of these leaves a remainder of1. Therefore the primes by which N is divisible are additional primes beyond the ones we started with. Thus any finite set of primes can be extended to a larger finite set of primes. It is often erroneously reported that Euclid begins with the assumption that the set initially considered contains all prime numbers, leading to a contradiction, or that it contains precisely the n smallest primes rather than any arbitrary finite set of primes.[15] Today, the product of the smallest n primes plus 1 is conventionally called the nth Euclid number.
Euler's analytical proof

Euler's proof uses the sum of the reciprocals of primes,
This sum becomes bigger than any arbitrary real number provided that p is big enough.[16] This shows that there are infinitely many primes, since otherwise this sum would grow only until the biggest prime p is reached. The growth of S(p) is quantified by Mertens' second theorem.[17] For comparison, the sum
does not grow to infinity as n goes to infinity. In this sense, prime numbers occur more often than squares of natural numbers. Brun's theorem states that the sum of the reciprocals of twin primes,
is finite.
Prime number
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Testing primality and integer factorization

There are various methods to determine whether a given number n is prime. The most basic routine, trial division is of little practical use because of its slowness. One group of modern primality tests is applicable to arbitrary numbers, while more efficient tests are available for particular numbers. Most such methods only tell whether n is prime or not. Routines also yielding one (or all) prime factors of n are called factorization algorithms.
Trial division
The most basic method of checking the primality of a given integer n is called trial division. This routine consists of dividing n by each integer m that is greater than 1 and less than or equal to the square root of n. If the result of any of these divisions is an integer, then n is not a prime, otherwise it is a prime. Indeed, if is composite (with a and b 1) then one of the factors a or b is necessarily at most . For example, for , the trial divisions are by m = 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. None of these numbers divides 37, so 37 is prime. This routine can be implemented more efficiently if a complete list of primes up to is knownthen trial divisions need to be checked only for those m that are prime. For example, to check the primality of 37, only three divisions are necessary (m = 2, 3, and 5), given that 4 and 6 are composite. While a simple method, trial division quickly becomes impractical for testing large integers because the number of possible factors grows too rapidly as n increases. According to the prime number theorem explained below, the number of prime numbers less than is approximately given by , so the algorithm may need up to this number of trial divisions to check the primality of n. For n = 1020, this number is 450 milliontoo large for many practical applications.
Sieves
An algorithm yielding all primes up to a given limit, such as required in the trial division method, is called a sieve. The oldest example, the sieve of Eratosthenes (see above) is useful for relatively small primes. The modern sieve of Atkin is more complicated, but faster when properly optimized. Before the advent of computers, lists of primes up to bounds like 107 were also used.[18]
Primality testing versus primality proving

Modern primality tests for general numbers n can be divided into two main classes, probabilistic (or "Monte Carlo") and deterministic algorithms. The former merely "test" whether n is prime in the sense that they declare n to be (definitely) composite or "probably prime", the latter meaning that n may or may not be a prime number. Composite numbers that do pass a given primality test are referred to as pseudoprimes. For example, Fermat's primality test relies on Fermat's little theorem. This theorem says that for any prime number p and any integer a not divisible by p, ap 1 1 is divisible by p. Thus, if an 1 1 is not divisible by n, n cannot be prime. However, n may be composite even if this divisibility holds. In fact, there are infinitely many composite numbers n that pass the Fermat primality test for every choice of a that is coprime with n (Carmichael numbers), for example n = 561. Deterministic algorithms do not erroneously report composite numbers as prime. In practice, the fastest such method is known as elliptic curve primality proving. Analyzing its run time is based on heuristic arguments, as opposed to the rigorously proven complexity of the more recent AKS primality test. Deterministic methods are typically slower than probabilistic ones, so the latter ones are typically applied first before a more time-consuming deterministic routine is employed. The following table lists a number of prime tests. The running time is given in terms of n, the number to be tested and, for probabilistic algorithms, the number k of tests performed. Moreover, is an arbitrarily small positive number, and log is the logarithm to an unspecified base. The big O notation means that, for example, elliptic curve primality proving requires a time that is bounded by a factor (not depending on n, but on ) times log5+(n).
Prime number
252
Test AKS primality test
Developed in 2002
Type
Running time
Notes
deterministic O(log6+(n)) deterministic O(log5+(n)) heuristically probabilistic O(k log2+ (n)) probabilistic O(k log3 n) probabilistic O(k log2+ (n)) error probability 4k error probability 2k fails for Carmichael numbers
Elliptic curve primality proving 1977 MillerRabin primality test 1980
SolovayStrassen primality test 1977 Fermat primality test
Special-purpose algorithms and the largest known prime

In addition to the aforementioned tests applying to any natural number n, a number of much more efficient primality tests is available for special numbers. For example, to run Lucas' primality test requires the knowledge of the prime factors of n 1, while the LucasLehmer primality test needs the prime factors of n + 1 as input. For example, these tests can be applied to check whether n! 1 = 1 2 3 ... n 1 are prime. Prime numbers of this form are known as factorial primes. Other primes where either p + 1 or p 1 is of a particular shape include the Sophie Germain primes (primes of the form 2p + 1 with p prime), primorial primes, Fermat primes and Mersenne primes, that is, prime numbers that are of the form 2p 1, where p is an arbitrary prime. The LucasLehmer test is particularly fast for numbers of this form. This is why the largest known prime has almost always been a Mersenne prime since the dawn of electronic computers. Fermat primes are of the form Fk = 22k + 1, with k an arbitrary natural number. They are named after Pierre de Fermat who conjectured that all such numbers Fk are prime. This was based on the evidence of the first five numbers in this series3, 5, 17, 257, and 65,537being prime. However, F5 is composite and so are all other Fermat numbers that have been verified as of 2011. A regular n-gon is constructible using straightedge and compass if and only if n = 2i m where m is a product of any number of distinct Fermat primes and i is any natural number, including zero. The following table gives the largest known primes of the mentioned types. Some of these primes have been found using distributed computing. In 2009, the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search project was awarded a US$100,000 prize for first discovering a prime with at least 10 million digits.[19] The Electronic Frontier Foundation also offers $150,000 and $250,000 for primes with at least 100 million digits and 1 billion digits, respectively.[20] Some of the largest primes not known to have any particular form (that is, no simple formula such as that of Mersenne primes) have been found by taking a piece of semi-random binary data, converting it to a number n, multiplying it by 256k for some positive integer k, and searching for possible primes within the interval [256kn + 1, 256k(n + 1) 1].
Construction of a regular pentagon. 5 is a Fermat prime.
Prime number
253
Type
Prime
Number of decimal digits
Date
Found by
Mersenne prime
243,112,609 1 19,249 213,018,586 + 1 94550! 1 843301# - 1 65516468355 2333333 1
12,978,189 August 23, 2008
Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search
not a Mersenne prime (Proth number) factorial prime primorial prime twin primes
3,918,990 March 26, 2007 Seventeen or Bust
429,390 October 2010
Domanov, PrimeGrid
[21]
365,851 December 2010 PrimeGrid[22] 100,355 2009 Twin prime search [23]
Integer factorization
Given a composite integer n, the task of providing one (or all) prime factors is referred to as factorization of n. Elliptic curve factorization is an algorithm relying on arithmetic on an elliptic curve.
Distribution
In 1975, number theorist Don Zagier commented that primes both[24]
grow like weeds among the natural numbers, seeming to obey no other law than that of chance [but also] exhibit stunning regularity [and] that there are laws governing their behavior, and that they obey these laws with almost military precision.
The distribution of primes in the large, such as the question how many primes are smaller than a given, large threshold, is described by the prime number theorem, but no efficient formula for the n-th prime is known. There are arbitrarily long sequences of consecutive non-primes, as for every positive integer integers from to (inclusive) are all composite (as by for between and ). Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions, in its basic form, asserts that linear polynomials the consecutive is divisible
with coprime integers a and b take infinitely many prime values. Stronger forms of the theorem state that the sum of the reciprocals of these prime values diverges, and that different such polynomials with the same b have approximately the same proportions of primes. The corresponding question for quadratic polynomials is less well-understood.
Formulas for primes

There is no known efficient formula for primes. For example, Mills' theorem and a theorem of Wright assert that there are real constants A>1 and such that
are prime for any natural number n. Here
represents the floor function, i.e., largest integer not greater than the
number in question. The latter formula can be shown using Bertrand's postulate (proven first by Chebyshev), which states that there always exists at least one prime number p with n<p<2n2, for any natural numbern>3. However, computing A or requires the knowledge of infinitely many primes to begin with.[25] Another formula is based on Wilson's theorem and generates the number 2 many times and all other primes exactly once.
Prime number There is no non-constant polynomial, even in several variables, that takes only prime values. However, there is a set of Diophantine equations in 9 variables and one parameter with the following property: the parameter is prime if and only if the resulting system of equations has a solution over the natural numbers. This can be used to obtain a single formula with the property that all its positive values are prime.
254
Number of prime numbers below a given number

The prime counting function (n) is defined as the number of primes up to n. For example (11) = 5, since there are five primes less than or equal to 11. There are known algorithms to compute exact values of (n) faster than it would be possible to compute each prime up to n. The prime number theorem states that (n) is approximately given by
in the sense that the ratio of (n) and the A chart depicting (n) (blue), n / ln (n) (green) and Li(n) (red) right hand fraction approaches 1 when n grows to infinity. This implies that the likelihood that a number less than n is prime is (approximately) inversely proportional to the number of digits in n. A more accurate estimate for (n) is given by the offset logarithmic integral
The prime number theorem also implies estimates for the size of the n-th prime number pn (i.e., p1 = 2, p2 = 3, etc.): up to a bounded factor, pn grows like n log(n).[26] In particular, the prime gaps, i.e. the differences pn pn1 of two consecutive primes, become arbitrarily large. This latter statement can also be seen in a more elementary way by noting that the sequence n! + 2, n! + 3, , n! + n (for the notation n! read factorial) consists of n 1 composite numbers, for any natural number n.
Arithmetic progressions
An arithmetic progression is the set of natural numbers that give the same remainder when divided by some fixed numberq called modulus. For example, 3, 12, 21, 30, 39, ..., is an arithmetic progression modulo q = 9. Except for 3, none of these numbers is prime, since 3 + 9n = 3(1 + 3n) so that the remaining numbers in this progression are all composite. (In general terms, all prime numbers above q are of the form q#n+m, where 0<m<q#, and m has no prime factorq.) Thus, the progression a, a + q, a + 2q, a + 3q, can have infinitely many primes only when a and q are coprime, i.e., their greatest common divisor is one. If this necessary condition is satisfied, Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions asserts that the progression contains infinitely many primes. The picture below illustrates this with q = 9: the numbers are "wrapped around" as soon as a multiple of 9 is passed. Primes are highlighted in red. The rows (=progressions) starting with a = 3, 6, or 9 contain at most one prime number. In all other rows (a = 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8) there are infinitely many prime numbers. What is more, the primes are distributed equally among those rows in the long runthe density of all primes congruent a modulo9 is1/6.
Prime number The GreenTao theorem shows that there are arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions consisting of primes.[27] An odd prime p is expressible as the sum of two squares, p = x2 + y2, exactly if p is congruent 1 modulo 4 (Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares).
255
Prime values of quadratic polynomials

Euler noted that the function gives prime numbers for 0 n < 40,[28][29] a fact leading into deep algebraic number theory, more specifically Heegner numbers. For bigger n, it does take composite values. The Hardy-Littlewood conjecture F makes an asymptotic prediction about the density of primes among the values of quadratic polynomials (with integer coefficients a, b, and c)
in terms of Li(n) and the coefficients a, b, and c. However, progress has proved hard to come by: no quadratic polynomial (with a 0) is known to take infinitely many prime values. The Ulam spiral depicts all natural numbers in a spiral-like way. Surprisingly, prime numbers cluster on certain diagonals and not others, suggesting that some quadratic polynomials take prime values more often than other ones.
The Ulam spiral. Red pixels show prime numbers. Primes of the form 4n22n+41 are highlighted in blue.
Open questions
Zeta function and the Riemann hypothesis
The Riemann zeta function (s) is defined as an infinite sum
where s is a complex number with real part bigger than 1. It is a consequence of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic that this sum agrees with the infinite product
The zeta function is closely related to prime numbers. For example, the aforementioned fact that there are infinitely many primes can also be seen using the zeta function: if there were only finitely many primes Plot of the zeta function (s). At s=1, the function has a pole, i.e. tends to infinity. then (1) would have a finite value. However, the harmonic series 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4 + ... diverges (i.e., exceeds any given number), so there must be infinitely many primes. Another example of the richness of the zeta function and a glimpse of modern algebraic number theory is the following identity (Basel problem), due to Euler,
The reciprocal of (2), 6/2, is the probability that two numbers selected at random are relatively prime.[30]
Prime number The unproven Riemann hypothesis, dating from 1859, states that except for s = 2, 4, ..., all zeroes of the -function have real part equal to 1/2. The connection to prime numbers is that it essentially says that the primes are as regularly distributed as possible. From a physical viewpoint, it roughly states that the irregularity in the distribution of primes only comes from random noise. From a mathematical viewpoint, it roughly states that the asymptotic distribution of primes (about x/log x of numbers less than x are primes, the prime number theorem) also holds for much shorter intervals of length about the square root of x (for intervals near x). This hypothesis is generally believed to be correct. In particular, the simplest assumption is that primes should have no significant irregularities without good reason.
256
Other conjectures
In addition to the Riemann hypothesis, many more conjectures revolving about primes have been posed. Often having an elementary formulation, many of these conjectures have withstood a proof for decades: all four of Landau's problems from 1912 are still unsolved. One of them is Goldbach's conjecture, which asserts that every even integer n greater than 2 can be written as a sum of two primes. As of February 2011, this conjecture has been verified for all numbers up to n = 2 1017.[31] Weaker statements than this have been proven, for example Vinogradov's theorem says that every sufficiently large odd integer can be written as a sum of three primes. Chen's theorem says that every sufficiently large even number can be expressed as the sum of a prime and a semiprime, the product of two primes. Also, any even integer can be written as the sum of six primes.[32] The branch of number theory studying such questions is called additive number theory. Other conjectures deal with the question whether an infinity of prime numbers subject to certain constraints exists. It is conjectured that there are infinitely many Fibonacci primes[33] and infinitely many Mersenne primes, but not Fermat primes.[34] It is not known whether or not there are an infinite number of Wieferich primes and of prime Euclid numbers. A third type of conjectures concerns aspects of the distribution of primes. It is conjectured that there are infinitely many twin primes, pairs of primes with difference 2 (twin prime conjecture). Polignac's conjecture is a strengthening of that conjecture, it states that for every positive integer n, there are infinitely many pairs of consecutive primes that differ by2n.[35] It is conjectured there are infinitely many primes of the formn2+1.[36] These conjectures are special cases of the broad Schinzel's hypothesis H. Brocard's conjecture says that there are always at least four primes between the squares of consecutive primes greater than 2. Legendre's conjecture states that there is a prime number between n2 and (n+1)2 for every positive integern. It is implied by the stronger Cramr's conjecture.
Applications
For a long time, number theory in general, and the study of prime numbers in particular, was seen as the canonical example of pure mathematics, with no applications outside of the self-interest of studying the topic. In particular, number theorists such as British mathematician G. H. Hardy prided themselves on doing work that had absolutely no military significance.[37] However, this vision was shattered in the 1970s, when it was publicly announced that prime numbers could be used as the basis for the creation of public key cryptography algorithms. Prime numbers are also used for hash tables and pseudorandom number generators. Some rotor machines were designed with a different number of pins on each rotor, with the number of pins on any one rotor either prime, or coprime to the number of pins on any other rotor. This helped generate the full cycle of possible rotor positions before repeating any position. The International Standard Book Numbers work with a check digit, which exploits the fact that 11 is a prime.
Prime number
257
Arithmetic modulo a prime and finite fields

Modular arithmetic modifies usual arithmetic by only using the numbers
where n is a fixed natural number called modulus. Calculating sums, differences and products is done as usual, but whenever a negative number or a number greater than n1 occurs, it gets replaced by the remainder after division by n. For instance, for n=7, the sum 3+5 is 1 instead of 8, since 8 divided by 7 has remainder1. This is referred to by saying "3+5 is congruent to1 modulo7" and is denoted
Similarly, 6+10(mod7), 254(mod7), since 3+7=4, and 345(mod7) as 12 has remainder 5. Standard properties of addition and multiplication familiar from the integers remain valid in modular arithmetic. In the parlance of abstract algebra, the above set of integers, which is also denoted Z/nZ, is therefore a commutative ring for any n. Division, however, is not in general possible in this setting. For example, for n = 6, the equation
a solution x of which would be an analogue of 2/3, cannot be solved, as one can see by calculating 3 0, ..., 3 5 modulo 6. The distinctive feature of prime numbers is the following: division is possible in modular arithmetic if and only if n is a prime. Equivalently, n is prime if and only if all integers m satisfying 2 m n 1 are coprime to n, i.e. their only common divisor is one. Indeed, for n = 7, the equation
has a unique solution, x = 3. Because of this, for any prime p, Z/pZ (also denoted Fp) is called a field or, more specifically, a finite field since it contains finitely many, namely p, elements. A number of theorems can be derived from inspecting Fp in this abstract way. For example, Fermat's little theorem, stating
for any integer a not divisble by p, may be proved using these notions. This implies
Giuga's conjecture says that this equation is also a sufficient condition for p to be prime. Another consequence of Fermat's little theorem is the following: if p is a prime number other than 2 and 5, 1/p is always a recurring decimal, whose period is p 1 or a divisor of p 1. The fraction 1/p expressed likewise in base q (rather than base10) has similar effect, provided that p is not a prime factor ofq. Wilson's theorem says that an integer p>1 is prime if and only if the factorial (p1)!+1 is divisible by p. Moreover, an integer n > 4 is composite if and only if (n1)! is divisible byn.
Other mathematical occurrences of primes

Many mathematical domains make great use of prime numbers. An example from the theory of finite groups are the Sylow theorems: if G is a finite group and pn is the highest power of the prime p that divides the order of G, then G has a subgroup of order pn. Also, any group of prime order is cyclic (Lagrange's theorem).
Public-key cryptography
Several public-key cryptography algorithms, such as RSA and the DiffieHellman key exchange, are based on large prime numbers (for example 512 bit primes are frequently used for RSA and 1024 bit primes are typical for DiffieHellman.). RSA relies on the assumption that it is much easier (i.e., more efficient) to perform the multiplication of two (large) numbers x and y than to calculate x and y (assumed coprime) if only the product xy is known. The DiffieHellman key exchange relies on the fact that there are efficient algorithms for modular
Prime number exponentiation, while the reverse operation the discrete logarithm is thought to be a hard problem.
258
Prime numbers in nature

Inevitably, some of the numbers that occur in nature are prime. There are, however, relatively few examples of numbers that appear in nature because they are prime. One example of the use of prime numbers in nature is as an evolutionary strategy used by cicadas of the genus Magicicada.[38] These insects spend most of their lives as grubs underground. They only pupate and then emerge from their burrows after 13 or 17 years, at which point they fly about, breed, and then die after a few weeks at most. The logic for this is believed to be that the prime number intervals between emergences make it very difficult for predators to evolve that could specialize as predators on Magicicadas.[39] If Magicicadas appeared at a non-prime number intervals, say every 12 years, then predators appearing every 2, 3, 4, 6, or 12 years would be sure to meet them. Over a 200-year period, average predator populations during hypothetical outbreaks of 14- and 15-year cicadas would be up to 2% higher than during outbreaks of 13- and 17-year cicadas.[40] Though small, this advantage appears to have been enough to drive natural selection in favour of a prime-numbered life-cycle for these insects. There is speculation that the zeros of the zeta function are connected to the energy levels of complex quantum systems.[41]
Generalizations
The concept of prime number is so important that it has been generalized in different ways in various branches of mathematics. Generally, "prime" indicates minimality or indecomposability, in an appropriate sense. For example, the prime field is the smallest subfield of a field F containing both 0 and 1. It is either Q or the finite field with p elements, whence the name.[42] Often a second, additional meaning is intended by using the word prime, namely that any object can be, essentially uniquely, decomposed into its prime components. For example, in knot theory, a prime knot is a knot that is indecomposable in the sense that it cannot be written as the knot sum of two nontrivial knots. Any knot can be uniquely expressed as a connected sum of prime knots.[43] Prime models and prime 3-manifolds are other examples of this type.
Prime elements in rings

Prime numbers give rise to two more general concepts that apply to elements of any commutative ring R, an algebraic structure where addition, subtraction and multiplication are defined: prime elements and irreducible elements. An element p of R is called prime element if it is neither zero nor a unit (i.e., does not have a multiplicative inverse) and satisfies the following requirement: given x and y in R such that p divides the product xy, then p divides x or y. An element is irreducible if it cannot be written as a product of two ring elements that are not units. In the ring Z of integers, the set of prime elements equals the set of irreducible elements, which is
In any ring R, any prime element is irreducible. The converse does not hold in general, but does hold for unique factorization domains. The fundamental theorem of arithmetic continues to hold in unique factorization domains. An example of such a domain is the Gaussian integers Z[i], that is, the set of complex numbers of the form a+bi where i denotes the imaginary unit and a and b are arbitrary integers. Its prime elements are known as Gaussian primes. Not every prime (in Z) is a Gaussian prime: in the bigger ring Z[i], 2 factors into the product of the two Gaussian primes (1+i) and (1i). Rational primes (i.e. prime elements in Z) of the form 4k+3 are Gaussian primes, whereas rational primes of the form 4k+1 are not.
Prime number
259
Prime ideals
In ring theory, the notion of number is generally replaced with that of ideal. Prime ideals, which generalize prime elements in the sense that the principal ideal generated by a prime element is a prime ideal, are an important tool and object of study in commutative algebra, algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. The prime ideals of the ring of integers are the ideals (0), (2), (3), (5), (7), (11), The fundamental theorem of arithmetic generalizes to the LaskerNoether theorem, which expresses every ideal in a Noetherian commutative ring as an intersection of primary ideals, which are the appropriate generalizations of prime powers.[44] Prime ideals are the points of algebro-geometric objects, via the notion of the spectrum of a ring.[45] Arithmetic geometry also benefits from this notion, and many concepts exist in both geometry and number theory. For example, factorization or ramification of prime ideals when lifted to an extension field, a basic problem of algebraic number theory, bears some resemblance with ramification in geometry. Such ramification questions occur even in number-theoretic questions solely concerned with integers. For example, prime ideals in the ring of integers of quadratic number fields can be used in proving quadratic reciprocity, a statement that concerns the solvability of quadratic equations where x is an integer and p and q are (usual) prime numbers.[46] Early attempts to prove Fermat's Last Theorem climaxed when Kummer introduced regular primes, primes satisfying a certain requirement concerning the failure of unique factorization in the ring consisting of expressions where a0, ..., ap1 are integers and is a complex number such that p = 1.[47]
Valuations
Valuation theory studies certain functions from a field K to the real numbers R called valuations.[48] Every such valuation yields a topology on K, and two valuations are called equivalent if they yield the same topology. A prime of K (sometimes called a place of K) is an equivalence class of valuations. For example, the p-adic valuation of a rational number q is defined to be the integer vp(q), such that
where both r and s are not divisible by p. For example, v3(18/7) = 2. The p-adic norm is defined as[49] In particular, this norm gets smaller when a number is multiplied by p, in sharp contrast to the usual absolute value (also referred to as the infinite prime). While completing Q (roughly, filling the gaps) with respect to the absolute value yields the field of real numbers, completing with respect to the p-adic norm ||p yields the field of p-adic numbers.[50] These are essentially all possible ways to complete Q, by Ostrowski's theorem. Certain arithmetic questions related to Q or more general global fields may be transferred back and forth to the completed (or local) fields. This local-global principle again underlines the importance of primes to number theory.
In the arts and literature

Prime numbers have influenced many artists and writers. The French composer Olivier Messiaen used prime numbers to create ametrical music through "natural phenomena". In works such as La Nativit du Seigneur (1935) and Quatre tudes de rythme (194950), he simultaneously employs motifs with lengths given by different prime numbers to create unpredictable rhythms: the primes 41, 43, 47 and 53 appear in the third tude, "Neumes rythmiques". According to Messiaen this way of composing was "inspired by the movements of nature, movements of free and unequal durations".[51]
Prime number In his science fiction novel Contact, NASA scientist Carl Sagan suggested that prime numbers could be used as a means of communicating with aliens, an idea that he had first developed informally with American astronomer Frank Drake in 1975.[52] In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the narrator arranges the sections of the story by consecutive prime numbers.[53] Many films, such as Cube, Sneakers, The Mirror Has Two Faces and A Beautiful Mind reflect a popular fascination with the mysteries of prime numbers and cryptography.[54] Prime numbers are used as a metaphor for loneliness and isolation in the Paolo Giordano novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, in which they are portrayed as "outsiders" among integers.[55]
260
Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] Dudley, Underwood (1978), Elementary number theory (2nd ed.), W. H. Freeman and Co., ISBN978-0-7167-0076-0, p. 10, section 2 Dudley1978, Section 2, Theorem 2 Dudley1978, Section 2, Lemma 5 See, for example, David E. Joyce's commentary on Euclid's Elements, Book VII, definitions 1 and 2 (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookVII/ defVII1. html). [5] Riesel1994, p. 36 [6] Conway & Guy1996, pp. 129130 [7] Derbyshire, John (2003), "The Prime Number Theorem", Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics, Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, p.33, ISBN978-0-309-08549-6, OCLC249210614 [8] " "Arguments for and against the primality of 1 (http:/ / primefan. tripod. com/ Prime1ProCon. html)". [9] "Why is the number one not prime?" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ notes/ faq/ one. html) [10] The Largest Known Prime by Year: A Brief History (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ notes/ by_year. html) Prime Curios!: 1701405727 (39-digits) (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ curios/ page. php?number_id=135) [11] Letter (http:/ / www. math. dartmouth. edu/ ~euler/ correspondence/ letters/ OO0722. pdf) in Latin from Goldbach to Euler, July 1730. [12] Fstenberg1955 [13] Ribenboim2004, p. 4 [14] James Williamson (translator and commentator), The Elements of Euclid, With Dissertations, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1782, page 63, English translation of Euclid's proof (http:/ / aleph0. clarku. edu/ ~djoyce/ java/ elements/ bookIX/ propIX20. html) [15] Hardy, Michael; Woodgold, Catherine (2009). "Prime Simplicity". Mathematical Intelligencer 31 (4): 4452. [16] Apostol, Tom M. (1976), Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-90163-3, Section 1.6, Theorem 1.13 [17] Apostol1976, Section 4.8, Theorem 4.12 [18] (Lehmer1909). [19] "Record 12-Million-Digit Prime Number Nets $100,000 Prize" (http:/ / www. eff. org/ press/ archives/ 2009/ 10/ 14-0). Electronic Frontier Foundation. October 14, 2009. . Retrieved 2010-01-04. [20] "EFF Cooperative Computing Awards" (http:/ / www. eff. org/ awards/ coop). Electronic Frontier Foundation. . Retrieved 2010-01-04. [21] Chris K. Caldwell. "The Top Twenty: Factorial" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=30). Primes.utm.edu. . Retrieved 2010-10-07. [22] Primegrid.com (http:/ / www. primegrid. com/ download/ prs-843301. pdf); official announcement, 24 December 2010 [23] Chris K. Caldwell. "The Top Twenty: Twin Primes" (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=1). Primes.utm.edu. . Retrieved 2011-05-21. [24] Havil2003, p. 171 [25] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=oLKlk5o6WroC& pg=PA13#v=onepage& q& f=false p. 15 [26] (Tom M. Apostol1976), Section 4.6, Theorem 4.7 [27] (Ben Green & Terence Tao2008). [28] Hua (2009), pp. 176177 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=H1jFySMjBMEC& pg=PA177& dq="41+ takes+ on+ prime+ values")" [29] See list of values (http:/ / www. wolframalpha. com/ input/ ?i=evaluate+ x^2x+ 41+ for+ x+ from+ 0. . 40), calculated by Wolfram Alpha [30] C. S. Ogilvy & J. T. Anderson Excursions in Number Theory, pp. 2935, Dover Publications Inc., 1988 ISBN 0-486-25778-9 [31] Toms Oliveira e Silva (2011-04-09). "Goldbach conjecture verification" (http:/ / www. ieeta. pt/ ~tos/ goldbach. html). Ieeta.pt. . Retrieved 2011-05-21. [32] Ramar, O. (1995), "On nirel'man's constant" (http:/ / www. numdam. org/ item?id=ASNSP_1995_4_22_4_645_0), Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Classe di Scienze. Serie IV 22 (4): 645706, , retrieved 2008-08-22. [33] Caldwell, Chris, The Top Twenty: Lucas Number (http:/ / primes. utm. edu/ top20/ page. php?id=48) at The Prime Pages. [34] E.g., see Guy1981, problem A3, pp. 78 [35] Tattersall, J.J. (2005), Elementary number theory in nine chapters (http:/ / books. google. de/ books?id=QGgLbf2oFUYC), Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-85014-8, , p. 112
Prime number
[36] Weisstein, Eric W., " Landau's Problems (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ LandausProblems. html)" from MathWorld. [37] Hardy1940 "No one has yet discovered any warlike purpose to be served by the theory of numbers or relativity, and it seems unlikely that anyone will do so for many years." [38] Goles, E.; Schulz, O.; Markus, M. (2001). "Prime number selection of cycles in a predator-prey model". Complexity 6 (4): 3338. doi:10.1002/cplx.1040. [39] Paulo R. A. Campos, Viviane M. de Oliveira, Ronaldo Giro, and Douglas S. Galvo. (2004), "Emergence of Prime Numbers as the Result of Evolutionary Strategy", Physical Review Letters 93 (9): 098107, arXiv:q-bio/0406017, Bibcode2004PhRvL..93i8107C, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.098107. [40] "Invasion of the Brood" (http:/ / economist. com/ PrinterFriendly. cfm?Story_ID=2647052). The Economist. May 6, 2004. . Retrieved 2006-11-26. [41] Ivars Peterson (June 28, 1999). "The Return of Zeta" (http:/ / www. maa. org/ mathland/ mathtrek_6_28_99. html). MAA Online. . Retrieved 2008-03-14. [42] Lang, Serge (2002), Algebra, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 211, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-95385-4, MR1878556, Section II.1, p. 90 [43] Schubert, H. "Die eindeutige Zerlegbarkeit eines Knotens in Primknoten". S.-B Heidelberger Akad. Wiss. Math.-Nat. Kl. 1949 (1949), 57104. [44] Eisenbud1995, section 3.3. [45] Shafarevich, Basic Algebraic Geometry volume 2 (Schemes and Complex Manifolds), p. 5, section V.1 [46] Neukirch, Algebraic Number theory, p. 50, Section I.8 [47] Neukirch, Algebraic Number theory, p. 38, Section I.7 [48] Endler, Valuation Theory, p. 1 [49] Some sources also put .
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[50] Gouvea: p-adic numbers: an introduction, Chapter 3, p. 43 [51] Hill, ed.1995 [52] Carl Pomerance, Prime Numbers and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (http:/ / www. math. dartmouth. edu/ ~carlp/ PDF/ extraterrestrial. pdf), Retrieved on December 22, 2007 [53] Mark Sarvas, Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (http:/ / www. themodernword. com/ reviews/ haddon. html), at The Modern Word (http:/ / www. themodernword. com/ site_info. html), Retrieved on March 30, 2012 [54] The music of primes (http:/ / www. musicoftheprimes. com/ films. htm), Marcus du Sautoy's selection of films featuring prime numbers. [55] "Introducing Paolo Giordano" (http:/ / www. wbqonline. com/ feature. do?featureid=342). Books Quarterly. .
References
Apostol, Thomas M. (1976), Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, New York: Springer, ISBN0-387-90163-9 Conway, John Horton; Guy, Richard K. (1996), The Book of Numbers, New York: Copernicus, ISBN978-0-387-97993-9 Crandall, Richard; Pomerance, Carl (2005), Prime Numbers: A Computational Perspective (2nd ed.), Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-25282-7 Derbyshire, John (2003), Prime obsession, Joseph Henry Press, Washington, DC, ISBN978-0-309-08549-6, MR1968857 Eisenbud, David (1995), Commutative algebra, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 150, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-94268-1, MR1322960 Furstenberg, Harry (1955), "On the infinitude of primes", The American Mathematical Monthly (Mathematical Association of America) 62 (5): 353, doi:10.2307/2307043, JSTOR2307043 Green, Ben; Tao, Terence (2008), "The primes contain arbitrarily long arithmetic progressions", Annals of Mathematics 167 (2): 481547, arXiv:math.NT/0404188, doi:10.4007/annals.2008.167.481 Gowers, Timothy (2002), Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN978-0-19-285361-5 Guy, Richard K. (1981), Unsolved Problems in Number Theory, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-90593-8 Havil, Julian (2003), Gamma: Exploring Euler's Constant, Princeton University Press, ISBN978-0-691-09983-5 Hardy, Godfrey Harold (1908), A Course of Pure Mathematics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-09227-2
Prime number Hardy, Godfrey Harold (1940), A Mathematician's Apology, Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-42706-7 Hill, Peter Jensen, ed. (1995), The Messiaen companion, Portland, Or: Amadeus Press, ISBN978-0-931340-95-6 Hua, L. K. (2009), Additive Theory of Prime Numbers (http://www.ams.org/bookstore-getitem/ item=MMONO/13.S), Translations of Mathematical Monographs, 13, AMS Bookstore, ISBN978-0-8218-4942-2 Lehmer, D. H. (1909), Factor table for the first ten millions containing the smallest factor of every number not divisible by 2, 3, 5, or 7 between the limits 0 and 10017000, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington Narkiewicz, Wladyslaw (2000), The development of prime number theory: from Euclid to Hardy and Littlewood, Springer Monographs in Mathematics, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-3-540-66289-1 Ribenboim, Paulo (2004), The little book of bigger primes, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN978-0-387-20169-6 Riesel, Hans (1994), Prime numbers and computer methods for factorization, Basel, Switzerland: Birkhuser, ISBN978-0-8176-3743-9 Sabbagh, Karl (2003), The Riemann hypothesis, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, ISBN978-0-374-25007-2, MR1979664 du Sautoy, Marcus (2003), The music of the primes (http://www.musicoftheprimes.com/), HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN978-0-06-621070-4, MR2060134
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Further references
Kelly, Katherine E., ed. (2001), The Cambridge companion to Tom Stoppard, Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-64592-8 Stoppard, Tom (1993), Arcadia, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN978-0-571-16934-4
External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Prime number" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=p/ p074530), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 Caldwell, Chris, The Prime Pages at primes.utm.edu (http://primes.utm.edu/). Prime Numbers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003hyf5) on In Our Time at the BBC. An Introduction to Analytic Number Theory, by Ilan Vardi and Cyril Banderier (http://www.maths.ex.ac.uk/ ~mwatkins/zeta/vardi.html) Plus teacher and student package: prime numbers (http://plus.maths.org/issue49/package/index.html) from Plus, the free online mathematics magazine produced by the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of Cambridge
Prime number generators and calculators

Prime Number Checker (http://www.had2know.com/academics/prime-composite.html) identifies the smallest prime factor of a number Fast Online primality test (http://www.alpertron.com.ar/ECM.HTM) makes use of the Elliptic Curve Method (up to thousand-digits numbers, requires Java) Prime Number Generator (http://publicliterature.org/tools/prime_number_generator) generates a given number of primes above a given start number. Huge database of prime numbers (http://www.bigprimes.net/)
Sphere
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Sphere
A sphere (from Greek sphaira, "globe, ball"[1]) is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle, which is in two dimensions, a sphere is the set of points which are all the same distance r from a given point in space. This distance r is known as the radius of the sphere, and the given point is known as the center of the sphere. The maximum straight distance through the sphere is known as the diameter. It passes through the center and is thus twice the radius. In mathematics, a careful distinction is made between the sphere (a two-dimensional surface embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space) and the ball (the interior of the three-dimensional sphere).
A two-dimensional perspective projection of a sphere
Volume of a sphere
In 3 dimensions, the volume inside a sphere (that is, the volume of a ball) is derived to be
where r is the radius of the sphere and is the constant pi. This formula was first derived by Archimedes, who showed that the volume of a sphere is 2/3 that of a circumscribed cylinder. (This assertion follows from Cavalieri's principle.) In modern mathematics, this formula can be derived using integral calculus, i.e. disk integration to sum the volumes of an infinite number of circular disks of infinitesimally small thickness stacked centered side by side along the x axis from x = 0 where the disk has radius r (i.e. y = r) to x = r where the disk has radius 0 (i.e. y = 0).
Circumscribed cylinder to a sphere
At any given x, the incremental volume (V) is given by the product of the cross-sectional area of the disk at x and its thickness (x):
The total volume is the summation of all incremental volumes:
In the limit as x approaches zero[2] this becomes:
At any given x, a right-angled triangle connects x, y and r to the origin, hence it follows from the Pythagorean theorem that:
Thus, substituting y with a function of x gives:
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This can now be evaluated:
Therefore the volume of a sphere is:
Alternatively this formula is found using spherical coordinates, with volume element
In higher dimensions, the sphere (or hypersphere) is usually called an n-ball. General recursive formulas exist for the volume of an n-ball. For most practical purposes, the volume of a sphere inscribed in a cube can be approximated as 52.4% of the volume of the cube, since . For example, since a cube with edge length 1m has a volume of 1m3, a sphere with diameter 1m has a volume of about 0.524m3.
Surface area of a sphere

The surface area of a sphere is given by the following formula:
This formula was first derived by Archimedes, based upon the fact that the projection to the lateral surface of a circumscribed cylinder (i.e. the Lambert cylindrical equal-area projection) is area-preserving. It is also the derivative of the formula for the volume with respect to r because the total volume of a sphere of radius r can be thought of as the summation of the surface area of an infinite number of spherical shells of infinitesimal thickness concentrically stacked inside one another from radius 0 to radius r. At infinitesimal thickness the discrepancy between the inner and outer surface area of any given shell is infinitesimal and the elemental volume at radius r is simply the product of the surface area at radius r and the infinitesimal thickness. At any given radius r, the incremental volume (V) is given by the product of the surface area at radius r (A(r)) and the thickness of a shell (r):
The total volume is the summation of all shell volumes:
In the limit as r approaches zero[2] this becomes:
Since we have already proven what the volume is, we can substitute V:
Differentiating both sides of this equation with respect to r yields A as a function of r:
Which is generally abbreviated as:
Sphere Alternatively, the area element on the sphere is given in spherical coordinates by Cartesian coordinates, the area element element. The total area can thus be obtained by integration: . With . More generally, see area
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Equations in R3
In analytic geometry, a sphere with centre (x0, y0, z0) and radius r is the locus of all points (x, y, z) such that The points on the sphere with radius r can be parameterized via
(see also trigonometric functions and spherical coordinates). A sphere of any radius centred at zero is an integral surface of the following differential form:
This equation reflects the fact that the position and velocity vectors of a point traveling on the sphere are always orthogonal to each other. The sphere has the smallest surface area among all surfaces enclosing a given volume and it encloses the largest volume among all closed surfaces with a given surface area. For this reason, the sphere appears in nature: for instance bubbles and small water drops are roughly spherical, because the surface tension locally minimizes surface area. The surface area in relation to the mass of a sphere is called the specific surface area. From the above stated equations it can be expressed as follows:
where volume.
is the ratio of mass to
An image of one of the most accurate man-made spheres, as it refracts the image of Einstein in the background. This sphere was a fused quartz gyroscope for the Gravity Probe B experiment, and differs in shape from a perfect sphere by no more than 40 atoms (less than 10 nanometers) of thickness. It was announced on 1 July 2008 that Australian scientists had created even more perfect spheres, accurate to 0.3 nanometers, as part of an [3] international hunt to find a new global standard kilogram.
A sphere can also be defined as the surface formed by rotating a circle about any diameter. If the circle is replaced by an ellipse, and rotated about the major axis, the shape becomes a prolate spheroid, rotated about the minor axis, an oblate spheroid.
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Terminology
Pairs of points on a sphere that lie on a straight line through its center are called antipodal points. A great circle is a circle on the sphere that has the same center and radius as the sphere, and consequently divides it into two equal parts. The shortest distance between two distinct non-antipodal points on the surface and measured along the surface, is on the unique great circle passing through the two points. Equipped with the great-circle distance, a great circle becomes the Riemannian circle. If a particular point on a sphere is (arbitrarily) designated as its north pole, then the corresponding antipodal point is called the south pole and the equator is the great circle that is equidistant to them. Great circles through the two poles are called lines (or meridians) of longitude, and the line connecting the two poles is called the axis of rotation. Circles on the sphere that are parallel to the equator are lines of latitude. This terminology is also used for astronomical bodies such as the planet Earth, even though it is not spherical and only approximately spheroidal (see geoid).
Hemisphere
A sphere is divided into two equal "hemispheres" by any plane that passes through its center. If two intersecting planes pass through its center, then they will subdivide the sphere into four lunes or biangles, the vertices of which all coincide with the antipodal points lying on the line of intersection of the planes. The antipodal quotient of the sphere is the surface called the real projective plane, which can also be thought of as the northern hemisphere with antipodal points of the equator identified. The round hemisphere is conjectured to be the optimal (least area) filling of the Riemannian circle. If the planes don't pass through the sphere's center, then the intersection is called spheric section.[4]
Generalization to other dimensions

Spheres can be generalized to spaces of any dimension. For any natural number n, an "n-sphere," often written as Sn, is the set of points in (n + 1)-dimensional Euclidean space which are at a fixed distance r from a central point of that space, where r is, as before, a positive real number. In particular: a 0-sphere is a pair of endpoints of an interval (r, r) of the real line a 1-sphere is a circle of radius r a 2-sphere is an ordinary sphere a 3-sphere is a sphere in 4-dimensional Euclidean space.
Spheres for n > 2 are sometimes called hyperspheres. The n-sphere of unit radius centered at the origin is denoted Sn and is often referred to as "the" n-sphere. Note that the ordinary sphere is a 2-sphere, because it is a 2-dimensional surface (which is embedded in 3-dimensional space). The surface area of the (n 1)-sphere of radius 1 is
where (z) is Euler's Gamma function. Another expression for the surface area is
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and the volume is the surface area times
or
Generalization to metric spaces

More generally, in a metric space (E,d), the sphere of center x and radius r > 0 is the set of points y such that d(x,y) = r. If the center is a distinguished point considered as origin of E, as in a normed space, it is not mentioned in the definition and notation. The same applies for the radius if it is taken to equal one, as in the case of a unit sphere. In contrast to a ball, a sphere may be an empty set, even for a large radius. For example, in Zn with Euclidean metric, a sphere of radius r is nonempty only if r2 can be written as sum of n squares of integers.
Topology
In topology, an n-sphere is defined as a space homeomorphic to the boundary of an (n+1)-ball; thus, it is homeomorphic to the Euclidean n-sphere, but perhaps lacking its metric. a 0-sphere is a pair of points with the discrete topology a 1-sphere is a circle (up to homeomorphism); thus, for example, (the image of) any knot is a 1-sphere a 2-sphere is an ordinary sphere (up to homeomorphism); thus, for example, any spheroid is a 2-sphere The n-sphere is denoted Sn. It is an example of a compact topological manifold without boundary. A sphere need not be smooth; if it is smooth, it need not be diffeomorphic to the Euclidean sphere. The HeineBorel theorem implies that a Euclidean n-sphere is compact. The sphere is the inverse image of a one-point set under the continuous function ||x||. Therefore, the sphere is closed. Sn is also bounded; therefore it is compact.
Spherical geometry
The basic elements of Euclidean plane geometry are points and lines. On the sphere, points are defined in the usual sense, but the analogue of "line" may not be immediately apparent. If one measures by arc length one finds that the shortest path connecting two points lying entirely in the sphere is a segment of the great circle containing the points; see geodesic. Many theorems from classical geometry hold true for this spherical geometry as well, but many do not (see parallel postulate). In spherical trigonometry, angles are defined between great circles. Thus spherical trigonometry is different from ordinary trigonometry in many respects. For example, the sum of the interior angles of a spherical triangle exceeds 180 degrees. Also, any two similar spherical triangles are congruent.
Great circle on a sphere
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Eleven properties of the sphere

In their book Geometry and the imagination[5] David Hilbert and Stephan Cohn-Vossen describe eleven properties of the sphere and discuss whether these properties uniquely determine the sphere. Several properties hold for the plane which can be thought of as a sphere with infinite radius. These properties are: 1. The points on the sphere are all the same distance from a fixed point. Also, the ratio of the distance of its points from two fixed points is constant. The first part is the usual definition of the sphere and determines it uniquely. The second part can be easily deduced and follows a similar result of Apollonius of Perga for the circle. This second part also holds for the plane. 2. The contours and plane sections of the sphere are circles. This property defines the sphere uniquely. 3. The sphere has constant width and constant girth. The width of a surface is the distance between pairs of parallel tangent planes. There are numerous other closed convex surfaces which have constant width, for example the Meissner body. The girth of a surface is the circumference of the boundary of its orthogonal projection on to a plane. It can be proved that each of these properties implies the other. 4. All points of a sphere are umbilics. At any point on a surface we can find a normal direction which is at right angles to the surface, for the sphere these are the lines radiating out from the center of the sphere. The intersection of a plane containing the normal with the surface will form a curve called a normal section and the curvature of this curve is the normal curvature. For most points on most surfaces, different sections will have different curvatures; the maximum and minimum values of these are called the principal curvatures. It can be proved that any closed surface will have at least four points called umbilical points. At an umbilic all the sectional curvatures are equal; in particular the principal curvatures are equal. Umbilical points can be thought of as the points where the surface is closely approximated by a sphere.
A normal vector to a sphere, a normal plane and its normal section. The curvature of the curve of intersection is the sectional curvature. For the sphere each normal section through a given point will be a circle of the same radius, the radius of the sphere. This means that every point on the sphere will be an umbilical point.
For the sphere the curvatures of all normal sections are equal, so every point is an umbilic. The sphere and plane are the only surfaces with this property. 5. The sphere does not have a surface of centers. For a given normal section there is a circle whose curvature is the same as the sectional curvature, is tangent to the surface and whose center lines along on the normal line. Take the two centers corresponding to the
Sphere maximum and minimum sectional curvatures: these are called the focal points, and the set of all such centers forms the focal surface. For most surfaces the focal surface forms two sheets each of which is a surface and which come together at umbilical points. There are a number of special cases. For channel surfaces one sheet forms a curve and the other sheet is a surface; For cones, cylinders, toruses and cyclides both sheets form curves. For the sphere the center of every osculating circle is at the center of the sphere and the focal surface forms a single point. This is a unique property of the sphere. 6. All geodesics of the sphere are closed curves. Geodesics are curves on a surface which give the shortest distance between two points. They are a generalization of the concept of a straight line in the plane. For the sphere the geodesics are great circles. There are many other surfaces with this property. 7. Of all the solids having a given volume, the sphere is the one with the smallest surface area; of all solids having a given surface area, the sphere is the one having the greatest volume. It follows from isoperimetric inequality. These properties define the sphere uniquely. These properties can be seen by observing soap bubbles. A soap bubble will enclose a fixed volume and due to surface tension its surface area is minimal for that volume. This is why a free floating soap bubble approximates a sphere (though external forces such as gravity will distort the bubble's shape slightly). 8. The sphere has the smallest total mean curvature among all convex solids with a given surface area. The mean curvature is the average of the two principal curvatures and as these are constant at all points of the sphere then so is the mean curvature. 9. The sphere has constant mean curvature. The sphere is the only imbedded surface without boundary or singularities with constant positive mean curvature. There are other immersed surfaces with constant mean curvature. The minimal surfaces have zero mean curvature. 10. The sphere has constant positive Gaussian curvature. Gaussian curvature is the product of the two principal curvatures. It is an intrinsic property which can be determined by measuring length and angles and does not depend on the way the surface is embedded in space. Hence, bending a surface will not alter the Gaussian curvature and other surfaces with constant positive Gaussian curvature can be obtained by cutting a small slit in the sphere and bending it. All these other surfaces would have boundaries and the sphere is the only surface without boundary with constant positive Gaussian curvature. The pseudosphere is an example of a surface with constant negative Gaussian curvature. 11. The sphere is transformed into itself by a three-parameter family of rigid motions. Consider a unit sphere placed at the origin, a rotation around the x, y or z axis will map the sphere onto itself, indeed any rotation about a line through the origin can be expressed as a combination of rotations around the three-coordinate axis, see Euler angles. Thus there is a three-parameter family of rotations which transform the sphere onto itself, this is the rotation group SO(3). The plane is the only other surface with a three-parameter family of transformations (translations along the x and y axis and rotations around the origin). Circular cylinders are the only surfaces with two-parameter families of rigid motions and the surfaces of revolution and helicoids are the only surfaces with a one-parameter family.
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Cubes in relation to spheres

For every sphere there are multiple cuboids that may be inscribed within the sphere. The largest cuboid which can be inscribed within a sphere is a cube.
References
[1] (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ hopper/ text?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 04. 0057:entry=sfai=ra^), Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus [2] Pages 141, 149. E.J. Borowski, J.M. Borwein. Collins Dictionary of Mathematics. ISBN0-00-434347-6. [3] New Scientist | Technology | Roundest objects in the world created (http:/ / technology. newscientist. com/ article/ dn14229-roundest-objects-in-the-world-created. html) [4] Weisstein, Eric W., " Spheric section (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ SphericSection. html)" from MathWorld. [5] Hilbert, David; Cohn-Vossen, Stephan (1952). Geometry and the Imagination (2nd ed.). Chelsea. ISBN0-8284-1087-9.
William Dunham. "Pages 28, 226", The Mathematical Universe: An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems and Personalities, ISBN 0-471-17661-3.
External links
Calculate volume of sphere (http://www.abe.msstate.edu/~fto/tools/vol/sphere.html) Sphere (PlanetMath.org website) Weisstein, Eric W., " Sphere (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Sphere.html)" from MathWorld. Mathematica/Uniform Spherical Distribution (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Mathematica/ Uniform_Spherical_Distribution) Outside In (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6626464599825291409). 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-11-24. (computer animation showing how the inside of a sphere can turn outside.) Program in C++ to draw a sphere using parametric equation (http://www.start2code.com/Cresources/ sphere-program-cpp.html) Surface area of sphere proof. (http://mathschallenge.net/index.php?section=faq&ref=geometry/ surface_sphere)
The Quadrature of the Parabola
271

The statement of the problem used the method of exhaustion. Archimedes may have dissected the area into infinitely many triangles whose areas form a geometric progression. He computes the sum of the resulting geometric series, and proves that this is the area of the parabolic segment. This represents the most sophisticated use of the method of exhaustion in ancient mathematics, and remained unsurpassed until the development of integral calculus in the 17th century, being succeeded by Cavalieri's quadrature formula.
A parabolic segment.
Main theorem
A parabolic segment is the region bounded by a parabola and line. To find the area of a parabolic segment, Archimedes considers a certain inscribed triangle. The base of this triangle is the given chord of the parabola, and the third vertex is the point of tangency such that the given tangent is parallel to the chord. From Proposition 1 (Quadrature of the Parabola), this means that a line from the third vertex, which is drawn parallel to the axis (or the axis itself), divides the chord into equal segments. The main theorem claims that the area of the parabolic segment is 4/3 that of the inscribed triangle..
Archimedes inscribes a certain triangle into the given parabolic segment.
Structure of the text

Archimedes gives two proofs of the main theorem. The first uses abstract mechanics, with Archimedes arguing that the weight of the segment will balance the weight of the triangle when placed on an appropriate lever. The second, more famous proof uses pure geometry, specifically the method of exhaustion. Of the twenty-four propositions, the first three are quoted without proof from Euclid's Elements of Conics (a lost work by Euclid on conic sections). Propositions four and five establish elementary properties of the parabola; propositions six through seventeen give the mechanical proof of the main theorem; and propositions eighteen through twenty-four present the geometric proof.
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Geometric proof
Dissection of the parabolic segment
The main idea of the proof is the dissection of the parabolic segment into infinitely many triangles, as shown in the figure to the right. Each of these triangles is inscribed in its own parabolic segment in the same way that the blue triangle is inscribed in the large segment.
Areas of the triangles

In propositions eighteen through twenty-one, Archimedes proves that the area of each green triangle is one eighth of the Archimedes' dissection of a parabolic segment into infinitely many triangles. area of the blue triangle. From a modern point of view, this is because the green triangle has half the width and a fourth of the height:[1]
By extension, each of the yellow triangles has one eighth the area of a green triangle, each of the red triangles has one eighth the area of a yellow triangle, and so on. Using the method of exhaustion, it follows that the total area of the parabolic segment is given by
Here T represents the area of the large blue triangle, the second term represents the total area of the two green triangles, the third term represents the total area of the four yellow triangles, and so forth. This simplifies to give
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Sum of the series

To complete the proof, Archimedes shows that
The formula above is a geometric serieseach successive term is one fourth of the previous term. In modern mathematics, that formula is a special case of the sum formula for a geometric series. Archimedes evaluates the sum using an entirely geometric method,[2] illustrated in the picture to the right. This picture shows a unit square which has been dissected into an infinity of smaller squares. Each successive purple square has one fourth the area of the previous square, with the total purple area being the sum
Archimedes' proof that 1/4 + 1/16 + 1/64 + ... = 1/3
However, the purple squares are congruent to either set of yellow squares, and so cover 1/3 of the area of the unit square. It follows that the series above sums to 4/3.
Notes
[1] The green triangle has half of the width of blue triangle by construction. The statement about the height follows from the geometric properties of a parabola, and is easy to prove using modern analytic geometry. [2] Strictly speaking, Archimedes evaluates the partial sums of this series, and uses the Archimedean property to argue that the partial sums become arbitrarily close to 4/3. This is logically equivalent to the modern idea of summing an infinite series.
Further reading
Ajose, Sunday and Roger Nelsen (June 1994). "Proof without Words: Geometric Series". Mathematics Magazine 67 (3): 230. doi:10.2307/2690617. JSTOR2690617. Bressoud, David M. (2006). A Radical Approach to Real Analysis (2nd ed.). Mathematical Association of America. ISBN0-88385-747-2.. Dijksterhuis, E.J. (1987) "Archimedes", Princeton U. Press ISBN 0-691-08421-1 Edwards Jr., C. H. (1994). The Historical Development of the Calculus (3rd ed.). Springer. ISBN0-387-94313-7.. Heath, Thomas L. (2005). The Works of Archimedes. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN1-4021-7131-4 . Simmons, George F. (2007). Calculus Gems. Mathematical Association of America. ISBN0-88385-561-5.. Stein, Sherman K. (1999). Archimedes: What Did He Do Besides Cry Eureka?. Mathematical Association of America. ISBN0-88385-718-9. Stillwell, John (2004). Mathematics and its History (2nd ed.). Springer. ISBN0-387-95336-1.. Swain, Gordon and Thomas Dence (April 1998). "Archimedes' Quadrature of the Parabola Revisited". Mathematics Magazine 71 (2): 12330. doi:10.2307/2691014. JSTOR2691014. Wilson, Alistair Macintosh (1995). The Infinite in the Finite. Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-853950-9..
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External links
Casselman, Bill. "Archimedes' quadrature of the parabola" (http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/archimedes/ parabola.html). Full text, as translated by T.L. Heath. Xavier University Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. "Archimedes of Syracuse" (http://www. cs.xu.edu/math/math147/02f/archimedes/archpartext.html). Text of propositions 13 and 2024, with commentary. http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/ArchimedesCalculus.html
The Sand Reckoner

The Sand Reckoner (Greek: , Archimedes Psammites) is a work by Archimedes in which he set out to determine an upper bound for the number of grains of sand that fit into the universe. In order to do this, he had to estimate the size of the universe according to the contemporary model, and invent a way to talk about extremely large numbers. The work, also known in Latin as Archimedis Syracusani Arenarius & Dimensio Circuli, which is about 8 pages long in translation, is addressed to the Syracusan king Gelo II (son of Hiero II), and is probably the most accessible work of Archimedes; in some sense, it is the first research-expository paper.[1]
Naming large numbers

First, Archimedes had to invent a system of naming large numbers. The number system in use at that time could express numbers up to a myriad ( 10,000), and by utilizing the word "myriad" itself, one can immediately extend this to naming all numbers up to a myriad myriads (108). Archimedes called the numbers up to 108 "first numbers" and called 108 itself the "unit of the second numbers". Multiples of this unit then became the second numbers, up to this unit taken a myriad-myriad times, 108108=1016. This became the "unit of the third numbers", whose multiples were the third numbers, and so on. Archimedes continued naming numbers in this way up to a myriad-myriad times the unit of the 108-th numbers, i.e., . After having done this, Archimedes called the numbers he had defined the "numbers of the first period", and called the last one, , the "unit of the second period". He then constructed the numbers of the second period by taking multiples of this unit in a way analogous to the way in which the numbers of the first period were constructed. Continuing in this manner, he eventually arrived at the numbers of the myriad-myriadth period. The largest number named by Archimedes was the last number in this period, which is
Another way of describing this number is a one followed by (short scale) eighty quadrillion (801015) zeroes. Archimedes' system is reminiscent of a positional numeral system with base 108, which is remarkable because the ancient Greeks used a very simple system for writing numbers, which employs 27 different letters of the alphabet for the units 1 through 9, the tens 10 through 90 and the hundreds 100 through 900. Archimedes also discovered and proved the law of exponents, of 10. , necessary to manipulate powers
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Estimation of the size of the universe

Archimedes then estimated an upper bound for the number of grains of sand required to fill the Universe. To do this, he used the heliocentric model of Aristarchus of Samos. The original work by Aristarchus has been lost. This work by Archimedes however is one of the few surviving references to his theory,[2] whereby the Sun remain unmoved while the Earth revolves about the Sun. In Archimedes' own words: His [Aristarchus'] hypotheses are that the fixed stars and the Sun remains unmoved, that the Earth revolves about the Sun on the circumference of a circle, the Sun lying in the middle of the orbit, and that the sphere of fixed stars, situated about the same center as the Sun, is so great that the circle in which he supposes the Earth to revolve bears such a proportion to the distance of the fixed stars as the center of the sphere bears to its surface.[3] The reason for the large size of this model is that the Greeks were unable to observe stellar parallax with available techniques, which implies that any parallax is extremely subtle and so the stars must be placed at great distances from the Earth (assuming heliocentrism to be true). According to Archimedes, Aristarchus did not state how far the stars were from the Earth. Archimedes therefore had to make an assumption; he assumed that the Universe was spherical and that the ratio of the diameter of the Universe to the diameter of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun equalled the ratio of the diameter of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun to the diameter of the Earth. This assumption can also be expressed by saying that the stellar parallax caused by the motion of the Earth around its orbit equals the solar parallax caused by motion around the Earth. In order to obtain an upper bound, Archimedes used overestimates of his data by assuming: that the perimeter of the Earth was no bigger than 300 myriad stadia (~5105 km). that the Moon was no larger than the Earth, and that the Sun was no more than thirty times larger than the Moon. that the angular diameter of the Sun, as seen from the Earth, was greater than 1/200th of a right angle. Archimedes then computed that the diameter of the Universe was no more than 1014 stadia (in modern units, about 2 light years), and that it would require no more than 1063 grains of sand to fill it. Archimedes made some interesting experiments and computations along the way. One experiment was to estimate the angular size of the Sun, as seen from the Earth. Archimedes' method is especially interesting as it takes into account the finite size of the eye's pupil,[4] and therefore may be the first known example of experimentation in psychophysics, the branch of psychology dealing with the mechanics of human perception, whose development is generally attributed to Hermann von Helmholtz. Another interesting computation accounts for solar parallax and the different distances between the viewer and the Sun, whether viewed from the center of the Earth or from the surface of the Earth at sunrise. This may be the first known computation dealing with solar parallax.[1]
Equality between Archimedes' number and Eddington's number

The total number of nucleons in the observable universe of roughly the Hubble radius is the Eddington number, currently estimated at 1080. Archimedes' 1063 grains of sand contain 1080 nucleons, which means that Archimedes' number equals Eddington's number.[5]
Quote
"There are some, king Gelon, who think that the number of the sand is infinite in multitude; and I mean by the sand not only that which exists about Syracuse and the rest of Sicily but also that which is found in every region whether inhabited or uninhabited. Again there are some who, without regarding it as infinite, yet think that no number has been named which is great enough to exceed its magnitude. And it is clear that they who hold this view, if they imagined a mass made up of sand in other respects as large as the mass of the Earth, including in it all the seas and the hollows of the Earth filled up to a height equal to that of the highest of the mountains, would be many times further still from recognizing that any number could be expressed which
The Sand Reckoner exceeded the multitude of the sand so taken. "But I will try to show you by means of geometrical proofs, which you will be able to follow, that, of the numbers named by me and given in the work which I sent to Zeuxippus, some exceed not only the number of the mass of sand equal in magnitude to the Earth filled up in the way described, but also that of the mass equal in magnitude to the universe." [6] Archimedis Syracusani Arenarius & Dimensio Circuli
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References
[1] Archimedes, The Sand Reckoner, by Ilan Vardi (http:/ / www. lix. polytechnique. fr/ Labo/ Ilan. Vardi/ sand_reckoner. ps), accessed 28-II-2007. [2] Aristarchus biography at MacTutor (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Biographies/ Aristarchus. html), accessed 26-II-2007. [3] Arenarius, I., 47 [4] Smith, William A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1880) - p.272 [5] Harrison, Edward Robert Cosmology: The Science of the Universe (http:/ / books. google. ru/ books?id=kNxeHD2cbLYC& pg=PA482& lpg=PA482& dq="eddington+ number"& source=bl& ots=h5cjT6r_e8& sig=tzdX1oFPojjCjQZtYpcDlUDIPhk& hl=en& sa=X& ei=gjcSUIDgBobR4QTJwoCIDQ& redir_esc=y#v=onepage& q="eddington number"& f=false) Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp. 481, 482 [6] Newman, James R. The World of Mathematics (2000) - p.420
Further reading
The Sand-Reckoner, by Gillian Bradshaw. Forge (2000), 348pp, ISBN 0-312-87581-9.
External links
Original Greek text (http://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Ilan.Vardi/psammites.ps) The Sand Reckoner (http://web.fccj.org/~ethall/archmede/sandreck.htm) The Sand Reckoner (annotated) (http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/hmendel/Ancient Mathematics/ Archimedes/SandReckoner/SandReckoner.html) Archimedes, The Sand Reckoner, by Ilan Vardi; includes a literal English version of the original Greek text (http:/ /www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Ilan.Vardi/sand_reckoner.ps)
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Trigonometry
Trigonometry (from Greek trignon "triangle" + metron "measure"[1]) is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves. The field evolved during the third century BC as a branch of geometry used extensively for astronomical studies.[2] It is also the foundation of the practical art of surveying.
The Canadarm2 robotic manipulator on the
Trigonometry basics are often taught in school either as a separate International Space Station is operated by controlling the angles of its joints. Calculating the course or as part of a precalculus course. The trigonometric functions final position of the astronaut at the end of the are pervasive in parts of pure mathematics and applied mathematics arm requires repeated use of trigonometric such as Fourier analysis and the wave equation, which are in turn functions of those angles. essential to many branches of science and technology. Spherical trigonometry studies triangles on spheres, surfaces of constant positive curvature, in elliptic geometry. It is fundamental to astronomy and navigation. Trigonometry on surfaces of negative curvature is part of Hyperbolic geometry.
History
Sumerian astronomers introduced angle measure, using a division of circles into 360 degrees.[4] They and their successors the Babylonians studied the ratios of the sides of similar triangles and discovered some properties of these ratios, but did not turn that into a systematic method for finding sides and angles of triangles. The ancient Nubians used a similar method.[5] The ancient Greeks transformed trigonometry into an ordered science.[6] Classical Greek mathematicians (such as Euclid and Archimedes) studied the properties of chords and inscribed angles in circles, and proved theorems that are equivalent to modern trigonometric formulae, although they presented them geometrically rather than algebraically. Claudius Ptolemy expanded upon Hipparchus' Chords in a Circle in his Almagest.[7] The modern sine function was first defined in the Surya Siddhanta, and its properties were further documented by the 5th The first trigonometric table was apparently century Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata.[8] These compiled by Hipparchus, who is now consequently known as "the father of Greek and Indian works were translated and expanded by medieval [3] trigonometry." Islamic mathematicians. By the 10th century, Islamic mathematicians were using all six trigonometric functions, had tabulated their values, and were applying them to problems in spherical geometry. At about the same time, Chinese mathematicians developed trigonometry independently, although it was not a major field of study for them. Knowledge of trigonometric functions and methods reached Europe via Latin translations of the works of Persian and Arabic astronomers such as Al Battani and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi.[9] One of the earliest works on trigonometry by a European mathematician is De Triangulis by the 15th century German mathematician Regiomontanus. Trigonometry was still
Trigonometry so little known in 16th century Europe that Nicolaus Copernicus devoted two chapters of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium to explaining its basic concepts. Driven by the demands of navigation and the growing need for accurate maps of large areas, trigonometry grew into a major branch of mathematics.[10] Bartholomaeus Pitiscus was the first to use the word, publishing his Trigonometria in 1595.[11] Gemma Frisius described for the first time the method of triangulation still used today in surveying. It was Leonhard Euler who fully incorporated complex numbers into trigonometry. The works of James Gregory in the 17th century and Colin Maclaurin in the 18th century were influential in the development of trigonometric series.[12] Also in the 18th century, Brook Taylor defined the general Taylor series.[13]
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Overview
If one angle of a triangle is 90 degrees and one of the other angles is known, the third is thereby fixed, because the three angles of any triangle add up to 180 degrees. The two acute angles therefore add up to 90 degrees: they are complementary angles. The shape of a triangle is completely determined, except for similarity, by the angles. Once the angles are known, the ratios of the sides are determined, regardless of the overall size of the triangle. If the length of one of the sides is known, the other two are determined. These ratios are given by the following trigonometric functions of the known angle A, where a, b and c refer to the lengths of the sides in the accompanying figure:
In this right triangle: sin A = a/c; cos A = b/c; tan A = a/b.
Sine function (sin), defined as the ratio of the side opposite the angle to the hypotenuse.
Cosine function (cos), defined as the ratio of the adjacent leg to the hypotenuse.
Tangent function (tan), defined as the ratio of the opposite leg to the adjacent leg.
The hypotenuse is the side opposite to the 90 degree angle in a right triangle; it is the longest side of the triangle, and one of the two sides adjacent to angle A. The adjacent leg is the other side that is adjacent to angle A. The opposite side is the side that is opposite to angle A. The terms perpendicular and base are sometimes used for the opposite and adjacent sides respectively. Many English speakers find it easy to remember what sides of the right triangle are equal to sine, cosine, or tangent, by memorizing the word SOH-CAH-TOA (see below under Mnemonics). The reciprocals of these functions are named the cosecant (csc or cosec), secant (sec), and cotangent (cot), respectively:
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The inverse functions are called the arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent, respectively. There are arithmetic relations between these functions, which are known as trigonometric identities. The cosine, cotangent, and cosecant are so named because they are respectively the sine, tangent, and secant of the complementary angle abbreviated to "co-". With these functions one can answer virtually all questions about arbitrary triangles by using the law of sines and the law of cosines. These laws can be used to compute the remaining angles and sides of any triangle as soon as two sides and their included angle or two angles and a side or three sides are known. These laws are useful in all branches of geometry, since every polygon may be described as a finite combination of triangles.
Extending the definitions

The above definitions apply to angles between 0 and 90 degrees (0 and /2 radians) only. Using the unit circle, one can extend them to all positive and negative arguments (see trigonometric function). The trigonometric functions are periodic, with a period of 360 degrees or 2 radians. That means their values repeat at those intervals. The tangent and cotangent functions also have a shorter period, of 180 degrees or radians. The trigonometric functions can be defined in other ways besides the geometrical definitions above, using tools from calculus and infinite series. With these definitions the trigonometric functions can be defined for complex numbers. The complex exponential function is particularly useful.
Fig. 1a Sine and cosine of an angle defined using the unit circle.
See Euler's and De Moivre's formulas.
Graphing process of y = sin(x) using a unit circle.
Graphing process of y = tan(x) using a unit circle.
Graphing process of y = csc(x) using a unit circle.
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Mnemonics
A common use of mnemonics is to remember facts and relationships in trigonometry. For example, the sine, cosine, and tangent ratios in a right triangle can be remembered by representing them as strings of letters. For instance, a mnemonic for English speakers is SOH-CAH-TOA: Sine = Opposite Hypotenuse Cosine = Adjacent Hypotenuse Tangent = Opposite Adjacent One way to remember the letters is to sound them out phonetically (i.e., SOH-CAH-TOA, which is pronounced 'so-k-tow'-uh').[14] Another method is to expand the letters into a sentence, such as "Some Old Hippy Caught Another Hippy Trippin' On Acid".[15]
Calculating trigonometric functions

Trigonometric functions were among the earliest uses for mathematical tables. Such tables were incorporated into mathematics textbooks and students were taught to look up values and how to interpolate between the values listed to get higher accuracy. Slide rules had special scales for trigonometric functions. Today scientific calculators have buttons for calculating the main trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tan, and sometimes cis and their inverses. Most allow a choice of angle measurement methods: degrees, radians and, sometimes, grad. Most computer programming languages provide function libraries that include the trigonometric functions. The floating point unit hardware incorporated into the microprocessor chips used in most personal computers have built-in instructions for calculating trigonometric functions.
Applications of trigonometry
There are an enormous number of uses of trigonometry and trigonometric functions. For instance, the technique of triangulation is used in astronomy to measure the distance to nearby stars, in geography to measure distances between landmarks, and in satellite navigation systems. The sine and cosine functions are fundamental to the theory of periodic functions such as those that describe sound and light waves. Fields that use trigonometry or trigonometric functions include astronomy (especially for locating apparent positions of celestial objects, in which spherical trigonometry is essential) and hence Sextants are used to measure the angle of the sun or stars with respect to the horizon. Using trigonometry navigation (on the oceans, in aircraft, and in space), music theory, and a marine chronometer, the position of the ship can acoustics, optics, analysis of financial markets, electronics, be determined from such measurements. probability theory, statistics, biology, medical imaging (CAT scans and ultrasound), pharmacy, chemistry, number theory (and hence cryptology), seismology, meteorology, oceanography, many physical sciences, land surveying and geodesy, architecture, phonetics, economics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer graphics, cartography, crystallography and game development.
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Standard identities
Identities are those equations that hold true for any value.
Angle transformation formulas
Common formulas
Certain equations involving trigonometric functions are true for all angles and are known as trigonometric identities. Some identities equate an expression to a different expression involving the same angles. These are listed in List of trigonometric identities. Triangle identities that relate the sides and angles of a given triangle are listed below. In the following identities, A, B and C are the angles of a triangle and a, b and c are the lengths of sides of the triangle opposite the respective angles.
Law of sines
Triangle with sides a,b,c and respectively opposite angles A,B,C
The law of sines (also known as the "sine rule") for an arbitrary triangle states:
where R is the radius of the circumscribed circle of the triangle:
Another law involving sines can be used to calculate the area of a triangle. Given two sides and the angle between the sides, the area of the triangle is:
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Law of cosines
The law of cosines (known as the cosine formula, or the "cos rule") is an extension of the Pythagorean theorem to arbitrary triangles:
or equivalently:
Law of tangents
The law of tangents:
All of the trigonometric functions of an angle can be constructed geometrically in terms of a unit circle centered at O.
Euler's formula
Euler's formula, which states that cosine, and tangent in terms of e and the imaginary unit i: , produces the following analytical identities for sine,
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] "trigonometry" (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?search=trigonometry). Online Etymology Dictionary. . R. Nagel (ed.), Encyclopedia of Science, 2nd Ed., The Gale Group (2002) Boyer (1991). "Greek Trigonometry and Mensuration". p.162. Aaboe, Asger. Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy. New York: Springer, 2001. ISBN 0-387-95136-9 Otto Neugebauer (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy. 1 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=vO5FCVIxz2YC& pg=PA744). Springer-Verlag. pp.744. ISBN978-3-540-06995-9. . [6] " The Beginnings of Trigonometry (http:/ / www. math. rutgers. edu/ ~cherlin/ History/ Papers2000/ hunt. html)". Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. [7] Marlow Anderson, Victor J. Katz, Robin J. Wilson (2004). Sherlock Holmes in Babylon: and other tales of mathematical history (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=BKRE5AjRM3AC& pg=PA36). MAA. p. 36. ISBN 0-88385-546-1 [8] Boyer p. 215 [9] Boyer pp. 237, 274 [10] Grattan-Guinness, Ivor (1997). The Rainbow of Mathematics: A History of the Mathematical Sciences. W.W. Norton. ISBN0-393-32030-8. [11] Robert E. Krebs (2004). Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissnce (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=MTXdplfiz-cC& pg=PA153). Greenwood Publishing Group. pp.153. ISBN978-0-313-32433-8. . [12] William Bragg Ewald (2008). From Kant to Hilbert: a source book in the foundations of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=AcuF0w-Qg08C& pg=PA93). Oxford University Press US. p. 93. ISBN 0-19-850535-3 [13] Kelly Dempski (2002). Focus on Curves and Surfaces (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=zxdigX-KSZYC& pg=PA29). p. 29. ISBN 1-59200-007-X [14] Weisstein, Eric W., " SOHCAHTOA (http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ SOHCAHTOA. html)" from MathWorld. [15] Sentences more appropriate for high schools are, "Some old horse came a'hopping through our alley".Foster, Jonathan K. (2008). Memory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford. p.128. ISBN0-19-280675-0.
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Bibliography
Boyer, Carl B. (1991). A History of Mathematics (Second Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN0-471-54397-7. Christopher M. Linton (2004). From Eudoxus to Einstein: A History of Mathematical Astronomy . Cambridge University Press. Weisstein, Eric W. "Trigonometric Addition Formulas". Wolfram MathWorld. Weiner.
External links
Khan Academy: Trigonometry, free online micro lectures (http://www.khanacademy.org/math/trigonometry) Trigonometric Delights (http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/books/maor/), by Eli Maor, Princeton University Press, 1998. Ebook version, in PDF format, full text presented. Trigonometry (http://baqaqi.chi.il.us/buecher/mathematics/trigonometry/index.html) by Alfred Monroe Kenyon and Louis Ingold, The Macmillan Company, 1914. In images, full text presented. Benjamin Banneker's Trigonometry Puzzle (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/?pa=content& sa=viewDocument&nodeId=212&bodyId=81) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/) Dave's Short Course in Trigonometry (http://www.clarku.edu/~djoyce/trig/) by David Joyce of Clark University Trigonometry, by Michael Corral, Covers elementary trigonometry, Distributed under GNU Free Documentation License (http://www.mecmath.net/trig/trigbook.pdf)
Negative number
A negative number is a real number that is less than zero. Such numbers are often used to represent the amount of a loss or absence. For example, a debt that is owed may be thought of as a negative asset, or a decrease in some quantity may be thought of as a negative increase. Negative numbers are used to describe values on a scale that goes below zero, such as the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales for temperature. Negative numbers are usually written with a minus sign in front. For This thermometer is indicating a negative example, 3 represents a negative quantity with a magnitude of three, temperature (namely, 4 F). and is pronounced "minus three" or "negative three". To help tell the difference between a minus operation and a negative number, occasionally the negative sign is placed slightly higher than the minus sign. Conversely, a number that is greater than zero is called positive; zero is usually thought of as neither positive nor negative.[1] The positivity of a number may be emphasized by placing a plus sign before it, e.g. +3. In general, the negativity or positivity of a number is referred to as its sign. In mathematics, every real number other than zero is either positive or negative. The positive whole numbers are referred to as natural numbers, while the positive and negative whole numbers (together with zero) are referred to as integers. In bookkeeping, amounts owed are often represented by red numbers, or a number in parentheses, as an alternative notation to represent negative numbers. Negative numbers appeared for the first time in history in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, which in its present form dates from the period of the Chinese Han Dynasty (202 BC. AD 220), but may well contain much older material.[2] Indian mathematicians developed consistent and correct rules on the use of negative numbers,
Negative number which later spread to the Middle East, and then into Europe. Prior to the concept of negative numbers, negative solutions to problems were considered "false" and equations requiring negative solutions were described as absurd.[3]
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Introduction
As the result of subtraction
Negative numbers can be thought of as resulting from the subtraction of a larger number from a smaller. For example, negative three is the result of subtracting three from zero: 0 3 = 3. In general, the subtraction of a larger number from a smaller yields a negative result, with the magnitude of the result being the difference between the two numbers. For example, 5 8 = 3 since 8 5 = 3.
The number line

The relationship between negative numbers, positive numbers, and zero is often expressed in the form of a number line:
Numbers appearing farther to the right on this line are greater, while numbers appearing farther to the left are less. Thus zero appears in the middle, with the positive numbers to the right and the negative numbers to the left. Note that a negative number with greater magnitude is considered less. For example, even though (positive) 8 is greater than (positive) 5, written 8>5 negative 8 is considered to be less than negative 5: 8 < 5. (Because, for example, if you have -8 you have less than if you have -5.) Therefore, any negative number is less than any positive number, so 8 < 5 and5 < 8.
Signed numbers
In the context of negative numbers, a number that is greater than zero is referred to as positive. Thus every real number other than zero is either positive or negative, while zero itself is not considered to have a sign. Positive numbers are sometimes written with a plus sign in front, e.g. +3 denotes a positive three. Because zero is neither positive nor negative, the term nonnegative is sometimes used to refer to a number that is either positive or zero, while nonpositive is used to refer to a number that is either negative or zero.
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Everyday uses of negative numbers

Goal difference in association football and hockey; points difference in rugby football; net run rate in cricket; golf scores relative to par. British football clubs are deducted points if they enter administration, and thus have a negative points total until they have earned at least that many points that season. Lap (or sector) times in Formula 1 may be given as the difference compared to a previous lap (or sector) (such as the previous record, or the lap just completed by a driver in front), and will be positive if slower and negative if faster. In some athletics events, such as sprint races, the hurdles, the triple jump and the long jump, the wind assistance is measured and recorded,[4] and is positive for a tailwind and negative for a headwind.[5] Temperatures which are colder than 0C or 0F. Bank account balances which are overdrawn. Refunds to a credit card or debit card are a negative debit. A company might make a negative annual profit (ie. a loss). The annual percentage growth in a country's GDP might be negative, which is one indicator of being in a recession. Occasionally, a rate of inflation may be negative (deflation), indicating a fall in average prices.[6] The daily change in a stock market index, such as the FTSE 100 or the Dow Jones. Topographical features of the earth's surface are given a height above sea level, which can be negative (eg. The surface elevation of The Dead Sea). The numbering of storeys in a building below the ground floor. When playing an audio file on a portable media player, such as an iPod, the screen display may show the time remaining as a negative number, which increases up to zero at the same rate as the time already played increases from zero. Participants on the quiz show QI often finish with a negative points score.
Arithmetic involving negative numbers

The minus sign "" signifies the operator for both the binary (two-operand) operation of subtraction (as in y z) and the unary (one-operand) operation of negation (as in x, or twice in (x)). A special case of unary negation occurs when it operates on a positive number, in which case the result is a negative number (as in 5). The ambiguity of the "" symbol does not generally lead to ambiguity in arithmetical expressions, because the order of operations makes only one interpretation or the other possible for each "". However, it can lead to confusion and be difficult for a person to understand an expression when operator symbols appear adjacent to one another. A solution can be to parenthesize the unary "" along with its operand. For example, the expression 7 + 5 may be clearer if written 7 + (5) (even though they mean exactly the same thing formally). The subtraction expression 75 is a different expression that doesn't represent the same operations, but it evaluates to the same result. Sometimes in elementary schools a number may be prefixed by a superscript minus sign or plus sign to explicitly distinguish negative and positive numbers as in[7]
2 + 5 gives7.
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Addition
Addition of two negative numbers is very similar to addition of two positive numbers. For example, (3) + (5) = 8. The idea is that two debts can be combined into a single debt of greater magnitude. When adding together a mixture of positive and negative numbers, one can think of the negative numbers as positive quantities being subtracted. For example: 8 + (3) = 8 3 = 5 and(2) + 7 = 7 2 = 5. In the first example, a credit of 8 is combined with a debt of 3, which yields a total credit of 5. If the negative number has greater magnitude, then the result is negative: (8) + 3 = 3 8 = 5 and2 + (7) = 2 7 = 5. Here the credit is less than the debt, so the net result is a debt.
Subtraction
As discussed above, it is possible for the subtraction of two non-negative numbers to yield a negative answer: 5 8 = 3
A visual representation of the addition of positive and negative numbers. Larger balls represent numbers with greater magnitude.
In general, subtraction of a positive number is the same thing as addition of a negative. Thus 5 8 = 5 + (8) = 3 and (3) 5 = (3) + (5) = 8 On the other hand, subtracting a negative number is the same as adding a positive. (The idea is that losing a debt is the same thing as gaining a credit.) Thus 3 (5) = 3 + 5 = 8 and (5) (8) = (5) + 8 = 3.
Multiplication
When multiplying numbers, the magnitude of the product is always just the product of the two magnitudes. The sign of the product is determined by the following rules: The product of one positive number and one negative number is negative. The product of two negative numbers is positive. Thus (2) 3 = 6 and (2) (3) = 6. The reason behind the first example is simple: adding three 2's together yields 6: (2) 3 = (2) + (2) + (2) = 6.
Negative number The reasoning behind the second example is more complicated. The idea again is that losing a debt is the same thing as gaining a credit. In this case, losing two debts of three each is the same as gaining a credit of six: (2 debts ) (3 each) = +6 credit. The convention that a product of two negative numbers is positive is also necessary for multiplication to follow the distributive law. In this case, we know that (2) (3) + 2 (3) = (2 + 2) (3) = 0 (3) = 0. Since 2 (3) = 6, the product (2) (3) must equal 6. These rules lead to another (equivalent) rulethe sign of any product a b depends on the sign of a as follows: if a is positive, then the sign of a b is the same as the sign of b, and if a is negative, then the sign of a b is the opposite of the sign of b.
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Division
The sign rules for division are the same as for multiplication. For example, 8 (2) = 4, (8) 2 = 4, and (8) (2) = 4. If dividend and divisor have the same sign, the result is always positive.
Negation
The negative version of a positive number is referred to as its negation. For example, 3 is the negation of the positive number 3. The sum of a number and its negation is equal to zero: 3 + 3 = 0. That is, the negation of a positive number is the additive inverse of the number. Using algebra, we may write this principle as an algebraic identity: x + x = 0. This identity holds for any positive number x. It can be made to hold for all real numbers by extending the definition of negation to include zero and negative numbers. Specifically: The negation of 0 is 0, and The negation of a negative number is the corresponding positive number. For example, the negation of 3 is +3. In general, (x) = x. The absolute value of a number is the non-negative number with the same magnitude. For example, the absolute value of 3 and the absolute value of 3 are both equal to 3, and the absolute value of 0 is 0.
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Formal construction of negative integers

In a similar manner to rational numbers, we can extend the natural numbers N to the integers Z by defining integers as an ordered pair of natural numbers (a, b). We can extend addition and multiplication to these pairs with the following rules: (a, b) + (c, d) = (a + c, b + d) (a, b) (c, d) = (a c + b d, a d + b c) We define an equivalence relation ~ upon these pairs with the following rule: (a, b) ~ (c, d) if and only if a + d = b + c. This equivalence relation is compatible with the addition and multiplication defined above, and we may define Z to be the quotient set N/~, i.e. we identify two pairs (a, b) and (c, d) if they are equivalent in the above sense. Note that Z, equipped with these operations of addition and multiplication, is a ring, and is in fact, the prototypical example of a ring. We can also define a total order on Z by writing (a, b) (c, d) if and only if a + d b + c. This will lead to an additive zero of the form (a, a), an additive inverse of (a, b) of the form (b, a), a multiplicative unit of the form (a + 1, a), and a definition of subtraction (a, b) (c, d) = (a + d, b + c). This construction is a special case of the Grothendieck construction.
Uniqueness
The negative of a number is unique, as is shown by the following proof. Let x be a number and let y be its negative. Suppose y is another negative of x. By an axiom of the real number system
And so, x + y = x + y. Using the law of cancellation for addition, it is seen that y = y. Thus y is equal to any other negative of x. That is, y is the unique negative of x.
History
Negative numbers appear for the first time in history in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art (Jiu zhang suan-shu), which in its present form dates from the period of the Han Dynasty (202 BC AD 220), but may well contain much older material.[2] The Nine Chapters used red counting rods to denote positive coefficients and black rods for negative.[8] This system is the exact opposite of contemporary printing of positive and negative numbers in the fields of banking, accounting, and commerce, wherein red numbers denote negative values and black numbers signify positive values. The Chinese were also able to solve simultaneous equations involving negative numbers. For a long time, negative solutions to problems were considered "false". In Hellenistic Egypt, the Greek mathematician Diophantus in the third century A.D. referred to an equation that was equivalent to 4x + 20 = 0 (which has a negative solution) in Arithmetica, saying that the equation was absurd. The use of negative numbers was known in early India, and their role in situations like mathematical problems of debt was understood.[9] Consistent and correct rules for working with these numbers were formulated.[10] The diffusion of this concept led the Arab intermediaries to pass it to Europe.[9] The ancient Indian Bakhshali Manuscript, which Pearce Ian claimed was written some time between 200 BC. and AD 300,[11] while George Gheverghese Joseph dates it to about AD 400 and no later than the early 7th century,[12]
Negative number carried out calculations with negative numbers, using "+" as a negative sign.[13] During the 7th century AD, negative numbers were used in India to represent debts. The Indian mathematician Brahmagupta, in Brahma-Sphuta-Siddhanta (written in A.D. 628), discussed the use of negative numbers to produce the general form quadratic formula that remains in use today. He also found negative solutions of quadratic equations and gave rules regarding operations involving negative numbers and zero, such as "A debt cut off from nothingness becomes a credit; a credit cut off from nothingness becomes a debt. " He called positive numbers "fortunes," zero "a cipher," and negative numbers "debts."[14][15] During the 8th century AD, the Islamic world learned about negative numbers from Arabic translations of Brahmagupta's works, and by the 10th century Islamic mathematicians were using negative numbers for debts. The earliest known Islamic text that uses negative numbers is A Book on What Is Necessary from the Science of Arithmetic for Scribes and Businessmen by Ab al-Waf' al-Bzjn.[16] In the 12th century AD in India, Bhskara II also gave negative roots for quadratic equations but rejected them because they were inappropriate in the context of the problem. He stated that a negative value is "in this case not to be taken, for it is inadequate; people do not approve of negative roots." Knowledge of negative numbers eventually reached Europe through Latin translations of Arabic and Indian works. European mathematicians, for the most part, resisted the concept of negative numbers until the 17th century, although Fibonacci allowed negative solutions in financial problems where they could be interpreted as debits (chapter 13 of Liber Abaci, AD 1202) and later as losses (in Flos). In the 15th century, Nicolas Chuquet, a Frenchman, used negative numbers as exponents and referred to them as absurd numbers. In A.D. 1759, Francis Maseres, an English mathematician, wrote that negative numbers "darken the very whole doctrines of the equations and make dark of the things which are in their nature excessively obvious and simple". He came to the conclusion that negative numbers were nonsensical.[17] In the 18th century it was common practice to ignore any negative results derived from equations, on the assumption that they were meaningless.[18]
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Notes
[1] The convention that zero is neither positive nor negative is not universal. For example, in the French convention, zero is considered to be both positive and negative. The French words positif and ngatif mean the same as English "positive or zero" and "negative or zero" respectively. [2] Struik, page 3233. "In these matrices we find negative numbers, which appear here for the first time in history." [3] Diophantus, Arithmetica. [4] BBC website (http:/ / london2012. bbc. co. uk/ athletics/ event/ men-long-jump/ index. html) [5] Elitefeet (http:/ / www. elitefeet. com/ how-wind-assistance-works-in-track-field) [6] Article in The Independent (http:/ / www. independent. co. uk/ news/ business/ news/ first-negative-inflation-figure-since-1960-1671736. html) [7] Grant P. Wiggins; Jay McTighe (2005). Understanding by design. ACSD Publications. p.210. ISBN1-4166-0035-3. [8] Temple, Robert. (1986). The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention. With a forward by Joseph Needham. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-62028-2. Page 141. [9] Bourbaki, page 49 [10] Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). algebra [11] Pearce, Ian (May 2002). "The Bakhshali manuscript" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ HistTopics/ Bakhshali_manuscript. html). The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. . Retrieved 2007-07-24. [12] Teresi, Dick. (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Sciencefrom the Babylonians to the Mayas. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-83718-8. Page 6566. [13] Teresi, Dick. (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Sciencefrom the Babylonians to the Mayas. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-83718-8. Page 65. [14] Colva M. Roney-Dougal, Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, stated this on the BBC Radio 4 programme "In Our Time," on 9 March 2006. [15] Knowledge Transfer and Perceptions of the Passage of Time, ICEE-2002 Keynote Address by Colin Adamson-Macedo. "Referring again to Brahmagupta's great work, all the necessary rules for algebra, including the 'rule of signs', were stipulated, but in a form which used the
Negative number
language and imagery of commerce and the market place. Thus 'dhana' (= fortunes) is used to represent positive numbers, whereas 'rina' (= debts) were negative". [16] Hashemipour, Behnaz (2007). "Bzjn: Ab alWaf Muammad ibn Muammad ibn Yay alBzjn" (http:/ / islamsci. mcgill. ca/ RASI/ BEA/ Buzjani_BEA. htm). In Thomas Hockey et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp.1889. ISBN978-0-387-31022-0. . ( PDF version (http:/ / islamsci. mcgill. ca/ RASI/ BEA/ Buzjani_BEA. pdf)) [17] Maseres, Francis (1758). A dissertation on the use of the negative sign in algebra: containing a demonstration of the rules usually given concerning it; and shewing how quadratic and cubic equations may be explained, without the consideration of negative roots. To which is added, as an appendix, Mr. Machin's Quadrature of the Circle. [18] Martinez, Alberto A. (2006). Negative Math: How Mathematical Rules Can Be Positively Bent. Princeton University Press. a history of controversies on negative numbers, mainly from the 1600s until the early 1900s.
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References
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Elements of the History of Mathematics. Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-64767-8. Struik, Dirk J. (1987). A Concise History of Mathematics. New York: Dover Publications.
External links
Maseres' biographical information (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/ Maseres.html) BBC Radio 4 series "In Our Time," on Negative Numbers, 9 March 2006 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ history/inourtime/inourtime_20060309.shtml) Endless Examples & Exercises: Operations with Signed Integers (http://www.free-ed.net/sweethaven/Math/ arithmetic/SignedValues01_EE.asp) Math Forum: Ask Dr. Math FAQ: Negative Times a Negative (http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq. negxneg.html)
Ptolemy
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Ptolemy
Ptolemy
An early Baroque artist's rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Born c. AD 90 Egypt c. AD 168 (aged7778) Alexandria, Egypt
Died
Occupation mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer
Claudius Ptolemy (pron.: /tlmi/; Greek: , Klaudios Ptolemaios; Latin: Claudius Ptolemaeus; c. AD 90 c. AD 168) was a Greek-Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek.[1] He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology.[2][3] He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid. This theory, proposed by Theodore Meliteniotes, could be correct, but it is late (ca. 1360) and unsupported.[4] There is no reason to suppose that he ever lived anywhere else than Alexandria,[4] where he died around AD 168.[5] Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, at least three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest (in Greek, , "The Great Treatise", originally , "Mathematical Treatise"). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known sometimes in Greek as the Apotelesmatika (), more commonly in Greek as the Tetrabiblos ( "Four books"), and in Latin as the Quadripartitum (or four books) in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.
Ptolemy
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Background
The name Claudius is a Roman nomen; the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemy's family to become a citizen (whether he or an ancestor) took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship. If, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD 41 and 68 (when Claudius, and then Nero, were emperors). The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown. It may have been Tiberius, as that praenomen was very common among those whose families had been granted citizenship by these emperors. Ptolemaeus ( Ptolemaios) is a Greek name. It occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form.[6] It was common among the Macedonian upper class at the time of Alexander the Great, and there were several of this name among Alexander's army, one of whom made himself King of Egypt in 323 BC: Ptolemy I Soter. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies.
Perhaps for no other reason than the association of name, the 9th century Persian astronomer Abu Ma'shar assumed Ptolemy to be member of Egypt's royal lineage, stating that the ten kings of Egypt who followed Alexander were wise "and included Ptolemy the Wise, who composed the book of the Almagest". Abu Ma'shar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line "composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy". We can evidence historical confusion on this point from Abu Ma'shar's subsequent remark It is sometimes said that the very learned man who wrote the book of astrology also wrote the book of the Almagest. The correct answer is not known.[7] There is little evidence on the subject of Ptolemy's ancestry, apart from what can be drawn from the details of his name (see above); however modern scholars refer to Abu Mashars account as erroneous,[8] and it is no longer doubted that the astronomer who wrote the Almagest also wrote the Tetrabiblos as its astrological counterpart.[9] Beyond his being considered a member of Alexandria's Greek society, few details of Ptolemy's life are known for certain. He wrote in Ancient Greek and is known to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data.[10][11] He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek,[12][13][14] although some suggest he was a Hellenized Egyptian.[13][15][16] He was often known in later Arabic sources as "the Upper Egyptian",[17] suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt.[18] Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic: Batlaymus.[19]
Engraving of a crowned Ptolemy being guided by the muse Astronomy, from Margarita Philosophica by Gregor Reisch, 1508. Although Abu Ma'shar believed Ptolemy to be one of the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt after the conquest of Alexander the title King Ptolemy is generally viewed as a mark of respect for Ptolemy's elevated standing in science.
Astronomy
The Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Babylonian astronomers had developed arithmetical techniques for calculating astronomical phenomena; Greek astronomers such as Hipparchus had produced geometric models for calculating celestial motions. Ptolemy, however, claimed to have derived his geometrical models from selected astronomical observations by his predecessors spanning more than 800 years, though astronomers have for centuries suspected that his models' parameters were adopted independently of observations.[20] Ptolemy presented his astronomical models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute
Ptolemy the future or past position of the planets.[21] The Almagest also contains a star catalogue, which is an appropriated version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus. Its list of forty-eight constellations is ancestral to the modern system of constellations, but unlike the modern system they did not cover the whole sky (only the sky Hipparchus could see). Through the Middle Ages, it was spoken of as the authoritative text on astronomy, with its author becoming an almost mythical figure, called Ptolemy, King of Alexandria.[22] The Almagest was preserved, like most of Classical Greek science, in Arabic manuscripts (hence its familiar name). Because of its reputation, it was widely sought and was translated twice into Latin in the 12th century, once in Sicily and again in Spain.[23] Ptolemy's model, like those of his predecessors, was geocentric and was almost universally accepted until the appearance of simpler heliocentric models during the scientific revolution. His Planetary Hypotheses went beyond the mathematical model of the Almagest to present a physical realization of the universe as a set of nested spheres,[24] in which he used the epicycles of his planetary model to compute the dimensions of the universe. He estimated the Sun was at an average distance of 1,210 Earth radii, while the radius of the sphere of the fixed stars was 20,000 times the radius of the Earth.[25] Ptolemy presented a useful tool for astronomical calculations in his Handy Tables, which tabulated all the data needed to compute the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the rising and setting of the stars, and eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Ptolemy's Handy Tables provided the model for later astronomical tables or zjes. In the Phaseis (Risings of the Fixed Stars), Ptolemy gave a parapegma, a star calendar or almanac, based on the hands and disappearances of stars over the course of the solar year.
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Geography
Ptolemy's other main work is his Geographia. This also is a compilation of what was known about the world's geography in the Roman Empire during his time. He relied somewhat on the work of an earlier geographer, Marinos of Tyre, and on gazetteers of the Roman and ancient Persian Empire. The first part of the Geographia is a discussion of the data and of the methods he used. As with the model of the solar system in the Almagest, Ptolemy put all this information into a grand scheme. Following Marinos, he assigned coordinates to all the places and geographic features he knew, in a grid that spanned the globe. Latitude was measured from the equator, as it is today, but Ptolemy preferred book 8 [26] to express it as the length of the longest day rather than degrees of arc (the length of the midsummer day increases from 12h to 24h as one goes from the equator to the polar circle). In books 2 through 7, he used degrees and put the meridian of 0 longitude at the most western land he knew, the "Blessed Islands", probably the Cape Verde islands (not the Canary Islands, as long accepted) as suggested by the location of the six dots labelled the "FORTUNATA" islands near the left extreme of the blue sea of Ptolemy's map here reproduced.
Ptolemy
294 Ptolemy also devised and provided instructions on how to create maps both of the whole inhabited world (oikoumen) and of the Roman provinces. In the second part of the Geographia, he provided the necessary topographic lists, and captions for the maps. His oikoumen spanned 180 degrees of longitude from the Blessed Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of China, and about 80 degrees of latitude from Shetland to anti-Meroe (east coast of Africa); Ptolemy was well aware that he knew about only a quarter of the globe, and an erroneous extension of China southward suggests his sources did not reach all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
A 15th-century manuscript copy of the Ptolemy world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's Geographia (circa 150), indicating the countries of "Serica" and "Sinae" (China) at the extreme east, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Malay Peninsula).
The maps in surviving manuscripts of Ptolemy's Geographia, however, only date from about 1300, after the text was rediscovered by Maximus Planudes. It seems likely that the topographical tables in books 27 are cumulative texts texts which were altered and added to as new knowledge became available in the centuries after Ptolemy (Bagrow 1945). This means that information contained in different parts of the Geography is likely to be of different dates. Maps based on scientific principles had been made since the time of Eratosthenes (3rd century BC), but Ptolemy improved projections. It is known that a world map based on the Geographia was on display in Augustodunum, Gaul in late Roman times. In the 15th century, Ptolemy's Geographia began to be printed with engraved maps; the earliest printed edition with engraved maps was produced in Bologna in 1477, followed quickly by a Roman edition in 1478 (Campbell, 1987). An edition printed at Ulm in 1482, including woodcut maps, was the first one printed north of the Alps. The maps A printed map from the 15th century depicting Ptolemy's description of the look distorted when compared to modern Ecumene, (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver). maps, because Ptolemy's data were inaccurate. One reason is that Ptolemy estimated the size of the Earth as too small: while Eratosthenes found 700 stadia for a great circle degree on the globe, Ptolemy uses 500 stadia in the Geographia. It is highly probable that these were the same stadion, since Ptolemy switched from the former scale to the latter between the Syntaxis and the Geographia, and severely readjusted longitude degrees accordingly. If they both used the Attic stadion of about 185 meters, then the older estimate is 1/6 too large, and Ptolemy's value is 1/6 too small, a difference explained due to ancient scientists' use of simple methods for measuring the earth, which were corrupted either high or low by a factor of 5/6, due to the air's bending of horizontal light rays by 1/6 of the Earth's curvature. See also Ancient Greek units of measurement and History of geodesy.
Ptolemy Because Ptolemy derived many of his key latitudes from crude longest day values, his latitudes are erroneous on average by roughly a degree (2 degrees for Byzantium, 4 degrees for Carthage), though capable ancient astronomers knew their latitudes to more like a minute. (Ptolemy's own latitude was in error by 14'.) He agreed (Geographia 1.4) that longitude was best determined by simultaneous observation of lunar eclipses, yet he was so out of touch with the scientists of his day that he knew of no such data more recent than 500 years before (Arbela eclipse). When switching from 700 stadia per degree to 500, he (or Marinos) expanded longitude differences between cities accordingly (a point first realized by P.Gosselin in 1790), resulting in serious over-stretching of the Earth's east-west scale in degrees, though not distance. Achieving highly precise longitude remained a problem in geography until the invention of the marine chronometer at the end of the 18th century. It must be added that his original topographic list cannot be reconstructed: the long tables with numbers were transmitted to posterity through copies containing many scribal errors, and people have always been adding or improving the topographic data: this is a testimony to the persistent popularity of this influential work in the history of cartography.
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Astrology
Ptolemy has been referred to as a pro-astrological authority of the highest magnitude.[27] His astrological treatise, a work in four parts, is known by the Greek term Tetrabiblos, or the Latin equivalent Quadripartitum: Four Books. Ptolemy's own title is unknown, but may have been the term found in some Greek manuscripts: Apotelesmatika, roughly meaning 'Astrological Outcomes,' 'Effects' or Prognostics.[28][29] As a source of reference, the Tetrabiblos is said to have "enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more".[30] It was first translated from Arabic into Latin by Plato of Tivoli (Tiburtinus) in 1138, while he was in Spain.[31] The Tetrabiblos is an extensive and continually reprinted treatise on the ancient principles of horoscopic astrology. That it did not quite attain the The mathematician Claudius Ptolemy 'the Alexandrian' as imagined by a 16th century artist unrivaled status of the Almagest was, perhaps, because it did not cover some popular areas of the subject, particularly electional astrology (interpreting astrological charts for a particular moment to determine the outcome of a course of action to be initiated at that time), and medical astrology, which were later adoptions. The great popularity that the Tetrabiblos did possess might be attributed to its nature as an exposition of the art of astrology, and as a compendium of astrological lore, rather than as a manual. It speaks in general terms, avoiding illustrations and details of practice. Ptolemy was concerned to defend astrology by defining its limits, compiling astronomical data that he believed was reliable and dismissing practices (such as considering the numerological significance of names) that he believed to be without sound basis. Much of the content of the Tetrabiblos was collected from earlier sources; Ptolemy's achievement was to order his material in a systematic way, showing how the subject could, in his view, be rationalized. It is, indeed, presented as the second part of the study of astronomy of which the Almagest was the first, concerned with the influences of the celestial bodies in the sublunar sphere. Thus explanations of a sort are provided for the astrological effects of the planets, based upon their combined effects of heating, cooling, moistening, and drying.
Ptolemy Ptolemy's astrological outlook was quite practical: he thought that astrology was like medicine, that is conjectural, because of the many variable factors to be taken into account: the race, country, and upbringing of a person affects an individual's personality as much as, if not more than, the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the precise moment of their birth, so Ptolemy saw astrology as something to be used in life but in no way relied on entirely. A collection of one hundred aphorisms about astrology called the Centiloquium, ascribed to Ptolemy, was widely reproduced and commented on by Arabic, Latin and Hebrew scholars, and often bound together in medieval manuscripts after the Tetrabiblos as a kind of summation. It is now believed to be a much later pseudepigraphical composition. The identity and date of the actual author of the work, referred to now as Pseudo-Ptolemy, remains the subject of conjecture.
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Music
Ptolemy also wrote an influential work, Harmonics, on music theory and the mathematics of music. After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argued for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (in contrast to the followers of Aristoxenus and in agreement with the followers of Pythagoras), backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the overly theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans). Ptolemy wrote about how musical notes could be translated into mathematical equations and vice versa in Harmonics. This is called Pythagorean tuning because it was first discovered by Pythagoras. However, Pythagoras believed that the mathematics of music should be based on the specific ratio of 3:2, whereas Ptolemy merely believed that it should just generally involve tetrachords and octaves. He presented his own divisions of the tetrachord and the octave, which he derived with the help of a monochord. Ptolemy's astronomical interests also appeared in a discussion of the "music of the spheres". See: Ptolemy's intense diatonic scale.
Optics
His Optics is a work that survives only in a poor Arabic translation and in about twenty manuscripts of a Latin version of the Arabic, which was translated by Eugene of Palermo (c. 1154). In it Ptolemy writes about properties of light, including reflection, refraction, and colour. The work is a significant part of the early history of optics.[32] and influenced the more famous 11th century Optics by Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham). The work is also important for the early history of perception. Ptolemy combined the mathematical, philosophical and physiological traditions. He held an extramission-intromission theory of vision: the rays (or flux) from the eye formed a cone, the vertex being within the eye, and the base defining the visual field. The rays were sensitive, and conveyed information back to the observers intellect about the distance and orientation of surfaces. Size and shape were determined by the visual angle subtended at the eye combined with perceived distance and orientation. This was one of the early statements of size-distance invariance as a cause of perceptual size and shape constancy, a view supported by the Stoics.[33] Ptolemy offered explanations for many phenomena concerning illumination and colour, size, shape, movement and binocular vision. He also divided illusions into those caused by physical or optical factors and those caused by judgemental factors. He offered an obscure explanation of the sun or moon illusion (the enlarged apparent size on the horizon) based on the difficulty of looking upwards.[34][35]
Ptolemy
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Named after Ptolemy

There are several characters or items named after Ptolemy, including: The crater Ptolemaeus on the Moon; The crater Ptolemaeus[36] on Mars; The asteroid 4001 Ptolemaeus; A character in the fantasy series The Bartimaeus Trilogy: this fictional Ptolemy is a young magician (from Alexandria) whom Bartimaeus loved; he made the journey into "the Other Place" being hunted by his cousin, because he was a magician; The name of Celestial Being's carrier ship in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Track number 10 on Selected Ambient Works 8592 by Aphex Twin. The Ptolemy Stone used in the mathematics courses at both St. John's College campuses. English astronomer and TV presenter Sir Patrick Moore owned a cat named Ptolemy.
Footnotes
[1] See 'Background' section on his status as a Roman citizen [2] Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology By John William Mackail Page 246 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=ACj9V58WKDUC& pg=PA291& dq=Claudius+ Ptolemaeus+ + epigram#v=onepage& q=Claudius Ptolemaeus epigram& f=false) ISBN 14069229432007 [3] Mortal am I, the creature of a day.. (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?hl=en& rlz=1C1CHMG_en-USGR291GR308& q=Mortal am I, the creature of a day and yet I trace the& um=1& ie=UTF-8& sa=N& tab=wp) [4] "Ptolemy (or Claudius Ptolemaeus). " Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (http:/ / www. encyclopedia. com/ doc/ 1G2-2830905911. html). 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Sep. 2011. [5] Jean Claude Pecker (2001), Understanding the Heavens: Thirty Centuries of Astronomical Ideas from Ancient Thinking to Modern Cosmology, p. 311, Springer, ISBN 3-540-63198-4. [6] (http:/ / www. perseus. tufts. edu/ hopper/ text?doc=Perseus:text:1999. 04. 0073:entry=*ptolemai=os), Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus [7] Abu Mashar, De magnis coniunctionibus, ed.-transl. K. Yamamoto, Ch. Burnett, Leiden, 2000, 2 vols. (Arabic & Latin text); 4.1.4. [8] Jones (2010) Ptolemys Doctrine of the Terms and Its Reception by Stephan Heilen, p. 68. [9] Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos Introduction; p. x. [10] Asger Aaboe, Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy, New York: Springer, 2001, pp. 6265. [11] Alexander Jones, "The Adaptation of Babylonian Methods in Greek Numerical Astronomy," in The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, p. 99. [12] Enc. Britannica 2007, "Claudius Ptolemaeus" Britannica.com (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ ebc/ article-9376085) [13] Victor J. Katz (1998). A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, p. 184. Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-321-01618-1. [14] "Ptolemy." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 2006. Answers.com 20 Jul. 2008. [15] George Sarton (1936). "The Unity and Diversity of the Mediterranean World", Osiris 2, p. 406463 [429]. [16] John Horace Parry (1981). The Age of Reconnaissance, p. 10. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04235-2. [17] J. F. Weidler (1741). Historia astronomiae, p. 177. Wittenberg: Gottlieb. (cf. Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", Isis 83 (4), p. 596607 [606].) [18] Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", Isis 83 (4), p. 596607 [602, 606]. [19] edited by Shahid Rahman, Tony Street, Hassan Tahiri. (2008). "The Birth of Scientific Controversies, The Dynamics of the Arabic Tradition and Its Impact on the Development of Science: Ibn al-Haythams Challenge of Ptolemys Almagest". The Unity of Science in the Arabic Tradition. 11. Springer Netherlandsdoi=10.1007/978-1-4020-8405-8. pp.183225 [183]. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8405-8. ISBN978-1-4020-8404-1. [20] "Dennis Rawlins" (http:/ / www. dioi. org/ cot. htm#mjpg). The International Journal of Scientific History. . Retrieved 2009-10-07. [21] Bernard R. Goldstein, "Saving the Phenomena: The Background to Ptolemy's Planetary Theory", Journal for the History of Astronomy, 28 (1997): 112 [22] S. C. McCluskey, Astronomies and Cultures in Early Medieval Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. 1998, pp. 2021. [23] Charles Homer Haskins, Studies in the History of Mediaeval Science, New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1967, reprint of the Cambridge, Mass., 1927 edition [24] Dennis Duke, Ptolemy's Cosmology (http:/ / people. scs. fsu. edu/ ~dduke/ ptolemy. html) [25] Bernard R. Goldstein, ed., The Arabic Version of Ptolemy's Planetary Hypotheses, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 57, 4 (1967), pp. 912. [26] http:/ / www. dioi. org/ diller8/ diller8. htm [27] Jones (2010) The Use and Abuse of Ptolemys Tetrabiblos in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe by H. Darrel Rutkin, p. 135.
Ptolemy
[28] Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, 'Introduction' p. x. [29] Jones (2010) p. xii. [30] Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, 'Introduction' p. xii. [31] FA Robbins, 1940; Thorndike 1923) [32] Smith, A. Mark (1996). Ptolemy's Theory of Visual Perception An English translation of the Optics (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=mhLVHR5QAQkC& pg=PP1& dq=ptolemy+ theory+ of+ visual+ perception). The American Philosophical Society. ISBN0-87169-862-5. . Retrieved 27 June 2009. [33] Ross, H.E. and Plug, C. (1998) The history of size constancy and size illusions. In Walsh, V. & Kulikowski, J. (Eds) Perceptual constancy: Why things look as they do. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 499-528. [34] Ross, H.E. and Ross, G.M. (1976) Did Ptolemy understand the moon illusion? Perception, 5: 377-395. [35] Sabra, A. I. (1987) Psychology versus mathematics: Ptolemy and Alhazen on the moon illusion. In Grant, E. & Murdoch, J.E. (Eds) Mathematics and its application to science and natural philosophy in the Middle Ages (pp.217-247). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [36] Mars Labs (http:/ / www. google. com/ mars/ #lat=-9. 622414& lon=-113. 203125& q=ptolemaeus). Google Maps.
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References
Texts and translations
Bagrow, L. (January 1, 1945). "The Origin of Ptolemy's Geographia". Geografiska Annaler (Geografiska Annaler, Vol. 27) 27: 318387. doi:10.2307/520071. ISSN16513215. JSTOR520071. Berggren, J. Lennart, and Alexander Jones. 2000. Ptolemy's Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01042-0. Campbell, T. (1987). The Earliest Printed Maps. British Museum Press. Hbner, Wolfgang, ed. 1998. Claudius Ptolemaeus, Opera quae exstant omnia Vol III/Fasc 1: (= Tetrabiblos). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-598-71746-8 (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana). (The most recent edition of the Greek text of Ptolemy's astrological work, based on earlier editions by F. Boll and E. Boer.) Lejeune, A. (1989) L'Optique de Claude Ptolme dans la version latine d'aprs l'arabe de l'mir Eugne de Sicile. [Latin text with French translation]. Collection de travaux de l'Acadmie International d'Histoire des Sciences, No. 31. Leiden: E.J.Brill. Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy. I-III. Berlin and New York: Sprnger Verlag. Nobbe, C. F. A., ed. 1843. Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia. 3 vols. Leipzig: Carolus Tauchnitus. (The most recent edition of the complete Greek text) Ptolemy. 1930. Die Harmonielehre des Klaudios Ptolemaios, edited by Ingemar Dring. Gteborgs hgskolas rsskrift 36, 1930:1. Gteborg: Elanders boktr. aktiebolag. Reprint, New York: Garland Publishing, 1980. Ptolemy. 2000. Harmonics, translated and commentary by Jon Solomon. Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava, Supplementum, 0169-8958, 203. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11591-9 Robbins, Frank E. (ed.) 1940. Ptolemy Tetrabiblos. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). ISBN 0-674-99479-5. Smith, A.M. (1996) Ptolemy's theory of visual perception: An English translation of the Optics with introduction and commentary. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 86, Part 2. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society. Stevenson, Edward Luther (trans. and ed.). 1932. Claudius Ptolemy: The Geography. New York: New York Public Library. Reprint, New York: Dover, 1991. (This is the only complete English translation of Ptolemy's most famous work. Unfortunately, it is marred by numerous mistakes and the placenames are given in Latinised forms, rather than in the original Greek). Stckelberger, Alfred, and Gerd Grahoff (eds). 2006. Ptolemaios, Handbuch der Geographie, Griechisch-Deutsch. 2 vols. Basel: Schwabe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7965-2148-5. (Massive 1018 pp. scholarly edition by a team of a dozen scholars that takes account of all known manuscripts, with facing Greek and German
Ptolemy text, footnotes on manuscript variations, color maps, and a CD with the geographical data) Taub, Liba Chia (1993). Ptolemy's Universe: The Natural Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Ptolemy's Astronomy. Chicago: Open Court Press. ISBN0-8126-9229-2. Ptolemy's Almagest, Translated and annotated by G. J. Toomer. Princeton University Press, 1998
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External links
Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries (http://hos.ou.edu/ galleries//02LateAncient/Ptolemy/) High resolution images of works by Ptolemy in .jpg and .tiff format.
Primary sources
Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos at LacusCurtius (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ptolemy/ Tetrabiblos/home.html) (English translation of a portion of the material, with introductory material) Entire Tetrabiblos of J.M. Ashmand's 1822 translation. (http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/ptb/index.htm) Ptolemy's Geography at LacusCurtius (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/ _Texts/Ptolemy/home.html) (English translation, incomplete) Extracts of Ptolemy on the country of the Seres (China) (http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/III-2-F-b-2/V-1/page/ 0162.html.ja) (English translation) Geographia (the Balkan Provinces, with old maps) (http://soltdm.com/sources/mss/ptol/ptol_0.htm) at Sorin Olteanu's LTDM Project (soltdm.com) (http://soltdm.com/index.htm) Almagest books 113 (http://www.wilbourhall.org/index.html#ptolemy) The complete text of Heiberg's edition (PDF) Greek. Almagest books 16 (http://www.archive.org/details/pt1claudiiptolemaei01ptoluoft) (Greek) with preface (Latin) @ archive.org
Secondary material
Arnett, Bill (2008). "Ptolemy, the Man" (http://obs.nineplanets.org/psc/theman.html). obs.nineplanets.org. Retrieved 2008-11-24. Danzer, Gerald (1988). "Cartographic Images of the World on the Eve of the Discoveries" (http://www. newberry.org/smith/slidesets/ss08.html). The Newberry Library. Retrieved 26 November 2008. Haselein, Frank (2007). " : (Geographie)" (http://wwwuser. gwdg.de/~fhasele/ptolemaeus/index.html) (in German and some English). Frank Haselein. Retrieved 2008-11-24. Houlding, Deborah (2003). "The Life & Work of Ptolemy" (http://www.skyscript.co.uk/ptolemy.html). Skyscript.co. Retrieved 2008-11-24. Jones, Alexander (ed.) 2010. Ptolemy in Perspective: Use and Criticism of his Work from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. New York: Series: Archimedes, Vol. 23., ISBN 978-90-481-2787-0 Toomer, Gerald J. (1970). "Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemus)" (http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aversa/scholastic/ Dictionary of Scientific Biography/Ptolemy (Toomer).pdf). In Gillispie, Charles. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 11. New York: Scribner & American Council of Learned Societies. pp.186206. ISBN978-0-684-10114-9. Sprague, Ben (20012007). "Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy): Representation, Understanding, and Mathematical Labeling of the Spherical Earth" (http://www.csiss.org/classics/content/76). Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
Ptolemy Animated illustrations Java simulation of the Ptolemaic System (http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/stoddard/JAVA/ptolemy.html) at Paul Stoddard's Animated Virtual Planetarium, Northern Illinois University Animation of Ptolemy's Two Solar Hypotheses (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plxed3JVOnI) Epicycle and Deferent Demo (http://www.phy.syr.edu/courses/java/demos/kennett/Epicycle/Epicycle. html) at Rosemary Kennett's website at the University of Syracuse Flash animation of Ptolemy's universe. (http://people.scs.fsu.edu/~dduke/ptolemy.html) (best in Internet Explorer)
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0 (number)
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0 (number)
0 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 List of numbers Integers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Cardinal Ordinal Factorization Divisors all other numbers (except itself) 0, zero, "oh" (pron.: /o/), nought, naught, nil. 0th, zeroth, noughth
Arabic Bengali Devangar Chinese Japanese Khmer Thai Binary Octal Duodecimal
,0
, , 0 0 0
Hexadecimal 0
0 (zero; BrE: /zr/, ZIRR-oh or AmE: /ziro/, ZEER-oh) is both a number[1] and the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals. It fulfils a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems. In the English language, 0 may be called zero, nought or (US) naught (pron.: /nt/), nil, or in contexts where at least one adjacent digit distinguishes it from the letter "O" oh or o (pron.: /o/). Informal or slang terms for zero include zilch and zip.[2] Ought or aught (pron.: /t/) has also been used historically.[3] (See Names for the number 0 in English.)
Etymology
The word zero came via French zro from Venetian zero, which (together with cypher) came via Italian zefiro from Arabic ,afira = "it was empty", ifr = "zero", "nothing". This was a translation of the Sanskrit word shoonya (nya), meaning "empty". The first known English use was in 1598.[4][5][6][7]
History
Mesopotamia
By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, the Babylonian mathematics had a sophisticated sexagesimal positional numeral system. The lack of a positional value (or zero) was indicated by a space between sexagesimal numerals. By
0 (number) 300BC, a punctuation symbol (two slanted wedges) was co-opted as a placeholder in the same Babylonian system. In a tablet unearthed at Kish (dating from about 700BC), the scribe Bl-bn-aplu wrote his zeros with three hooks, rather than two slanted wedges.[8] The Babylonian placeholder was not a true zero because it was not used alone. Nor was it used at the end of a number. Thus numbers like 2 and 120 (260), 3 and 180 (360), 4 and 240 (460), looked the same because the larger numbers lacked a final sexagesimal placeholder. Only context could differentiate them.
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India
The concept of zero as a number and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India, where, by the 9th century AD, practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number, even in case of division.[9][10] The Indian scholar Pingala (circa 5th-2nd century BC) used binary numbers in the form of short and long syllables (the latter equal in length to two short syllables), making it similar to Morse code.[11][12] He and his contemporary Indian scholars used the Sanskrit word nya to refer to zero or void. The use of a blank on a counting board to represent 0 dated back in India to 4th century BC.[13] In 498AD, Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata stated that "sthnt sthna daagua syt"[14] i.e. "from place to place each is ten times the preceding"[14] which is the origin of the modern decimal-based place value notation. The oldest known text to use a decimal place-value system, including a zero, is the Jain text from India entitled the Lokavibhga, dated 458AD, where shunya ("void" or "empty") was employed for this purpose.[15] The first known use of special glyphs for the decimal digits that includes the indubitable appearance of a symbol for the digit zero, a small circle, appears on a stone inscription found at the Chaturbhuja Temple at Gwalior in India, dated 876AD.[16][17] There are many documents on copper plates, with the same small o in them, dated back as far as the sixth century AD, but their authenticity may be doubted.[8]
China
Since the 4th century BC, counting rods were used in China for decimal calculations including the use of blank spaces. The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art of 213 B.C.[18] instructed "[when subtracting] subtract same-signed numbers, add differently signed numbers, subtract a positive number from zero to make a negative number, and subtract a negative number from zero to make a positive number."[19] The word wr ( ) (rendered here as zero, its standard translation by mathematical historians) literally means "no entry" or "null enters". Along with negative numbers, Chinese mathematicians understood zero, and some of them indicated it with wr ( "no entry"), kng ( "empty") and the frame-like symbol /, Gautama Siddha introduced the symbol 0 in the 8th century.[20][21] Chin Chu-shao's 1247 Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections is the oldest surviving Chinese mathematical text using a round symbol for zero,[22] and Chinese authors were familiar with the idea of negative numbers well before the fifteenth century when they became well established in Europe.[22]
The Arab world

The Hindu-Arabic numerals and the positional number system were introduced around 500AD, and in 825AD, it was introduced by a Persian scientist, al-Khwrizm,[23] in his book on arithmetic. This book synthesized Greek and Hindu knowledge and also contained his own fundamental contribution to mathematics and science including an explanation of the use of zero. It was only centuries later, in the 12th century, that the Arabic numeral system was introduced to the Western world through Latin translations of his treatise Arithmetic.
0 (number)
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Greeks and Romans

Records show that the ancient Greeks seemed unsure about the status of zero as a number. They asked themselves, "How can nothing be something?", leading to philosophical and, by the Medieval period, religious arguments about the nature and existence of zero and the vacuum. The paradoxes of Zeno of Elea depend in large part on the uncertain interpretation of zero. By 130AD, Ptolemy, influenced by Hipparchus and the Babylonians, was using a symbol for zero (a small circle with a long overbar) within a sexagesimal numeral system otherwise using alphabetic Greek numerals. Because it was used alone, not just as a placeholder, this Hellenistic zero was perhaps the first documented use of a number zero in the Old World. However, the positions were usually limited to the fractional part of a number (called minutes, Example of the early Greek symbol for zero (lower right corner) from a 2nd seconds, thirds, fourths, etc.)they were century papyrus not used for the integral part of a number. In later Byzantine manuscripts of Ptolemy's Syntaxis Mathematica (also known as the Almagest), the Hellenistic zero had morphed into the Greek letter omicron (otherwise meaning 70). Another zero was used in tables alongside Roman numerals by 525 (first known use by Dionysius Exiguus), but as a word, nulla meaning "nothing", not as a symbol. When division produced zero as a remainder, nihil, also meaning "nothing", was used. These medieval zeros were used by all future medieval computists (calculators of Easter). The initial "N" was used as a zero symbol in a table of Roman numerals by Bede or his colleague around 725.
0 (number)
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The Americas
The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar developed in south-central Mexico and Central America required the use of zero as a place-holder within its vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. Many different glyphs, including this partial quatrefoil were used as a zero symbol for these Long Count dates, the earliest of which (on Stela 2 at Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas) has a date of 36BC.[24] Since the eight earliest Long Count dates appear outside the Maya homeland,[25] it is assumed that the use of zero in the Americas predated the Maya and was possibly the invention of the Olmecs. Many of the earliest Long Count dates were found within the Olmec heartland, although the Olmec civilization ended by the 4th century BC, several centuries before the earliest known Long Count dates. Although zero became an integral part of Maya numerals, it did not influence Old World numeral systems. Quipu, a knotted cord device, used in the Inca Empire and its predecessor societies in the Andean region to record accounting and other digital data, is encoded in a base ten positional system. Zero is represented by the absence of a knot in the appropriate position.
The back of Olmec stela C from Tres Zapotes, the second oldest Long Count date discovered. The numerals 7.16.6.16.18 translate to September, 32BC (Julian). The glyphs surrounding the date are thought to be one of the few surviving examples of Epi-Olmec script.
As a number
0 is the integer immediately preceding 1. Zero is an even number,[26] because it is divisible by 2. 0 is neither positive nor negative. By most definitions[27] 0 is a natural number, and then the only natural number not to be positive. Zero is a number which quantifies a count or an amount of null size. In most cultures, 0 was identified before the idea of negative things (quantities) that go lower than zero was accepted. The value, or number, zero is not the same as the digit zero, used in numeral systems using positional notation. Successive positions of digits have higher weights, so inside a numeral the digit zero is used to skip a position and give appropriate weights to the preceding and following digits. A zero digit is not always necessary in a positional number system, for example, in the number 02. In some instances, a leading zero may be used to distinguish a number.
As a year label
In the BC calendar era, the year 1 BC is the first year before AD 1; no room is reserved for a year zero. By contrast, in astronomical year numbering, the year 1BC is numbered 0, the year 2BC is numbered 1, and so on.[28]
Names and symbols

In 976 AD the Persian encyclopedist Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi, in his "Keys of the Sciences", remarked that if, in a calculation, no number appears in the place of tens, then a little circle should be used "to keep the rows". This circle the Arabs called ifr, "empty". That was the earliest mention of the name ifr that eventually became zero.[23] Italian zefiro already meant "west wind" from Latin and Greek zephyrus; this may have influenced the spelling when transcribing Arabic ifr.[29] The Italian mathematician Fibonacci (c.11701250), who grew up in North Africa and is credited with introducing the decimal system to Europe, used the term zephyrum. This became zefiro in Italian, which was contracted to zero in Venetian.
0 (number) As the decimal zero and its new mathematics spread from the Arab world to Europe in the Middle Ages, words derived from ifr and zephyrus came to refer to calculation, as well as to privileged knowledge and secret codes. According to Ifrah, "in thirteenth-century Paris, a 'worthless fellow' was called a '... cifre en algorisme', i.e., an 'arithmetical nothing'."[29] From ifr also came French chiffre = "digit", "figure", "number", chiffrer = "to calculate or compute", chiffr = "encrypted". Today, the word in Arabic is still ifr, and cognates of ifr are common in the languages of Europe and southwest Asia. The modern numerical digit 0 is usually written as a circle or ellipse. Traditionally, many print typefaces made the capital letter O more rounded than the narrower, elliptical digit 0.[30] Typewriters originally made no distinction in shape between O and 0; some models did not even have a separate key for the digit 0. The distinction came into prominence on modern character displays.[30] A slashed zero can be used to distinguish the number from the letter. The digit 0 with a dot in the center seems to have originated as an option on IBM 3270 displays and has continued with the some modern computer typefaces such as Andal Mono. One variation uses a short vertical bar instead of the dot. Some fonts designed for use with computers made one of the capital-Odigit-0 pair more rounded and the other more angular (closer to a rectangle). A further distinction is made in falsification-hindering typeface as used on German car number plates by slitting open the digit 0 on the upper right side. Sometimes the digit 0 is used either exclusively, or not at all, to avoid confusion altogether.
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Rules of Brahmagupta
The rules governing the use of zero appeared for the first time in Brahmagupta's book Brahmasputha Siddhanta (The Opening of the Universe),[31] written in 628AD. Here Brahmagupta considers not only zero, but negative numbers, and the algebraic rules for the elementary operations of arithmetic with such numbers. In some instances, his rules differ from the modern standard. Here are the rules of Brahmagupta:[31] The sum of zero and a negative number is negative. The sum of zero and a positive number is positive. The sum of zero and zero is zero. The sum of a positive and a negative is their difference; or, if their absolute values are equal, zero. A positive or negative number when divided by zero is a fraction with the zero as denominator. Zero divided by a negative or positive number is either zero or is expressed as a fraction with zero as numerator and the finite quantity as denominator. Zero divided by zero is zero. In saying zero divided by zero is zero, Brahmagupta differs from the modern position. Mathematicians normally do not assign a value to this, whereas computers and calculators sometimes assign NaN, which means "not a number." Moreover, non-zero positive or negative numbers when divided by zero are either assigned no value, or a value of unsigned infinity, positive infinity, or negative infinity. Once again, these assignments are not numbers, and are associated more with computer science than pure mathematics, where in most contexts no assignment is done.
0 (number)
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Zero as a decimal digit

Positional notation without the use of zero (using an empty space in tabular arrangements, or the word kha "emptiness") is known to have been in use in India from the 6th century. The earliest certain use of zero as a decimal positional digit dates to the 5th century mention in the text Lokavibhaga. The glyph for the zero digit was written in the shape of a dot, and consequently called bindu ("dot"). The dot had been used in Greece during earlier ciphered numeral periods. The Hindu-Arabic numeral system (base 10) reached Europe in the 11th century, via the Iberian Peninsula through Spanish Muslims, the Moors, together with knowledge of astronomy and instruments like the astrolabe, first imported by Gerbert of Aurillac. For this reason, the numerals came to be known in Europe as "Arabic numerals". The Italian mathematician Fibonacci or Leonardo of Pisa was instrumental in bringing the system into European mathematics in 1202, stating: After my father's appointment by his homeland as state official in the customs house of Bugia for the Pisan merchants who thronged to it, he took charge; and in view of its future usefulness and convenience, had me in my boyhood come to him and there wanted me to devote myself to and be instructed in the study of calculation for some days. There, following my introduction, as a consequence of marvelous instruction in the art, to the nine digits of the Hindus, the knowledge of the art very much appealed to me before all others, and for it I realized that all its aspects were studied in Egypt, Syria, Greece, Sicily, and Provence, with their varying methods; and at these places thereafter, while on business. I pursued my study in depth and learned the give-and-take of disputation. But all this even, and the algorism, as well as the art of Pythagoras, I considered as almost a mistake in respect to the method of the Hindus (Modus Indorum). Therefore, embracing more stringently that method of the Hindus, and taking stricter pains in its study, while adding certain things from my own understanding and inserting also certain things from the niceties of Euclid's geometric art. I have striven to compose this book in its entirety as understandably as I could, dividing it into fifteen chapters. Almost everything which I have introduced I have displayed with exact proof, in order that those further seeking this knowledge, with its pre-eminent method, might be instructed, and further, in order that the Latin people might not be discovered to be without it, as they have been up to now. If I have perchance omitted anything more or less proper or necessary, I beg indulgence, since there is no one who is blameless and utterly provident in all things. The nine Indian figures are: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. With these nine figures, and with the sign 0 ... any number may be written.[32][33] Here Leonardo of Pisa uses the phrase "sign 0", indicating it is like a sign to do operations like addition or multiplication. From the 13th century, manuals on calculation (adding, multiplying, extracting roots, etc.) became common in Europe where they were called algorismus after the Persian mathematician al-Khwrizm. The most popular was written by Johannes de Sacrobosco, about 1235 and was one of the earliest scientific books to be printed in 1488. Until the late 15th century, Hindu-Arabic numerals seem to have predominated among mathematicians, while merchants preferred to use the Roman numerals. In the 16th century, they became commonly used in Europe.
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In mathematics
Elementary algebra
The number 0 is the smallest non-negative integer. The natural number following 0 is 1 and no natural number precedes 0. The number 0 may or may not be considered a natural number, but it is a whole number and hence a rational number and a real number (as well as an algebraic number and a complex number). The number 0 is neither positive nor negative and appears in the middle of a number line. It is neither a prime number nor a composite number. It cannot be prime because it has an infinite number of factors and cannot be composite because it cannot be expressed by multiplying prime numbers (0 must always be one of the factors).[34] Zero is, however, even (see parity of zero). The following are some basic (elementary) rules for dealing with the number 0. These rules apply for any real or complex number x, unless otherwise stated. Addition: x + 0 = 0 + x = x. That is, 0 is an identity element (or neutral element) with respect to addition. Subtraction: x 0 = x and 0 x = x. Multiplication: x 0 = 0 x = 0. Division: 0x = 0, for nonzero x. But x0 is undefined, because 0 has no multiplicative inverse (no real number multiplied by 0 produces 1), a consequence of the previous rule; see division by zero. Exponentiation: x0 = x/x = 1, except that the case x = 0 may be left undefined in some contexts; see Zero to the zero power. For all positive real x, 0x = 0. The expression 00, which may be obtained in an attempt to determine the limit of an expression of the form f(x)g(x) as a result of applying the lim operator independently to both operands of the fraction, is a so-called "indeterminate form". That does not simply mean that the limit sought is necessarily undefined; rather, it means that the limit of f(x) g(x), if it exists, must be found by another method, such as l'Hpital's rule. The sum of 0 numbers is 0, and the product of 0 numbers is 1. The factorial 0! evaluates to 1.
Other branches of mathematics

In set theory, 0 is the cardinality of the empty set: if one does not have any apples, then one has 0 apples. In fact, in certain axiomatic developments of mathematics from set theory, 0 is defined to be the empty set. When this is done, the empty set is the Von Neumann cardinal assignment for a set with no elements, which is the empty set. The cardinality function, applied to the empty set, returns the empty set as a value, thereby assigning it 0 elements. Also in set theory, 0 is the lowest ordinal number, corresponding to the empty set viewed as a well-ordered set. In propositional logic, 0 may be used to denote the truth value false. In abstract algebra, 0 is commonly used to denote a zero element, which is a neutral element for addition (if defined on the structure under consideration) and an absorbing element for multiplication (if defined). In lattice theory, 0 may denote the bottom element of a bounded lattice. In category theory, 0 is sometimes used to denote an initial object of a category. In recursion theory, 0 can be used to denote the Turing degree of the partial computable functions.
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Related mathematical terms

A zero of a function f is a point x in the domain of the function such that f(x) = 0. When there are finitely many zeros these are called the roots of the function. See also zero (complex analysis) for zeros of a holomorphic function. The zero function (or zero map) on a domain D is the constant function with 0 as its only possible output value, i.e., the function f defined by f(x) = 0 for all x in D. A particular zero function is a zero morphism in category theory; e.g., a zero map is the identity in the additive group of functions. The determinant on non-invertible square matrices is a zero map. Several branches of mathematics have zero elements, which generalise either the property 0 + x = x, or the property 0 x = 0, or both.
In science
Physics
The value zero plays a special role for many physical quantities. For some quantities, the zero level is naturally distinguished from all other levels, whereas for others it is more or less arbitrarily chosen. For example, on the Kelvin temperature scale, zero is the coldest possible temperature (negative temperatures exist but are not actually colder), whereas on the Celsius scale, zero is arbitrarily defined to be at the freezing point of water. Measuring sound intensity in decibels or phons, the zero level is arbitrarily set at a reference valuefor example, at a value for the threshold of hearing. In physics, the zero-point energy is the lowest possible energy that a quantum mechanical physical system may possess and is the energy of the ground state of the system.
Chemistry
Zero has been proposed as the atomic number of the theoretical element tetraneutron. It has been shown that a cluster of four neutrons may be stable enough to be considered an atom in its own right. This would create an element with no protons and no charge on its nucleus. As early as 1926, Professor Andreas von Antropoff coined the term neutronium for a conjectured form of matter made up of neutrons with no protons, which he placed as the chemical element of atomic number zero at the head of his new version of the periodic table. It was subsequently placed as a noble gas in the middle of several spiral representations of the periodic system for classifying the chemical elements.
In computer science
The most common practice throughout human history has been to start counting at one, and this is the practice in early classic computer science programming languages such as Fortran and COBOL. However, in the late 1950s LISP introduced zero-based numbering for arrays while Algol 58 introduced completely flexible basing for array subscripts (allowing any positive, negative, or zero integer as base for array subscripts), and most subsequent programming languages adopted one or other of these positions. For example, the elements of an array are numbered starting from 0 in C, so that for an array of n items the sequence of array indices runs from 0 to n1. This permits an array element's location to be calculated by adding the index directly to address of the array, whereas 1 based languages precalculate the array's base address to be the position one element before the first. There can be confusion between 0 and 1 based indexing, for example Java's JDBC indexes parameters from 1 although Java itself uses 0-based indexing. In databases, it is possible for a field not to have a value. It is then said to have a null value. For numeric fields it is not the value zero. For text fields this is not blank nor the empty string. The presence of null values leads to three-valued logic. No longer is a condition either true or false, but it can be undetermined. Any computation
0 (number) including a null value delivers a null result. Asking for all records with value 0 or value not equal 0 will not yield all records, since the records with value null are excluded. A null pointer is a pointer in a computer program that does not point to any object or function. In C, the integer constant 0 is converted into the null pointer at compile time when it appears in a pointer context, and so 0 is a standard way to refer to the null pointer in code. However, the internal representation of the null pointer may be any bit pattern (possibly different values for different data types). In mathematics , both 0 and +0 represent exactly the same number, i.e., there is no "negative zero" distinct from zero. In some signed number representations (but not the two's complement representation used to represent integers in most computers today) and most floating point number representations, zero has two distinct representations, one grouping it with the positive numbers and one with the negatives; this latter representation is known as negative zero.
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In other fields
In some countries and some company phone networks, dialing 0 on a telephone places a call for operator assistance. DVDs that can be played in any region are sometimes referred to as being "region 0" Roulette wheels usually feature a "0" space (and sometimes also a "00" space), whose presence is ignored when calculating payoffs (thereby allowing the house to win in the long run). In Formula One, if the reigning World Champion no longer competes in Formula One in the year following their victory in the title race, 0 is given to one of the drivers of the team that the reigning champion won the title with. This happened in 1993 and 1994, with Damon Hill driving car 0, due to the reigning World Champion (Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost respectively) not competing in the championship.
Notes
[1] Russel, Bertrand (1942). Principles of mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=63ooitcP2osC) (2 ed.). Forgotten Books. p.125. ISBN1-4400-5416-9. ., Chapter 14, page 125 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=63ooitcP2osC& pg=PA125) [2] Catherine Soanes, ed. (2001) (Hardback). The Oxford Dictionary, Thesaurus and Wordpower Guide. Maurice Waite, Sara Hawker (2nd ed.). New York, United States: Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-860373-3. [3] aught at etymonline.com (http:/ / www. etymonline. com/ index. php?search=aught& searchmode=none) [4] Menninger, Karl (1992). Number words and number symbols: a cultural history of numbers (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=BFJHzSIj2u0C). Courier Dover Publications. p.401. ISBN0-486-27096-3. . [5] ""zero, n.". OED Online. December 2011. Oxford University Press. (accessed March 04, 2012)." (http:/ / www. oed. com/ view/ Entry/ 232803?rskey=zGcSoq& result=1& isAdvanced=false). Archived (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 65yd7ur9u) from the original on 2012-03-06. . Retrieved 2012-03-04. [6] "cipher | cypher, n.". OED Online. December 2011. Oxford University Press. (accessed March 04, 2012). (http:/ / www. oed. com/ view/ Entry/ 33155) [7] Merriam Webster online Dictionary (http:/ / www. merriam-webster. com/ dictionary/ zero) [8] Kaplan, Robert. (2000). The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [9] Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Elements of the History of Mathematics. Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York: Springer-Verlag. 46. ISBN 3-540-64767-8. [10] Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007), entry algebra [11] Binary Numbers in Ancient India (http:/ / home. ica. net/ ~roymanju/ Binary. htm) [12] Math for Poets and Drummers (http:/ / www. sju. edu/ ~rhall/ Rhythms/ Poets/ arcadia. pdf) (pdf, 145KB) [13] Robert Temple, The Genius of China, A place for zero; ISBN 1-85375-292-4 [14] Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata, translated by Walter Eugene Clark. [15] Ifrah, Georges (2000), p.416. [16] Bill Casselman (University of British Columbia), American Mathematical Society, " All for Nought (http:/ / www. ams. org/ featurecolumn/ archive/ india-zero. html)" [17] Ifrah, Georges (2000), p.400. [18] Its known text survives as a commentary on its fragments, prepared by Liu Hui in A.D. 263, according to Mathematics in the Near and Far East (http:/ / grmath4. phpnet. us/ istoria/ the_history_of math_greece/ the_history_of math_greece_3-5. pdf), pp. 255262
0 (number)
[19] "Chapter 8" includes : This may be found in context in Chinese text of The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. [20] (http:/ / www. nownews. com/ 2008/ 11/ 03/ 142-2359146. htm) [21] (http:/ / www. math. sinica. edu. tw/ math_media/ pdf. php?m_file=ZDI2My8yNjMwNg==) [22] Mathematics in the Near and Far East (http:/ / grmath4. phpnet. us/ istoria/ the_history_of math_greece/ the_history_of math_greece_3-5. pdf), p. 262 [23] Will Durant, 'The Story of Civilization, Volume 4, 'The Age of Faith, pp. 241. (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ ageoffaithahisto012288mbp) [24] No long count date actually using the number 0 has been found before the 3rd century AD, but since the long count system would make no sense without some placeholder, and since Mesoamerican glyphs do not typically leave empty spaces, these earlier dates are taken as indirect evidence that the concept of 0 already existed at the time. [25] Diehl, p. 186 [26] Lemma B.2.2, The integer 0 is even and is not odd, in Penner, Robert C. (1999). Discrete Mathematics: Proof Techniques and Mathematical Structures. World Scientific. p.34. ISBN981-02-4088-0. [27] Bunt, Lucas Nicolaas Hendrik; Jones, Phillip S.; Bedient, Jack D. (1988). The historical roots of elementary mathematics (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=7xArILpcndYC). Courier Dover Publications. pp.254255. ISBN0-486-2556-3. ., Extract of pages 254-255 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=7xArILpcndYC& pg=PA255) [28] Steel, Duncan (2000). Marking time: the epic quest to invent the perfect calendar. John Wiley & Sons. p.113. ISBN0-471-29827-1. "In the B.C./A.D. scheme there is no year zero. After 31 December 1BC came AD 1 January 1. ... If you object to that no-year-zero scheme, then don't use it: use the astronomer's counting scheme, with negative year numbers." [29] Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. Wiley. ISBN0-471-39340-1. [30] Bemer, R. W. (1967). "Towards standards for handwritten zero and oh: much ado about nothing (and a letter), or a partial dossier on distinguishing between handwritten zero and oh". Communications of the ACM 10 (8): 513518. doi:10.1145/363534.363563. [31] Algebra with Arithmetic of Brahmagupta and Bhaskara (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=A3cAAAAAMAAJ& printsec=frontcover& dq=brahmagupta), translated to English by Henry Thomas Colebrooke, London1817 [32] Sigler, L., Fibonacci's Liber Abaci. English translation, Springer, 2003. [33] Grimm, R.E., "The Autobiography of Leonardo Pisano", Fibonacci Quarterly 11/1 (February 1973), pp. 99104. [34] Reid, Constance (1992). From zero to infinity: what makes numbers interesting (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=d3NFIvrTk4sC& pg=PA23& dq=zero+ neither+ prime+ nor+ composite& q=zero neither prime nor composite) (4th ed.). Mathematical Association of America. p.23. ISBN978-0-88385-505-8. .
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References
This article is based on material taken from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing prior to 1 November 2008 and incorporated under the "relicensing" terms of the GFDL, version 1.3 or later. Barrow, John D. (2001) The Book of Nothing, Vintage. ISBN 0-09-928845-1. Diehl, Richard A. (2004) The Olmecs: America's First Civilization, Thames & Hudson, London. Ifrah, Georges (2000) The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer, Wiley. ISBN 0-471-39340-1. Kaplan, Robert (2000) The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seife, Charles (2000) Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, Penguin USA (Paper). ISBN 0-14-029647-6. Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Elements of the History of Mathematics. Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-64767-8. Isaac Asimov (1978). Article "Nothing Counts" in Asimov on Numbers. Pocket Books.
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External links
A History of Zero (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Zero.html) Zero Saga (http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/zero/ZERO.HTM) The History of Algebra (http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~sxw8045/history.htm) Edsger W. Dijkstra: Why numbering should start at zero (http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd08xx/ EWD831.PDF), EWD831 (PDF of a handwritten manuscript) "My Hero Zero" (http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/My.html) Educational children's song in Schoolhouse Rock! Zero (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y254) on In Our Time at the BBC. ( listen now (http://www. bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p004y254/In_Our_Time_Zero))
The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing

Al-Kitb al-mukhtaar f hsb al-abr wal-muqbala (Arabic for "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing", in Arabic script ' ,)' also known under a shorter name spelled as Hisab al-jabr wal-muqabala, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala and other transliterations) is a mathematical book written in Arabic in approximately AD 820 by the Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time. The book was translated into Latin in the mid 12th century under the title Liber Algebrae et Almucabola (with algebrae and almucabola being simply Latinized corruptions of the words in the Arabic title). Today's term algebra is derived from the term al-abr in the title of this book. The al-abr provided an exhaustive account of solving for the positive roots of polynomial equations up to the second degree.[1] Several authors have also published texts under the name of Kitb al-abr wa-l-muqbala, including Ab anfa al-Dnawar, Ab Kmil Shuj ibn Aslam,[2] Ab Muammad al-Adl, Ab Ysuf al-Mi, 'Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk, Sind ibn Al, Sahl ibn Bir,[3] and arafaddn al-s.
A page from the book
Legacy
R. Rashed and Angela Armstrong write: "Al-Khwarizmi's text can be seen to be distinct not only from the Babylonian tablets, but also from Diophantus' Arithmetica. It no longer concerns a series of problems to be resolved, but an exposition which starts with primitive terms in which the combinations must give all possible prototypes for equations, which henceforward explicitly constitute the true object of study. On the other hand, the idea of an equation for its own sake appears from the beginning and, one could say, in a generic manner, insofar as it does not simply emerge in the course of solving a problem, but is specifically called on to define an infinite class of problems."[4] J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson wrote in the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive:
The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing "Perhaps one of the most significant advances made by Arabic mathematics began at this time with the work of al-Khwarizmi, namely the beginnings of algebra. It is important to understand just how significant this new idea was. It was a revolutionary move away from the Greek concept of mathematics which was essentially geometry. Algebra was a unifying theory which allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers, geometrical magnitudes, etc., to all be treated as "algebraic objects". It gave mathematics a whole new development path so much broader in concept to that which had existed before, and provided a vehicle for future development of the subject. Another important aspect of the introduction of algebraic ideas was that it allowed mathematics to be applied to itself in a way which had not happened before."[5]
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The book
The book was a compilation and extension of known rules for solving quadratic equations and for some other problems, and considered to be the foundation of modern algebra , establishing it as an independent discipline. The word algebra is derived from the name of one of the basic operations with equations (al-abr) described in this book. The book was introduced to the Western world by the Latin translation of Robert of Chester entitled Liber algebrae et almucabola,[6] hence "algebra". Since the book does not give any citations to previous authors, it is not clearly known what earlier works were used by al-Khwarizmi, and modern mathematical historians put forth opinions based on the textual analysis of the book and the overall body of knowledge of the contemporary Muslim world. Most certain are connections with Indian mathematics, as he had written a book entitled Kitb al-Jam wa-l-tafrq bi-isb al-Hind (The Book of Bringing_together and Separating According to the Hindu Calculation) discussing the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The book classifies quadratic equations to one of the six basic types and provides algebraic and geometric methods to solve the basic ones. Historian Carl Boyer notes the following regarding the lack of modern abstract notations in the book:[7] ... the algebra of al-Khwarizmi is thoroughly rhetorical, with none of the syncopation (see History of algebra) found in the Greek Arithmetica or in Brahmagupta's work. Even the numbers were written out in words rather than symbols! Carl B. Boyer , A History of Mathematics Thus the equations are verbally described in terms of "squares" (what would today be "x2"), "roots" (what would today be "x") and "numbers" (ordinary spelled out numbers, like 'forty-two'). The six types, with modern notations, are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. squares equal roots (ax2 = bx) squares equal number (ax2 = c) roots equal number (bx = c) squares and roots equal number (ax2 + bx = c) squares and number equal roots (ax2 + c = bx) roots and number equal squares (bx + c = ax2)
Islamic mathematicians, unlike the Hindus, did not deal with negative numbers at all; hence an equation like bx + c = 0 does not appear in the classification, because it has no positive solutions if all the coefficients are positive. Similarly equation types 4, 5 and 6, which look equivalent to the modern eye, were distinguished because the coefficients must all be positive.[8] The al-abr (in Arabic script '"( )'forcing " or "restoring") operation is moving a deficient quantity from one side of the equation to the other side. In an al-Khwarizmi's example (in modern notation), "x2 = 40x4x2" is transformed by al-abr into "5x2 = 40x". Repeated application of this rule eliminates negative quantities from calculations.
The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing Al-Muqabala (in Arabic script '"( )'balancing"or "corresponding") means subtraction of the same positive quantity from both sides: "x2 + 5 = 40x + 4x2" is turned into "5 = 40x + 3x2". Repeated application of this rule makes quantities of each type ("square"/"root"/"number") appear in the equation at most once, which helps to see that there are only 6 basic solvable types of the problem, when restricted to positive coefficients and solutions. The next part of the book discusses practical examples of the application of the described rules. The following part deals with applied problems of measuring areas and volumes. The last part deals with computations involved in convoluted Islamic rules of inheritance. None of these parts require the knowledge about solving quadratic equations.
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References
[1] Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The Arabic Hegemony". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. p.228. ISBN0-471-54397-7.
"The Arabs in general loved a good clear argument from premise to conclusion, as well as systematic organization respects in which neither Diophantus nor the Hindus excelled."
[2] Rasla fi l-abr wa-l-muqbala [3] Possibly. [4] Rashed, R.; Armstrong, Angela (1994). The Development of Arabic Mathematics. Springer. pp.112. ISBN0-7923-2565-6. OCLC29181926 [5] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Arabic mathematics: forgotten brilliance?" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ HistTopics/ Arabic_mathematics. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . [6] Robert of Chester (1915). Algebra of al-Khowarizmi (http:/ / library. albany. edu/ preservation/ brittle_bks/ khuwarizmi_robertofchester/ ). Macmillan. . [7] Carl B. Boyer, A History of Mathematics, Second Edition (Wiley, 1991), page 228 [8] Katz
Further reading
Barnabas B. Hughes, ed., Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of Al-Khwarizmi's Al-Jabr: A New Critical Edition, (in Latin language) Wiesbaden: F. Steiner Verlag, 1989. ISBN 3-515-04589-9 Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The Arabic Hegemony". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN0-471-54397-7. R. Rashed, The development of Arabic mathematics: between arithmetic and algebra, London, 1994.
External links
19th Century English Translation (http://www.archive.org/details/algebraofmohamme00khuwrich) Al-Khwarizmi (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Al-Khwarizmi.html) Annotated excerpt from a translation of the Compendious Book (http://www.uni-due.de/imperia/md/content/ didmath/ag_jahnke/musa.pdf). University of Duisburg-Essen. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing (http://www.wilbourhall.org/index. html#algebra) In the Arabic original with an English translation (PDF) Ghani, Mahbub (5 January 2007). "The Science of Restoring and Balancing The Science of Algebra" (http:// www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=637). Muslim Heritage.
Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm
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A stamp issued September 6, 1983 in the Soviet Union, commemorating al-Khwrizm's (approximate) 1200th birthday. Born Died Ethnicity Knownfor Influenced c. 780 c. 850 Persian [1][2][3]
Treatises on algebra and Indian numerals Abu Kamil
Ab Abdallh Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm[4] (Arabic: ,) earlier transliterated as Algoritmi or Algaurizin, (c. 780, Khwrizm[2][5][6] c. 850) was a Persian[1][2][3] mathematician, astronomer and geographer during the Abbasid Empire, a scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. The word al-Khwarizmi is pronounced in classical Arabic as Al-Khwarithmi hence the Latin transliteration. In the twelfth century, Latin translations of his work on the Indian numerals introduced the decimal positional number system to the Western world.[6] His Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations in Arabic. In Renaissance Europe, he was considered the original inventor of algebra, although it is now known that his work is based on older Indian or Greek sources.[7] He revised Ptolemy's Geography and wrote on astronomy and astrology. Some words reflect the importance of al-Khwarizmi's contributions to mathematics. "Algebra" is derived from al-jabr, one of the two operations he used to solve quadratic equations. Algorism and algorithm stem from Algoritmi, the Latin form of his name.[8] His name is also the origin of (Spanish) guarismo[9] and of (Portuguese) algarismo, both meaning digit.
Life
He was born in a Persian[1][2][3] family, and his birthplace is given as Chorasmia[10] by Ibn al-Nadim. Few details of al-Khwrizm's life are known with certainty. His name may indicate that he came from Khwarezm (Khiva), then in Greater Khorasan, which occupied the eastern part of the Greater Iran, now Xorazm Province in Uzbekistan. Abu Rayhan Biruni calls the people of Khwarizm "a branch of the Persian tree".[11] Al-Tabari gave his name as Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwrizm al-Majousi al-Katarbali ( .) The epithet al-Qutrubbulli could indicate he might instead have come from Qutrubbul (Qatrabbul),[12] a viticulture district near Baghdad. However, Rashed[13] suggests: There is no need to be an expert on the period or a philologist to see that al-Tabari's second citation should read Muhammad ibn Msa al-Khwrizm and al-Majsi al-Qutrubbulli, and that there are two people (al-Khwrizm and al-Majsi al-Qutrubbulli) between whom the letter wa [Arabic for the article and] has
Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm been omitted in an early copy. This would not be worth mentioning if a series of errors concerning the personality of al-Khwrizm, occasionally even the origins of his knowledge, had not been made. Recently, G. J. Toomer ... with naive confidence constructed an entire fantasy on the error which cannot be denied the merit of amusing the reader. Regarding al-Khwrizm's religion, Toomer writes: Another epithet given to him by al-abar, "al-Majs," would seem to indicate that he was an adherent of the old Zoroastrian religion. This would still have been possible at that time for a man of Iranian origin, but the pious preface to al-Khwrizm's Algebra shows that he was an orthodox Muslim, so al-abar's epithet could mean no more than that his forebears, and perhaps he in his youth, had been Zoroastrians.[1] Ibn al-Nadm's Kitb al-Fihrist includes a short biography on al-Khwrizm, together with a list of the books he wrote. Al-Khwrizm accomplished most of his work in the period between 813 and 833. After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Baghdad became the centre of scientific studies and trade, and many merchants and scientists from as far as China and India traveled to this city, as did Al-Khwrizm. He worked in Baghdad as a scholar at the House of Wisdom established by Caliph al-Mamn, where he studied the sciences and mathematics, which included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. D. M. Dunlop suggests that it may have been possible that Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm was in fact the same person as Muammad ibn Ms ibn Shkir, the eldest of the three Ban Ms.[14]
315
Contributions
Al-Khwrizm's contributions to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography established the basis for innovation in algebra and trigonometry. His systematic approach to solving linear and quadratic equations led to algebra, a word derived from the title of his 830 book on the subject, "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing" (al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala.) On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals written about 825, was principally responsible for spreading the Indian system of numeration throughout the Middle East and Europe. It was translated into Latin as Algoritmi de numero Indorum. Al-Khwrizm, rendered as (Latin) Algoritmi, led to the term "algorithm". Some of his work was based on Persian and Babylonian astronomy, Indian numbers, and Greek mathematics. Al-Khwrizm systematized and corrected Ptolemy's data for Africa and the Middle east. Another major book was Kitab surat al-ard ("The Image of the Earth"; translated as Geography), presenting the coordinates of places based on those in the Geography of Ptolemy but with improved values for the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, and Africa. He also wrote on mechanical devices like the astrolabe and sundial. He assisted a project to determine the circumference of the Earth and in making a world map for al-Ma'mun, the caliph, overseeing 70 geographers.[15] When, in the 12th century, his works spread to Europe through Latin translations, it had a profound impact on the advance of mathematics in Europe. He introduced Arabic numerals into the Latin West, based on a place-value decimal system developed from Indian sources.[16]
A page from al-Khwrizm's Algebra
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Algebra
Left: The original Arabic print manuscript of the Book of Algebra by Al-Khwarizmi. Right: A page from The Algebra of Al-Khwarizmi by Fredrick Rosen, in English.
Al-Kitb al-mukhtaar f isb al-jabr wa-l-muqbala (Arabic: ' , The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing') is a mathematical book written approximately 830 CE. The book was written with the encouragement of the Caliph al-Ma'mun as a popular work on calculation and is replete with examples and applications to a wide range of problems in trade, surveying and legal inheritance.[17] The term algebra is derived from the name of one of the basic operations with equations (al-jabr, meaning completion, or, subtracting a number from both sides of the equation) described in this book. The book was translated in Latin as Liber algebrae et almucabala by Robert of Chester (Segovia, 1145) hence "algebra", and also by Gerard of Cremona. A unique Arabic copy is kept at Oxford and was translated in 1831 by F. Rosen. A Latin translation is kept in Cambridge.[18] It provided an exhaustive account of solving polynomial equations up to the second degree,[19] and discussed the fundamental methods of "reduction" and "balancing", referring to the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation.[20] Al-Khwrizm's method of solving linear and quadratic equations worked by first reducing the equation to one of six standard forms (where b and c are positive integers) squares equal roots (ax2 = bx) squares equal number (ax2 = c) roots equal number (bx = c) squares and roots equal number (ax2 + bx = c) squares and number equal roots (ax2 + c = bx) roots and number equal squares (bx + c = ax2)
by dividing out the coefficient of the square and using the two operations al-jabr (Arabic: restoring or completion) and al-muqbala ("balancing"). Al-jabr is the process of removing negative units, roots and squares from the equation by adding the same quantity to each side. For example, x2 = 40x4x2 is reduced to 5x2 = 40x. Al-muqbala is the process of bringing quantities of the same type to the same side of the equation. For example, x2+14 = x+5 is reduced to x2+9 = x. The above discussion uses modern mathematical notation for the types of problems which the book discusses. However, in al-Khwrizm's day, most of this notation had not yet been invented, so he had to use ordinary text to present problems and their solutions. For example, for one problem he writes, (from an 1831 translation) "If some one say: "You divide ten into two parts: multiply the one by itself; it will be equal to the other taken eighty-one times." Computation: You say, ten less thing, multiplied by itself, is a hundred plus a square less twenty things, and this is equal to eighty-one things. Separate the twenty things from a hundred and a square, and add them to eighty-one. It will then be a hundred plus a square, which is equal to a hundred and one roots. Halve the roots; the moiety is fifty and a half. Multiply this by itself, it is two thousand five hundred and fifty
Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm and a quarter. Subtract from this one hundred; the remainder is two thousand four hundred and fifty and a quarter. Extract the root from this; it is forty-nine and a half. Subtract this from the moiety of the roots, which is fifty and a half. There remains one, and this is one of the two parts."[17] In modern notation this process, with 'x' the "thing" (shay') or "root", is given by the steps,
317
Let the roots of the equation be 'p' and 'q'. Then
and
So a root is given by
Several authors have also published texts under the name of Kitb al-jabr wa-l-muqbala, including |Ab anfa al-Dnawar, Ab Kmil Shuj ibn Aslam, Ab Muammad al-Adl, Ab Ysuf al-Mi, 'Abd al-Hamd ibn Turk, Sind ibn Al, Sahl ibn Bir, and arafaddn al-s. J. J. O'Conner and E. F. Robertson wrote in the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive: "Perhaps one of the most significant advances made by Arabic mathematics began at this time with the work of al-Khwarizmi, namely the beginnings of algebra. It is important to understand just how significant this new idea was. It was a revolutionary move away from the Greek concept of mathematics which was essentially geometry. Algebra was a unifying theory which allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers, geometrical magnitudes, etc., to all be treated as "algebraic objects". It gave mathematics a whole new development path so much broader in concept to that which had existed before, and provided a vehicle for future development of the subject. Another important aspect of the introduction of algebraic ideas was that it allowed mathematics to be applied to itself in a way which had not happened before."[21] R. Rashed and Angela Armstrong write: "Al-Khwarizmi's text can be seen to be distinct not only from the Babylonian tablets, but also from Diophantus' Arithmetica. It no longer concerns a series of problems to be resolved, but an exposition which starts with primitive terms in which the combinations must give all possible prototypes for equations, which henceforward explicitly constitute the true object of study. On the other hand, the idea of an equation for its own sake appears from the beginning and, one could say, in a generic manner, insofar as it does not simply emerge in the course of solving a problem, but is specifically called on to define an infinite class of problems."[22]
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Arithmetic
Al-Khwrizm's second major work was on the subject of arithmetic, which survived in a Latin translation but was lost in the original Arabic. The translation was most likely done in the twelfth century by Adelard of Bath, who had also translated the astronomical tables in 1126. The Latin manuscripts are untitled, but are commonly referred to by the first two words with which they start: Dixit algorizmi ("So said al-Khwrizm"), or Algoritmi de numero Indorum ("al-Khwrizm on the Hindu Art of Reckoning"), a name given to the work by Baldassarre Boncompagni in 1857. The original Arabic title was possibly Kitb al-Jam wa-l-tafrq bi-isb al-Hind[23] ("The Book of Addition and Subtraction According to the Hindu Calculation")[24] Al-Khwarizmi's work on arithmetic was responsible for introducing the Arabic numerals, based on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system Page from a Latin translation, beginning with developed in Indian mathematics, to the Western world. The term "Dixit algorizmi" "algorithm" is derived from the algorism, the technique of performing arithmetic with Hindu-Arabic numerals developed by al-Khwarizmi. Both "algorithm" and "algorism" are derived from the Latinized forms of al-Khwarizmi's name, Algoritmi and Algorismi, respectively.
Astronomy
Al-Khwrizm's Zj al-Sindhind[1] (Arabic: " astronomical tables of Sind and Hind") is a work consisting of approximately 37 chapters on calendrical and astronomical calculations and 116 tables with calendrical, astronomical and astrological data, as well as a table of sine values. This is the first of many Arabic Zijes based on the Indian astronomical methods known as the sindhind.[25] The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. This work marked the turning point in Islamic astronomy. Hitherto, Muslim astronomers had adopted a primarily research approach to the field, translating works of others and learning already discovered knowledge. The original Arabic version (written c. 820) is lost, but a version by the Spanish astronomer Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti (c. 1000) has survived in a Latin translation, presumably by Adelard of Bath (January 26, 1126).[26] The four surviving manuscripts of the Latin translation are kept at the Bibliothque publique (Chartres), the Bibliothque Mazarine (Paris), the Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid) and the Bodleian Library (Oxford).
Page from Corpus Christi College MS 283. A Latin translation of al-Khwrizm's Zj.
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Trigonometry
Al-Khwrizm's Zj al-Sindhind also contained tables for the trigonometric functions of sines and cosine.[25] A related treatise on spherical trigonometry is also attributed to him.[21]
Geography
Al-Khwrizm's third major work is his Kitb rat al-Ar (Arabic: " Book on the appearance of the Earth" or "The image of the Earth" translated as Geography), which was finished in 833. It is a revised and completed version of Ptolemy's Geography, consisting of a list of 2402 coordinates of cities and other geographical features following a general introduction.[27] There is only one surviving copy of Kitb rat al-Ar, which is kept at the Strasbourg University Library. A Latin translation is kept at the Biblioteca Nacional de Espaa in Madrid. The complete title translates as Book of the appearance of the Earth, with its cities, mountains, seas, all the islands and rivers, written by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwrizm, according to the geographical treatise written by Ptolemy the Claudian. The book opens with the list of latitudes and longitudes, in order of "weather zones", that is to say in blocks of latitudes and, in each weather zone, by order of longitude. As Paul Gallez points out, this excellent system allows the deduction of many latitudes and longitudes where the only extant document is in such a bad condition as to make it practically illegible. Neither the Arabic copy nor the Latin translation include the map of the world itself; however, Hubert Daunicht was able to reconstruct the missing map from the list of coordinates. Daunicht read the latitudes and longitudes of the coastal points in the manuscript, or deduces them from the context where they were not legible. He transferred the points onto graph paper and connected them with straight lines, obtaining an approximation of the coastline as it was on the original map. He then does the same for the rivers and towns.[28] Al-Khwrizm corrected Ptolemy's gross overestimate for the length of the Mediterranean Sea[25] from the Canary Islands to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean; Ptolemy overestimated it at 63 degrees of longitude, while al-Khwarizmi almost correctly estimated it at nearly 50 degrees of longitude. He "also depicted the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as open bodies of water, not land-locked seas as Ptolemy had done."[29] Al-Khwarizmi thus set the Prime Meridian of the Old World at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, 1013 degrees to the east of Alexandria (the prime meridian previously set by Ptolemy) and 70 degrees to the west of Baghdad. Most medieval Muslim geographers continued to use al-Khwarizmi's prime meridian.[25]
Jewish calendar
Al-Khwrizm wrote several other works including a treatise on the Hebrew calendar (Risla fi istikhrj tarkh al-yahd "Extraction of the Jewish Era"). It describes the 19-year intercalation cycle, the rules for determining on what day of the week the first day of the month Tishr shall fall; calculates the interval between the Jewish era (creation of Adam) and the Seleucid era; and gives rules for determining the mean longitude of the sun and the moon using the Jewish calendar. Similar material is found in the works of al-Brn and Maimonides.[1]
320
Other works
Several Arabic manuscripts in Berlin, Istanbul, Tashkent, Cairo and Paris contain further material that surely or with some probability comes from al-Khwrizm. The Istanbul manuscript contains a paper on sundials, which is mentioned in the Fihrist. Other papers, such as one on the determination of the direction of Mecca, are on the spherical astronomy. Two texts deserve special interest on the morning width (Marifat saat al-mashriq f kull balad) and the determination of the azimuth from a height (Marifat al-samt min qibal al-irtif). He also wrote two books on using and constructing astrolabes. Ibn al-Nadim in his Kitab al-Fihrist (an index of Arabic books) also mentions Kitb ar-Rukhma(t) (the book on sundials) and Kitab al-Tarikh (the book of history) but the two have been lost.
Notes
[1] Toomer 1990 [2] Hogendijk, Jan P. (1998). "al-Khwarzimi" (http:/ / www. kennislink. nl/ web/ show?id=116543). Pythagoras 38 (2): 45. ISSN00334766. . [3] Oaks, Jeffrey A.. "Was al-Khwarizmi an applied algebraist?" (http:/ / facstaff. uindy. edu/ ~oaks/ MHMC. htm). University of Indianapolis. . Retrieved 2008-05-30. [4] There is some confusion in the literature on whether al-Khwrizm's full name is Ab Abdallh Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm or Ab Jafar Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm. Ibn Khaldun notes in his encyclopedic work: "The first who wrote upon this branch (algebra) was Abu Abdallah al-Khowarizmi, after whom came Abu Kamil Shoja ibn Aslam." (MacGuckin de Slane). (Rosen 1831, pp. xixiii) mentions that "[Abu Abdallah Mohammed ben Musa] lived and wrote under the caliphat of Al Mamun, and must therefore be distinguished from Abu Jafar Mohammed ben Musa, likewise a mathematician and astronomer, who flourished under the Caliph Al Motaded (who reigned A.H. 279-289, A.D. 892-902)." In the introduction to his critical commentary on Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwrizm's Algebra, L.C. Karpinski notes that Ab Jafar Muammad ibn Ms refers to the eldest of the Ban Ms brothers. Karpinski notes in his review on (Ruska 1917) that in (Ruska 1918): "Ruska here inadvertently speaks of the author as Ab Gafar M. b. M., instead of Ab Abdallah M. b. M." [5] Berggren 1986 [6] Struik 1987, p.93 [7] Rosen 1831, p.vvi; Toomer 1990 [8] Daffa 1977 [9] Knuth, Donald (1979). Algorithms in Modern Mathematics and Computer Science (http:/ / historical. ncstrl. org/ litesite-data/ stan/ CS-TR-80-786. pdf). Springer-Verlag. ISBN0-387-11157-3. . [10] Cristopher Moore and Stephan Mertens, The Nature of Computation, (Oxford University Press, 2011), 36. [11] Abu Rahyan Biruni, "Athar al-Baqqiya 'an al-Qurun al-Xaliyyah"(Vestiges of the past: the chronology of ancient nations), Tehran, Miras-e-Maktub, 2001. Original Arabic of the quote: "( " pg. 56) [12] "Iraq After the Muslim Conquest", by Michael G. Morony, ISBN 1-59333-315-3 (a 2005 facsimile from the original 1984 book), p. 145 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=uhjSiRAwGuEC& pg=PA145& dq=qatrabbul#v=onepage& q=qatrabbul& f=false) [13] Rashed, Roshdi (1988). "al-Khwrizm's Concept of Algebra" (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=JXbXRKRY_uAC& pg=PA108& dq=Qutrubbulli#PPA108,M1). In Zurayq, Qusann; Atiyeh, George Nicholas; Oweiss, Ibrahim M.. Arab Civilization: Challenges and Responses : Studies in Honor of Constantine K. Zurayk (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=JXbXRKRY_uAC). SUNY Press. p.108. ISBN0-88706-698-4. [14] Dunlop [15] "al-Khwarizmi" (http:/ / www. britannica. com/ eb/ article-9045366). Encyclopdia Britannica. . Retrieved 2008-05-30. [16] "Khwarizmi, Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Musa al-" in Oxford Islamic Studies Online (http:/ / www. oxfordislamicstudies. com/ article/ opr/ t125/ e1305) [17] Rosen, Frederic. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, al-Khwrizm" (http:/ / www. wilbourhall. org/ index. html#algebra). 1831 English Translation. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing. Retrieved 2009-09-14. [18] Karpinski, L. C. (1912). "History of Mathematics in the Recent Edition of the Encyclopdia Britannica". American Association for the Advancement of Science. [19] Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The Arabic Hegemony". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. pp.228. ISBN0-471-54397-7.
"The Arabs in general loved a good clear argument from premise to conclusion, as well as systematic organization respects in which neither Diophantus nor the Hindus excelled."

[20] (Boyer 1991, "The Arabic Hegemony" p. 229) "It is not certain just what the terms al-jabr and muqabalah mean, but the usual interpretation is similar to that implied in the translation above. The word al-jabr presumably meant something like "restoration" or "completion" and seems to refer to the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation; the word muqabalah is said to refer to "reduction" or "balancing" that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation." [21] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Al-Khwarizmi. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . [22] Rashed, R.; Armstrong, Angela (1994). The Development of Arabic Mathematics. Springer. pp.112. ISBN0-7923-2565-6. OCLC29181926 [23] Ruska [24] Berggren 1986, p.7 [25] Kennedy 1956, pp.269 [26] Kennedy 1956, p.128 [27] "The history of cartography" (http:/ / www-gap. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ HistTopics/ Cartography. html). GAP computer algebra system. . Retrieved 2008-05-30. [28] Daunicht. [29] Covington, Richard (2007). Saudi Aramco World, MayJune 2007: 1721. http:/ / www. saudiaramcoworld. com/ issue/ 200703/ the. third. dimension. htm. Retrieved 2008-07-06
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References Further reading

Biographical Toomer, Gerald (1990). "Al-Khwrizm, Abu Jafar Muammad ibn Ms" (http://www.encyclopedia.com/ doc/1G2-2830902300.html). In Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 7. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN0-684-16962-2. Brentjes, Sonja (2007). " Khwrizm: Muammad ibn Ms alKhwrizm (http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/ BEA/Khwarizmi_BEA.htm)" in Thomas Hockey et al. (eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, pp.631633. ( PDF version (http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/ BEA/Khwarizmi_BEA.pdf)) Dunlop, Douglas Morton (1943). "Muammad b. Ms al-Khwrizm". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Cambridge University) (2): 248250. JSTOR25221920. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi" (http:// www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Khwarizmi.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews. Fuat Sezgin. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. 1974, E. J. Brill, Leiden, the Netherlands. Sezgin, F., ed., Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy, Frankfurt: Institut fr Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, 19979. Algebra Gandz, Solomon (November 1926). "The Origin of the Term "Algebra"". The American Mathematical Monthly (The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 33, No. 9) 33 (9): 437440. doi:10.2307/2299605. ISSN00029890. JSTOR2299605. Gandz, Solomon (1936). "The Sources of al-Khowrizm's Algebra" (http://links.jstor.org/ sici?sici=0369-7827(193601)1:1<263:TSOAA>2.0.CO;23). Osiris 1 (1): 263277. doi:10.1086/368426. ISSN03697827. Gandz, Solomon (1938). "The Algebra of Inheritance: A Rehabilitation of Al-Khuwrizm" (http://links.jstor. org/sici?sici=0369-7827(1938)1:5<319:TAOIAR>2.0.CO;22). Osiris 5 (5): 319391. doi:10.1086/368492. ISSN03697827. Hughes, Barnabas (1986). "Gerard of Cremona's Translation of al-Khwrizm's al-Jabr: A Critical Edition". Mediaeval Studies 48: 211263.
Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm Barnabas Hughes. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9. Karpinski, L. C. (1915). Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi: With an Introduction, Critical Notes and an English Version (http://library.albany.edu/preservation/brittle_bks/ khuwarizmi_robertofchester/). The Macmillan Company. Rosen, Fredrick (1831). The Algebra of Mohammed Ben Musa (http://www.archive.org/details/ algebraofmohamme00khuwrich). Kessinger Publishing. ISBN1-4179-4914-7. Ruska, Julius (1917). "Zur ltesten arabischen Algebra und Rechenkunst" (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/ 001653568). Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse: 1125. Arithmetic Folkerts, Menso (1997) (in German and Latin). Die lteste lateinische Schrift ber das indische Rechnen nach al-wrizm. Mnchen: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN3-7696-0108-4. Vogel, Kurt (1968). Mohammed ibn Musa Alchwarizmi's Algorismus; das frheste Lehrbuch zum Rechnen mit indischen Ziffern. Nach der einzigen (lateinischen) Handschrift (Cambridge Un. Lib. Ms. Ii. 6.5) in Faksimile mit Transkription und Kommentar herausgegeben von Kurt Vogel. (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/ 000404668) Aalen, O. Zeller. Astronomy Goldstein, B. R. (1968). Commentary on the Astronomical Tables of Al-Khwarizmi: By Ibn Al-Muthanna. Yale University Press. ISBN0-300-00498-2. Hogendijk, Jan P. (1991). "Al-Khwrizm's Table of the "Sine of the Hours" and the Underlying Sine Table". Historia Scientiarum 42: 112. King, David A. (1983). Al-Khwrizm and New Trends in Mathematical Astronomy in the Ninth Century. New York University: Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies: Occasional Papers on the Near East 2. LCCN85150177. Neugebauer, Otto (1962). The Astronomical Tables of al-Khwarizmi. Rosenfeld, Boris A. (1993). Menso Folkerts and J. P. Hogendijk. ed. ""Geometric trigonometry" in treatises of al-Khwrizm, al-Mhn and Ibn al-Haytham". Vestiga mathematica: Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Mathematics in Honour of H. L. L. Busard (Amsterdam: Rodopi). ISBN90-5183-536-1. Suter, Heinrich. [Ed.]: Die astronomischen Tafeln des Muhammed ibn Ms al-Khwrizm in der Bearbeitung des Maslama ibn Ahmed al-Madjrt und der latein. bersetzung des Athelhard von Bath auf Grund der Vorarbeiten von A. Bjrnbo und R. Besthorn in Kopenhagen. Hrsg. und komm. Kopenhagen 1914. 288 pp. Repr. 1997 (Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy. 7). ISBN 3-8298-4008-X. Van Dalen, B. Al-Khwarizmi's Astronomical Tables Revisited: Analysis of the Equation of Time. Jewish calendar Kennedy, E. S. (1964). "Al-Khwrizm on the Jewish Calendar". Scripta Mathematica 27: 5559. Geography Daunicht, Hubert (19681970) (in German). Der Osten nach der Erdkarte al-uwrizms : Beitrge zur historischen Geographie und Geschichte Asiens. Bonner orientalistische Studien. N.S.; Bd. 19. LCCN71468286. Mik, Hans von (1915). "Ptolemaeus und die Karten der arabischen Geographen". Mitteil. D. K. K. Geogr. Ges. In Wien 58: 152. Mik, Hans von (1916). "Afrika nach der arabischen Bearbeitung der des Cl. Ptolomeaus von Muh. ibn Msa al-Hwarizmi". Denkschriften d. Akad. D. Wissen. In Wien, Phil.-hist. Kl. 59. Mik, Hans von (1926). Das Kitb rat al-Ar des Ab afar Muammad ibn Ms al-uwrizm. Leipzig. Nallino, C. A. (1896), "Al-uwrizm e il suo rifacimento della Geografia di Tolemo", Atti della R. Accad. dei Lincei, Arno 291, Serie V, Memorie, Classe di Sc. Mor., Vol. II, Rome
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Muammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm Ruska, Julius (1918). "Neue Bausteine zur Geschichte der arabischen Geographie". Geographische Zeitschrift 24: 7781. Spitta, W. (1879). "uwrizm's Auszug aus der Geographie des Ptolomaeus". Zeitschrift Deutschen Morgenl. Gesell. 33. Spherical trigonometry B. A. Rozenfeld. "Al-Khwarizmi's spherical trigonometry" (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled. 32-33 (1990), 325-339.
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General references
For a more extensive bibliography see: History of mathematics, Mathematics in medieval Islam, and Astronomy in medieval Islam. Berggren, J. Lennart (1986). Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN0-387-96318-9 Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The Arabic Hegemony". A History of Mathematics (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN0-471-54397-7. Daffa, Ali Abdullah al- (1977). The Muslim contribution to mathematics. London: Croom Helm. ISBN0-85664-464-1 Dallal, Ahmad (1999). "Science, Medicine and Technology". In Esposito, John. The Oxford History of Islam. Oxford University Press, New York Kennedy, E. S. (1956). A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables; Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 46. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society King, David A. (1999a). "Islamic Astronomy". In Walker, Christopher. Astronomy before the telescope. British Museum Press. pp.143174. ISBN0-7141-2733-7 King, David A. (2002). "A Vetustissimus Arabic Text on the Quadrans Vetus". Journal for the History of Astronomy 33: 237255. Bibcode2002JHA....33..237K Struik, Dirk Jan (1987). A Concise History of Mathematics (4th ed.). Dover Publications. ISBN0-486-60255-9 O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews. ac.uk/Biographies/Abraham.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Arabic mathematics: forgotten brilliance?" (http://www-history. mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Arabic_mathematics.html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews. Roshdi Rashed, The development of Arabic mathematics: between arithmetic and algebra, London, 1994.
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Cubic function
In mathematics, a cubic function is a function of the form
where a is nonzero; or in other words, a function defined by a polynomial of degree three. The derivative of a cubic function is a quadratic function. The integral of a cubic function is a quartic function. Setting (x)=0 produces a cubic equation of the form:
Usually, the coefficients a, b,c, d are real numbers. However, most of the theory is also valid if they belong to a field of characteristic other than 2 or3. To solve a cubic equation is to find the roots (zeros) of a cubic function. There are various ways Graph of a cubic function with 3 real roots (where the to solve a cubic equation. The roots of a cubic, like those of a curve crosses the horizontal axiswhere y = 0). It has 2 quadratic or quartic (fourth degree) function but no higher critical points. Here the function is degree function (by the AbelRuffini theorem), can always be (x)=(x3+3x26x8)/4. found algebraically (as a formula involving simple functions like the square root and cube root functions). The roots can also be found trigonometrically. Alternatively, one can find a numerical approximation of the roots in the field of the real or complex numbers. This may be obtained by any root-finding algorithm, like Newton's method. Solving cubic equations is a necessary part of solving the general quartic equation, since solving the latter requires solving its resolvent cubic equation.
History
Cubic equations were known to ancient Greek mathematician Diophantus;[1] even earlier to ancient Babylonians who were able to solve certain cubic equations;[2] and also to the ancient Egyptians. Doubling the cube is the simplest and oldest studied cubic equation, and one which the ancient Egyptians considered to be impossible.[3] Hippocrates reduced this problem to that of finding two mean proportionals between one line and another of twice its length, but could not solve this with a compass and straightedge construction,[4] a task which is now known to be impossible. Hippocrates, Menaechmus and Archimedes are believed to have come close to solving the problem of doubling the cube using intersecting conic sections,[4] though historians such as Reviel Netz dispute whether the Greeks were thinking about cubic equations or just problems that can lead to cubic equations. Some others like T. L. Heath, who translated all Archimedes' works, disagree, putting forward evidence that Archimedes really solved cubic equations using intersections of two cones, but also discussed the conditions where the roots are 0, 1 or 2.[5]
Cubic function
325 In the 7th century, the Tang dynasty astronomer mathematician Wang Xiaotong in his mathematical treatise titled Jigu Suanjing systematically established and solved 25 cubic equations of the form , 23 of them with , and two of them with .[6]
In the 11th century, the Persian poet-mathematician, Omar Khayym (10481131), made significant progress in the theory of cubic equations. In an early paper he wrote regarding cubic equations, he discovered that a cubic equation can have more than one solution and stated that it cannot be solved using compass and straightedge constructions. He also Two-dimensional graph of a cubic, the polynomial (x) = found a geometric solution.[7][8] In his later work, the 3 2 2x 3x 3x+2. Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, he wrote a complete classification of cubic equations with general geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections.[9][10] In the 12th century, the Indian mathematician Bhaskara II attempted the solution of cubic equations without general success. However, he gave one example of a cubic equation:[11]
In the 12th century, another Persian mathematician, Sharaf al-Dn al-Ts (11351213), wrote the Al-Mu'adalat (Treatise on Equations), which dealt with eight types of cubic equations with positive solutions and five types of cubic equations which may not have positive solutions. He used what would later be known as the "Ruffini-Horner method" to numerically approximate the root of a cubic equation. He also developed the concepts of a derivative function and the maxima and minima of curves in order to solve cubic equations which may not have positive solutions.[12] He understood the importance of the discriminant of the cubic equation to find algebraic solutions to certain types of cubic equations.[13] Leonardo de Pisa, also known as Fibonacci (11701250), was able to find the positive solution to the cubic equation x3+2x2+10x=20, using the Babylonian numerals. He gave the result as 1,22,7,42,33,4,40 which is equivalent to: 1+22/60+7/602+42/603+33/604+4/605+40/606.[14] In the early 16th century, the Italian mathematician Scipione del Ferro (14651526) found a method for solving a class of cubic equations, namely those of the form x3+mx = n. In fact, all cubic equations can be reduced to this form if we allow m and n to be negative, but negative numbers were not known to him at that time. Del Ferro kept his achievement secret until just before his death, when he told his student Antonio Fiore about it.
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In 1530, Niccol Tartaglia (15001557) received two problems in cubic equations from Zuanne da Coi and announced that he could solve them. He was soon challenged by Fiore, which led to a famous contest between the two. Each contestant had to put up a certain amount of money and to propose a number of problems for his rival to solve. Whoever solved more problems within 30 days would get all the money. Tartaglia received questions in the form x3 + mx = n, for which he had worked out a general method. Fiore received questions in the form x3 + mx2 = n, which proved to be too difficult for him to solve, and Tartaglia won the contest. Later, Tartaglia was persuaded by Gerolamo Cardano (15011576) to reveal his secret for solving cubic equations. In 1539, Tartaglia did so only on the condition that Cardano would never reveal it and that if he did reveal Niccol Fontana Tartaglia a book about cubics, that he would give Tartaglia time to publish. Some years later, Cardano learned about Ferro's prior work and published Ferro's method in his book Ars Magna in 1545, meaning Cardano gave Tartaglia 6 years to publish his results (with credit given to Tartaglia for an independent solution). Cardano's promise with Tartaglia stated that he not publish Tartaglia's work, and Cardano felt he was publishing del Ferro's, so as to get around the promise. Nevertheless, this led to a challenge to Cardano by Tartaglia, which Cardano denied. The challenge was eventually accepted by Cardano's student Lodovico Ferrari (15221565). Ferrari did better than Tartaglia in the competition, and Tartaglia lost both his prestige and income.[15] Cardano noticed that Tartaglia's method sometimes required him to extract the square root of a negative number. He even included a calculation with these complex numbers in Ars Magna, but he did not really understand it. Rafael Bombelli studied this issue in detail and is therefore often considered as the discoverer of complex numbers. Franois Vite (15401603) independently derived the trigonometric solution for the cubic with three real roots, and Ren Descartes (15961650) extended the work of Vite.[16]
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Derivative
Through the quadratic formula the roots of the derivative f(x)= 3ax2+2bx+c are given by
and provide the critical points where the slope of the cubic function is zero. If b23ac>0, then the cubic function has a local maximum and a local minimum. If b23ac=0, then the cubic's inflection point is the only critical point. If b23ac<0, then there are no critical points. In the cases where b23ac0, the cubic function is strictly monotonic.
Roots of a cubic function

The general cubic equation has the form
with This section describes how the roots of such an equation may be computed. The coefficients a, b, c, d are generally assumed to be real numbers, but most of the results apply when they belong to any field of characteristic not 2 or 3.
Graph showing the relationship between the roots, turning points, stationary points, inflection point and concavity of a cubic polynomial x 3x - 144x + 432 and its first and second derivatives.
The nature of the roots

Every cubic equation (1) with real coefficients has at least one solution x among the real numbers; this is a consequence of the intermediate value theorem. We can distinguish several possible cases using the discriminant, The following cases need to be considered: [17] If > 0, then the equation has three distinct real roots. If = 0, then the equation has a multiple root and all its roots are real. If < 0, then the equation has one real root and two nonreal complex conjugate roots.
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General formula of roots

For the general cubic equation (1) with real coefficients, the general formula for the roots, in terms of the coefficients, is as follows. The expression under the square root sign in what follows is , where is the above-mentioned discriminant.
However, this formula is applicable without further explanation only when the operand of the square root is non-negative and a, b, c, d are real coefficients. When this operand is real and non-negative, the square root refers to the principal (positive) square root and the cube roots in the formula are to be interpreted as the real ones. Otherwise, there is no real square root and one can arbitrarily choose one of the imaginary square roots (the same one in both parts of the solution for each xi). For extracting the complex cube roots of the resulting complex expression, we have also to choose among three cube roots in each part of each solution, giving nine possible combinations of one of three cube roots for the first part of the expression and one of three for the second. The correct combination is such that the two cube roots chosen for the two terms in a given solution expression are complex conjugates of each other (whereby the two imaginary terms in each solution cancel out). Another way of writing the solution may be obtained by noting that the proof of above formula shows that the product of the two cube roots is rational. This gives the following formula in which or stands for any choice of the square or cube root, if
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If If
and and
, the sign of
has to be chosen to have
, the three roots are equal:
If
and
, the above expression for the roots is correct but misleading, hiding the fact that
no radical is needed to represent the roots. In fact, in this case, there is a double root,
and a simple root
The next sections describe how these formulas may be obtained.
Reduction to a depressed cubic

Dividing Equation (1) by and substituting by (the Tschirnhaus transformation) we get the equation
where
The left hand side of equation (2) is a monic trinomial called a depressed cubic Any formula for the roots of a depressed cubic may be transformed into a formula for the roots of Equation (1) by substituting the above values for and and using the relation .
Therefore, only Equation (2) is considered in the following.
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Cardano's method
The solutions can be found with the following method due to Scipione del Ferro and Tartaglia, published by Gerolamo Cardano in 1545.[18] This method applies to the depressed cubic
We introduce two variables u and v linked by the condition
and substitute this in the depressed cubic (2), giving . At this point Cardano imposed a second condition for the variables u and v: . As the first parenthesis vanishes in (3), we get two roots of the equation and . Thus and are the
At this point, Cardano, who did not know complex numbers, supposed that the roots of this equation were real, that is that Solving this equation and using the fact that and and may be exchanged, we find .
As these expressions are real, their cube roots are well defined and, like Cardano, we get
The two complex roots are obtained by considering the complex cubic roots; the fact obtained by multiplying one of the above cubic roots by and the other by If is not necessarily positive, we have to choose a cube root of , one has to use the relation
is real implies that they are .
. As there is no direct way to choose
the corresponding cube root of
, which gives
and
Note that the sign of the square root does not affect the resulting and . We have chosen the minus sign to have when zero. With this choice, the above expression for
, because changing it amounts to exchanging and , in order to avoid a division by , where the second term
always works, except when
becomes 0/0. In this case there is a triple root . Note also that in several cases the solutions are expressed with fewer square or cube roots If then we have the triple real root
Cubic function If and then
331
and the three roots are the three cube roots of If and then
in which case the three roots are
where
Finally if rationally in term of expression of the roots:
, there is a double root and a simple root which may be expressed , but this expression may not be immediately deduced from the general
To pass from these roots of and replace and
in Equation (2) to the general formulas for roots of .
in Equation (1), subtract
by their expressions in terms of
Vieta's substitution
Starting from the depressed cubic
we make the following substitution, known as Vieta's substitution:
This results in the equation
Multiplying by w3, it becomes a sextic equation in w, which is in fact a quadratic equation in w3:
The quadratic formula allows to solve it in w3. If w1, w2 and w3 are the three cubic roots of one of the solutions in w3, then the roots of the original depressed cubic are
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Lagrange's method
In his paper Rflexions sur la rsolution algbrique des quations ("Thoughts on the algebraic solving of equations"), Joseph Louis Lagrange introduced a new method to solve equations of low degree. This method works well for cubic and quartic equations, but Lagrange did not succeed in applying it to a quintic equation, because it requires solving a resolvent polynomial of degree at least six.[19][20][21] This is explained by the AbelRuffini theorem, which proves that such polynomials cannot be solved by radicals. Nevertheless the modern methods for solving solvable quintic equations are mainly based on Lagrange's method.[21] In the case of cubic equations, Lagrange's method gives the same solution as Cardano's, where the latter may seem almost magical to the modern reader. But Cardano explains in his book Ars Magna how he arrived at the idea of considering the unknown of the cubic equation as a sum of two other quantities, by drawing attention to a geometrical problem that involves two cubes of different size. Lagrange's method may also be applied directly to the general cubic equation (1) without using the reduction to the trinomial equation (2). Nevertheless the computation is much easier with this reduced equation. Suppose that x0, x1 and x2 are the roots of equation (1) or (2), and define third root of unity which satisfies the relation . We now set , so that is a primitive
This is the discrete Fourier transform of the roots: observe that while the coefficients of the polynomial are symmetric in the roots, in this formula an order has been chosen on the roots, so these are not symmetric in the roots. The roots may then be recovered from the three si by inverting the above linear transformation via the inverse discrete Fourier transform, giving
The polynomial
is an elementary symmetric polynomial and is thus equal to
in case of Equation (1) and
to zero in case of Equation (2), so we only need to seek values for the other two. The polynomials and are not symmetric functions of the roots: is invariant, while the two non-trivial cyclic permutations of the roots send to and to , or to and to (depending on which permutation), while transposing multiply them by a power of Thus, Also , and and are left invariant by the cyclic permutations of the roots, which multiply them by are left invariant by the transposition of and which exchanges and . As the and are in these . and switches and ; other transpositions switch these roots and
permutation group
of the roots is generated by these permutations, it follows that and
symmetric functions of the roots and may thus be written as polynomials in the elementary symmetric polynomials and thus as rational functions of the coefficients of the equation. Let expressions, which will be explicitly computed below. We have that and are the two roots of the quadratic equation Thus the resolution of the equation may be finished exactly as described for Cardano's method, with place of and . and in
Cubic function Computation of A and B Setting , : and , the elementary symmetric polynomials, we have, using that
333
The expression for
is the same with
and
exchanged. Thus, using
we get
and a straightforward computation gives
Similarly we have
When solving Equation (1) we have , With Equation (2), we have and . and , while in Cardano's method we have and : and , and and thus:
Note that with Equation (2), we have set and and .
Thus we have, up to the exchange of
In other words, in this case, Cardano's and Lagrange's method compute exactly the same things, up to a factor of three in the auxiliary variables, the main difference being that Lagrange's method explains why these auxiliary variables appear in the problem.
Trigonometric (and hyperbolic) method

When a cubic equation has three real roots, the formulas expressing these roots in terms of radicals involve complex numbers. It has been proved that when none of the three real roots is rationalthe casus irreducibilis one cannot express the roots in terms of real radicals. Nevertheless, purely real expressions of the solutions may be obtained using hypergeometric functions,[22] or more elementarily in terms of trigonometric functions, specifically in terms of the cosine and arccosine functions. The formulas which follow, due to Franois Vite,[16] are true in general (except when p=0), are purely real when the equation has three real roots, but involve complex cosines and arccosines when there is only one real root. Starting from Equation (2), (2) coincide with the identity , let us set The idea is to choose to make Equation
In fact, choosing
and dividing Equation (2) by
we get
Combining with the above identity, we get
and thus the roots are[23]
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334
This formula involves only real terms if condition is equivalent to
and the argument of the arccosine is between 1 and 1. The last which implies also . Thus the above formula for the roots for a real number u
involves only real terms if and only if the three roots are real. Denoting by the above value of t0, and using the inequality such that the three roots may also be expressed as
If the three roots are real, we have
All these formulas may be straightforwardly transformed into formulas for the roots of the general cubic equation (1), using the back substitution described in Section Reduction to a monic trinomial. When there is only one real root (and p0), it may be similarly represented using hyperbolic functions, as[24][25]
If p0 and the inequalities on the right are not satisfied the formulas remain valid but involve complex quantities. When , the above values of are sometimes called the Chebyshev cube root.[26] More precisely, the , the same analytic function denoted
values involving cosines and hyperbolic cosines define, when
, which is the proper Chebyshev cube root. The value involving hyperbolic sines is similarly denoted when .
Factorization
If the cubic equation with integer coefficients has a rational real root, it can be found using the rational root test: If the root is r = m / n fully reduced, then m is a factor of d and n is a factor of a, so all possible combinations of values for m and n can be checked for whether they satisfy the cubic equation. The rational root test may also be used for a cubic equation with rational coefficients: by multiplication by the lowest common denominator) of the coefficients, one gets an equation with integer coefficients which has exactly the same roots. The rational root test is particularly useful when there are three real roots because the algebraic solution unhelpfully expresses the real roots in terms of complex entities. The rational root test is also helpful in the presence of one real and two complex roots because it allows all of the roots to be written without the use of cube roots. If r is any root of the cubic, then we may factor out (xr ) using polynomial long division to obtain
Hence if we know one root we can find the other two by using the quadratic formula to solve the quadratic , giving
for the other two roots. If there are three real roots and none of them is rational, we have the so-called casus irreducibilis in which the cubic cannot be factored into the product of a linear polynomial and a quadratic polynomial each with real coefficients.
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335
Geometric interpretation of the roots

Three real roots Vite's trigonometric expression of the roots in the three-real-roots case lends itself to a geometric interpretation in terms of a circle.[16][27] When the cubic is written in depressed form as above as , as shown above the solution can be expressed as
For the cubic
with three real roots, the roots form an equilateral triangle with vertices A, B, and C in the circle.
Here a complex number; adding resulting angles by For the non-depressed case
is an angle in the unit circle; taking of that angle corresponds to taking a cube root of for k = 1, 2 finds the other cube roots; and multiplying the cosines of these corrects for scale. (shown in the accompanying graph), the depressed case as so . Graphically this corresponds to
indicated previously is obtained by defining t such that relationships.
simply shifting the graph horizontally when changing between the variables t and x, without changing the angle
Cubic function One real and two complex roots In the Cartesian plane If a cubic is plotted in the Cartesian plane, the real root can be seen graphically as the horizontal intercept of the curve. But further,[28][29][30] if the complex conjugate roots are written as g+hi, then g is the abscissa (the positive or negative horizontal distance from the origin) of the tangency point of a line that is tangent to the cubic curve and intersects the horizontal axis at the same place as does the cubic curve; and |h| is the square root of the tangent of the angle between this line and the horizontal axis. In the complex plane With one real and two complex roots, the three roots can be represented as points in the complex plane, as can the two roots of the cubic's derivative. There is an interesting geometrical relationship among all these roots. The points in the complex plane representing the three roots serve as the vertices of an isosceles triangle. (The triangle is isosceles because one root is on the horizontal (real) axis and the other two roots, being complex conjugates, appear symmetrically above and below the real axis.) Marden's Theorem says that the points representing the roots of the derivative of the cubic are the foci of the Steiner inellipse of the trianglethe unique ellipse that is tangent to the triangle at the midpoints of its sides. If the angle at the vertex on the real axis is less than then the major axis of the ellipse lies on the real axis, as do its foci and hence the roots of the derivative. If that angle is greater than , the major axis is vertical and its foci, the roots of the derivative, are complex. And if that angle is , the triangle is equilateral, the Steiner inellipse is simply the triangle's incircle, its foci coincide with each other at the incenter, which lies on the real axis, and hence the derivative has duplicate real roots.
336
The slope of line RA is twice that of RH. Denoting the complex roots of the cubic as ghi, g = (negative here) and h = .
Cubic function Omar Khayym's solution As shown in this graph, to solve the third-degree equation where Omar Khayym constructed the parabola the circle with diameter having its center on the positive x-axis and intersecting the origin, and a vertical line through the point above the x-axis where the circle and parabola intersect. The solution is given by the length of the horizontal line segment from the origin to the intersection of the vertical line and the x-axis.
337
Notes
[1] Van de Waerden, Geometry and Algebra of Ancient Civilizations, chapter 4, Zurich 1983 ISBN 0-387-12159-5 [2] British Museum BM 85200 [3] Guilbeau (1930, p.8) states, "The Egyptians considered the solution impossible, but the Greeks came nearer to a solution." [4] Guilbeau (1930, pp.89) [5] The works of Archimedes, translation by T. L. Heath [6] Mikami, Yoshio (1974) [1913], "Chapter 8 Wang Hsiao-Tung and Cubic Equations", The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan (2nd ed.), New York: Chelsea Publishing Co., pp.5356, ISBN978-0-8284-0149-4 [7] A paper of Omar Khayyam, Scripta Math. 26 (1963), pages 323337 [8] In O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Omar Khayyam" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Khayyam. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . one may read This problem in turn led Khayyam to solve the cubic equation x^3 + 200x = 20x^2 + 2000 and he found a positive root of this cubic by considering the intersection of a rectangular hyperbola and a circle. An approximate numerical solution was then found by interpolation in trigonometric tables. The then in the last assertion is erroneous and should, at least, be replaced by also. The geometric construction was perfectly suitable for Omar Khayyam, as it occurs for solving a problem of geometric construction. At the end of his article he says only that, for this geometrical problem, if approximations are sufficient, then a simpler solution may be obtained by consulting trigonometric tables. Textually: If the seeker is satisfied with an estimate, it is up to him to look into the table of chords of Almagest, or the table of sines and versed sines of Mothmed Observatory. This is followed by a short description of this alternate method (seven lines). [9] J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson (1999), Omar Khayyam (http:/ / www-groups. dcs. st-and. ac. uk/ ~history/ Biographies/ Khayyam. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, states, "Khayyam himself seems to have been the first to conceive a general theory of cubic equations." [10] Guilbeau (1930, p.9) states, "Omar Al Hay of Chorassan, about 1079 AD did most to elevate to a method the solution of the algebraic equations by intersecting conics." [11] Datta and Singh, History of Hindu Mathematics, p. 76,Equation of Higher Degree; Bharattya Kala Prakashan, Delhi, India 2004 ISBN 81-86050-86-8 [12] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Sharaf al-Din al-Muzaffar al-Tusi" (http:/ / www-history. mcs. st-andrews. ac. uk/ Biographies/ Al-Tusi_Sharaf. html), MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, . [13] Berggren, J. L. (1990), "Innovation and Tradition in Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi's Muadalat", Journal of the American Oriental Society 110 (2): 304309 [14] "The life and numbers of Fibonacci" (http:/ / pass. maths. org. uk/ issue3/ fibonacci/ index. html), Plus Magazine [15] Katz, Victor (2004), A History of Mathematics, Boston: Addison Wesley, p.220 [16] Nickalls, R. W. D. (July 2006), "Vite, Descartes and the cubic equation" (http:/ / www. nickalls. org/ dick/ papers/ maths/ descartes2006. pdf), Mathematical Gazette 90: 203208, [17] Irving, Ronald S. (2004), Integers, polynomials, and rings (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=B4k6ltaxm5YC), Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., ISBN0-387-40397-3, , Chapter 10 ex 10.14.4 and 10.17.4, pp. 154156 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=B4k6ltaxm5YC& pg=PA154) [18] Jacobson 2009, p.210 [19] Prasolov, Viktor; Solovyev, Yuri (1997), Elliptic functions and elliptic integrals (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=fcp9IiZd3tQC), AMS Bookstore, ISBN978-0-8218-0587-9, , 6.2, p. 134 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=fcp9IiZd3tQC& pg=PA134#PPA134,M1) [20] Kline, Morris (1990), Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=aO-v3gvY-I8C), Oxford University Press US, ISBN978-0-19-506136-9, , Algebra in the Eighteenth Century: The Theory of Equations (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=aO-v3gvY-I8C& printsec=frontcover#PPA597,M1) Omar Khayym's geometric solution of a cubic equation.
Cubic function
[21] Daniel Lazard, "Solving quintics in radicals", in Olav Arnfinn Laudal, Ragni Piene, The Legacy of Niels Henrik Abel, pp.207225, Berlin, 2004,. ISBN 3-540-43826-2 [22] Zucker, I. J., "The cubic equation a new look at the irreducible case", Mathematical Gazette 92, July 2008, 264268. [23] Shelbey, Samuel (1975), CRC Standard Mathematical Tables, CRC Press, ISBN0-87819-622-6 [24] These are Formulas (80) and (83) of Weisstein, Eric W. 'Cubic Formula'. From MathWorldA Wolfram Web Resource. http:/ / mathworld. wolfram. com/ CubicFormula. html, rewritten for having a coherent notation. [25] Holmes, G. C., "The use of hyperbolic cosines in solving cubic polynomials", Mathematical Gazette 86. November 2002, 473477. [26] Abramowitz, Milton; Stegun, Irene A., eds. Handbook of Mathematical Functions with Formulas, Graphs, and Mathematical Tables, Dover (1965), chap. 22 p. 773 [27] Nickalls, R. W. D. (November 1993), "A new approach to solving the cubic: Cardan's solution revealed" (http:/ / www. nickalls. org/ dick/ papers/ maths/ cubic1993. pdf), The Mathematical Gazette 77 (480): 354359, doi:10.2307/3619777, ISSN0025-5572, JSTOR3619777, See esp. Fig. 2. [28] Henriquez, Garcia (JuneJuly 1935), "The graphical interpretation of the complex roots of cubic equations", American Mathematical Monthly 42 (6): 383384, doi:10.2307/2301359 [29] Barr, C. F. (1918), American Mathematical Monthly 25: 268 [30] Barr, C. F. (1917), Annals of Mathematics 19: 157
338
References
Anglin, W. S.; Lambek, Joachim (1995), "Mathematics in the Renaissance" (http://books.google.com/ ?id=mZfXHRgJpmQC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq="mathematics+in+the+renaissance"+heritage+thales& q), The Heritage of Thales, Springers, pp.125131, ISBN978-0-387-94544-6 Ch. 24. Dence, T. (November 1997), "Cubics, chaos and Newton's method", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 81: 403408, ISSN0025-5572 Dunnett, R. (November 1994), "NewtonRaphson and the cubic", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 78: 347348, ISSN0025-5572 Guilbeau, Lucye (1930), "The History of the Solution of the Cubic Equation", Mathematics News Letter 5 (4): 812, doi:10.2307/3027812, JSTOR3027812 Jacobson, Nathan (2009), Basic algebra, 1 (2nd ed.), Dover, ISBN978-0-486-47189-1 Mitchell, D. W. (November 2007), "Solving cubics by solving triangles", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 91: 514516, ISSN0025-5572 Mitchell, D. W. (November 2009), "Powers of as roots of cubics", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 93: ???, ISSN0025-5572 Press, WH; Teukolsky, SA; Vetterling, WT; Flannery, BP (2007), "Section 5.6 Quadratic and Cubic Equations" (http://apps.nrbook.com/empanel/index.html?pg=227), Numerical Recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing (3rd ed.), New York: Cambridge University Press, ISBN978-0-521-88068-8 Rechtschaffen, Edgar (July 2008), "Real roots of cubics: Explicit formula for quasi-solutions", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 92: 268276, ISSN0025-5572 Zucker, I. J. (July 2008), "The cubic equation a new look at the irreducible case", Mathematical Gazette (Mathematical Association) 92: 264268, ISSN0025-5572
Cubic function
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External links
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), "Cardano formula" (http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=p/ c020350), Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN978-1-55608-010-4 Solving a Cubic by means of Moebius transforms (http://home.pipeline.com/~hbaker1/sigplannotices/ sigcol07.pdf) Interesting derivation of trigonometric cubic solution with 3 real roots (http://home.pipeline.com/~hbaker1/ cubic3realroots.htm) Calculator for solving Cubics (also solves Quartics and Quadratics) (http://www.freewebs.com/brianjs/ ultimateequationsolver.htm) Tartaglia's work (and poetry) on the solution of the Cubic Equation (http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/ ?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1345&bodyId=1491) at Convergence (http://mathdl.maa.org/ convergence/1/) Cubic Equation Solver (http://www.akiti.ca/Quad3Deg.html). Quadratic, cubic and quartic equations (http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/ Quadratic_etc_equations.html) on MacTutor archive. Cubic Formula (http://planetmath.org/?op=getobj&from=objects&id=1407), PlanetMath.org. Cardano solution calculator as java applet (http://www25.brinkster.com/denshade/cardano.html) at some local site. Only takes natural coefficients. Graphic explorer for cubic functions (http://www.mathopenref.com/cubicexplorer.html) With interactive animation, slider controls for coefficients On Solution of Cubic Equations (http://numericalmethods.eng.usf.edu/mws/gen/03nle/ mws_gen_nle_bck_exactcubic.pdf) at Holistic Numerical Methods Institute Dave Auckly, Solving the quartic with a pencil (http://arxiv.org/abs/math.HO/0310449) American Math Monthly 114:1 (2007) 2939 "Cubic Equation" (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/CubicEquation/) by Eric W. Weisstein, The Wolfram Demonstrations Project, 2007.
Article Sources and Contributors
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Maths 3000BC To 1070AD

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Maths 3000BC To 1070AD

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Maths 3000BC to 1070AD

Important number systems

The limit of a convergent sequence of rational numbers

Number Islamic world.

Transcendental numbers and reals

Infinity and infinitesimals

seemed capriciously inconsistent with the algebraic identity

and to Euler (1748) Euler's formula of complex analysis:

Proper and improper common fractions

Reciprocals and the "invisible denominator"

Decimal fractions and percentages

Arithmetic with fractions

First, convert the

into twelfths by multiplying both

numerator and denominator by three: . Since equals 1, multiplication by

converted into comparable quantities, such as cake-eighths or cake-quarters.

This method can be expressed algebraically:

And for expressions consisting of the addition of three fractions:

makes 8 quarters total) and 33 quarters is

Converting between decimals and fractions

Fractions in abstract mathematics

If the numerator and the denominator are polynomials, as in

, the algebraic fraction is called a

Pronunciation and spelling

fourth(s) or fifth(s) quarter(s) 12 twelfth(s) 1,000,000 13

Denominator 10 in words tenth(s)

thirteenth(s) fourteenth(s) fifteenth(s) sixteenth(s) twenty-second(s)

Denominator 100 in words

hundredth(s) thousandth(s) millionth(s)

the roots are given by the quadratic formula[1]

where the symbol "" indicates that both

Quadratic equation are solutions of the quadratic equation.[2]

Example discriminant signs <0: x2+12 =0: 43x2+43x13 >0: 32x2+12x43

since they are the values of x for which

For the quadratic function:

f (x) = x2 x 2 = (x + 1)(x 2) of a real variable x,

is a factor of the polynomial

if and only if r is a root of the quadratic equation

It follows from the quadratic formula that

In the special case (

quadratic polynomial can be factored as

Application to higher-degree equations

can be rewritten as:

or, equivalently, as a quadratic equation in a new variable u:

Solving the quadratic equation for u results in the two solutions:

Derivations of the quadratic formula

Dividing the quadratic equation

by a (which is allowed because a is non-zero), gives:

Taking the square root of both sides yields

Using Vieta's formulas for the vertex coordinates

the values of x can be written as

Rewriting the latter equation as

and comparing with the former results in

from which Vieta's expressions for xV and yV can be derived.

assume that it factors as

Thus, solving for the resolvents gives the original roots.

Thus the roots are

which is the quadratic formula. Substituting resolvents can be recognized as

Other methods of root calculation