|
Quadratrix
In geometry, a quadratrix () is a curve having ordinates which are a measure of the area (or quadrature) of another curve. The two most famous curves of this class are those of Dinostratus and E. W. Tschirnhaus, which are both related to the circle. Quadratrix of Dinostratus The quadratrix of Dinostratus (also called the ''quadratrix of Hippias'') was well known to the ancient Greek geometers, and is mentioned by Proclus, who ascribes the invention of the curve to a contemporary of Socrates, probably Hippias of Elis. Dinostratus, a Greek geometer and disciple of Plato, discussed the curve, and showed how it effected a mechanical solution of squaring the circle. Pappus, in his ''Collections'', treats its history, and gives two methods by which it can be generated. # Let a helix be drawn on a right circular cylinder; a screw surface is then obtained by drawing lines from every point of this spiral perpendicular to its axis. The orthogonal projection of a section of this surface ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinostratus
Dinostratus (; c. 390 – c. 320 BCE) was a Greece, Greek mathematician and geometer, and the brother of Menaechmus. He is known for using the quadratrix to solve the problem of squaring the circle. Life and work Dinostratus' chief contribution to mathematics was his solution to the problem of squaring the circle. To solve this problem, Dinostratus made use of the trisectrix of Hippias, for which he proved a special property (Dinostratus' theorem) that allowed him the squaring of the circle. Due to his work the trisectrix later became known as the quadratrix of Dinostratus as well. Although Dinostratus solved the problem of squaring the circle, he did not do so using Compass and straightedge constructions, ruler and compass alone, and so it was clear to the Greeks that his solution violated the foundational principles of their mathematics. Over 2,200 years later Ferdinand von Lindemann would prove that it is impossible to square a circle using straight edge and compass alone. C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pappus Of Alexandria
Pappus of Alexandria (; ; AD) was a Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician of late antiquity known for his ''Synagoge'' (Συναγωγή) or ''Collection'' (), and for Pappus's hexagon theorem in projective geometry. Almost nothing is known about his life except for what can be found in his own writings, many of which are lost. Pappus apparently lived in Alexandria, where he worked as a Mathematics education, mathematics teacher to higher level students, one of whom was named Hermodorus.Pierre Dedron, J. Itard (1959) ''Mathematics And Mathematicians'', Vol. 1, p. 149 (trans. Judith V. Field) (Transworld Student Library, 1974) The ''Collection'', his best-known work, is a compendium of mathematics in eight volumes, the bulk of which survives. It covers a wide range of topics that were part of the ancient mathematics curriculum, including geometry, astronomy, and mechanics. Pappus was active in a period generally considered one of stagnation in mathematical studies, where, to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippias Of Elis
Hippias of Elis (; ; late 5th century BC) was a Greek sophist, and a contemporary of Socrates. With an assurance characteristic of the later sophists, he claimed to be regarded as an authority on all subjects, and lectured on poetry, grammar, history, politics, mathematics, and much else. Most current knowledge of him is derived from Plato, who characterizes him as vain and arrogant. Life Hippias was born at Elis in the mid 5th-century BC (c. 460 BC) and was thus a younger contemporary of Protagoras and Socrates. He lived at least as late as Socrates (399 BC). He was a disciple of Hegesidamus. Owing to his talent and skill, his fellow-citizens availed themselves of his services in political matters, and in a diplomatic mission to Sparta. But he was in every respect like the other sophists of the time: he travelled about in various towns and districts of Greece for the purpose of teaching and public speaking. The two dialogues of Plato, the '' Hippias major'' and the '' Hippias m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squaring The Circle
Squaring the circle is a problem in geometry first proposed in Greek mathematics. It is the challenge of constructing a square (geometry), square with the area of a circle, area of a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with a compass and straightedge. The difficulty of the problem raised the question of whether specified axioms of Euclidean geometry concerning the existence of Line (geometry), lines and circles implied the existence of such a square. In 1882, the task was proven to be impossible, as a consequence of the Lindemann–Weierstrass theorem, which proves that pi (\pi) is a transcendental number. That is, \pi is not the zero of a function, root of any polynomial with Rational number, rational coefficients. It had been known for decades that the construction would be impossible if \pi were transcendental, but that fact was not proven until 1882. Approximate constructions with any given non-perfect accuracy exist, and many such constructions have been f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is called a ''List of geometers, geometer''. Until the 19th century, geometry was almost exclusively devoted to Euclidean geometry, which includes the notions of point (geometry), point, line (geometry), line, plane (geometry), plane, distance, angle, surface (mathematics), surface, and curve, as fundamental concepts. Originally developed to model the physical world, geometry has applications in almost all sciences, and also in art, architecture, and other activities that are related to graphics. Geometry also has applications in areas of mathematics that are apparently unrelated. For example, methods of algebraic geometry are fundamental in Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, Wiles's proof of Fermat's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conical Surface
In geometry, a conical surface is an unbounded surface in three-dimensional space formed from the union of infinite lines that pass through a fixed point and a space curve. Definitions A (''general'') conical surface is the unbounded surface formed by the union of all the straight lines that pass through a fixed point — the ''apex'' or ''vertex'' — and any point of some fixed space curve — the ''directrix'' — that does not contain the apex. Each of those lines is called a ''generatrix'' of the surface. The directrix is often taken as a plane curve, in a plane not containing the apex, but this is not a requirement. In general, a conical surface consists of two congruent unbounded halves joined by the apex. Each half is called a nappe, and is the union of all the rays that start at the apex and pass through a point of some fixed space curve. Sometimes the term "conical surface" is used to mean just one nappe. Special cases If the directrix is a circl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circular Sector
A circular sector, also known as circle sector or disk sector or simply a sector (symbol: ⌔), is the portion of a disk (a closed region bounded by a circle) enclosed by two radii and an arc, with the smaller area being known as the ''minor sector'' and the larger being the ''major sector''. In the diagram, is the central angle, the radius of the circle, and is the arc length of the minor sector. The angle formed by connecting the endpoints of the arc to any point on the circumference that is not in the sector is equal to half the central angle. Types A sector with the central angle of 180° is called a '' half-disk'' and is bounded by a diameter and a semicircle. Sectors with other central angles are sometimes given special names, such as quadrants (90°), sextants (60°), and octants (45°), which come from the sector being one quarter, sixth or eighth part of a full circle, respectively. Area The total area of a circle is . The area of the sector can be obtai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locus (mathematics)
In geometry, a locus (plural: ''loci'') (Latin word for "place", "location") is a set (mathematics), set of all Point (geometry), points (commonly, a line (geometry), line, a line segment, a curve (mathematics), curve or a Surface (topology), surface), whose location satisfies or is determined by one or more specified conditions.. The set of the points that satisfy some property is often called the ''locus of a point'' satisfying this property. The use of the singular in this formulation is a witness that, until the end of the 19th century, mathematicians did not consider infinite sets. Instead of viewing lines and curves as sets of points, they viewed them as places where a point may be ''located'' or may move. History and philosophy Until the beginning of the 20th century, a geometrical shape (for example a curve) was not considered as an infinite set of points; rather, it was considered as an entity on which a point may be located or on which it moves. Thus a circle (mathemat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parallel (geometry)
In geometry, parallel lines are coplanar infinite straight line (geometry), lines that do not intersecting lines, intersect at any point. Parallel planes are plane (geometry), planes in the same three-dimensional space that never meet. ''Parallel curves'' are curves that do not tangent, touch each other or intersect and keep a fixed minimum distance. In three-dimensional Euclidean space, a line and a plane that do not share a point are also said to be parallel. However, two noncoplanar lines are called ''skew lines''. Line segments and Euclidean vectors are parallel if they have the same direction (geometry), direction or opposite direction (geometry), opposite direction (not necessarily the same length). Parallel lines are the subject of Euclid's parallel postulate. Parallelism is primarily a property of affine geometry, affine geometries and Euclidean geometry is a special instance of this type of geometry. In some other geometries, such as hyperbolic geometry, lines can have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plane (geometry)
In mathematics, a Euclidean plane is a Euclidean space of dimension two, denoted \textbf^2 or \mathbb^2. It is a geometric space in which two real numbers are required to determine the position of each point. It is an affine space, which includes in particular the concept of parallel lines. It has also metrical properties induced by a distance, which allows to define circles, and angle measurement. A Euclidean plane with a chosen Cartesian coordinate system is called a '' Cartesian plane''. The set \mathbb^2 of the ordered pairs of real numbers (the real coordinate plane), equipped with the dot product, is often called ''the'' Euclidean plane or ''standard Euclidean plane'', since every Euclidean plane is isomorphic to it. History Books I through IV and VI of Euclid's Elements dealt with two-dimensional geometry, developing such notions as similarity of shapes, the Pythagorean theorem (Proposition 47), equality of angles and areas, parallelism, the sum of the angles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
