Book ID: CBB497710314

Euler's Pioneering Equation: The Most Beautiful Theorem in Mathematics (2018)

unapi

Wilson, Robin J. (Author)


Oxford University Press


Publication Date: 2018
Physical Details: 176
Language: English

In 1988 The Mathematical Intelligencer, a quarterly mathematics journal, carried out a poll to find the most beautiful theorem in mathematics. Twenty-four theorems were listed and readers were invited to award each a "score for beauty". While there were many worthy competitors, the winner was"Euler's equation". In 2004 Physics World carried out a similar poll of "greatest equations", and found that among physicists Euler's mathematical result came second only to Maxwell's equations. The Stanford mathematician Keith Devlin reflected the feelings of many in describing it as "like aShakespearian sonnet that captures the very essence of love, or a painting which brings out the beauty of the human form that is far more than just skin deep, Euler's equation reaches down into the very depths of existence".What is it that makes Euler's identity, eipi + 1 = 0, so special?In Euler's Pioneering Equation Robin Wilson shows how this simple, elegant, and profound formula links together perhaps the five most important numbers in mathematics, each associated with a story in themselves: the number 1, the basis of our counting system; the concept of zero, which was a majordevelopment in mathematics, and opened up the idea of negative numbers; pi an irrational number, the basis for the measurement of circles; the exponential e, associated with exponential growth and logarithms; and the imaginary number i, the square root of -1, the basis of complex numbers. Followinga chapter on each of the elements, Robin Wilson discusses how the startling relationship between them was established, including the several near misses to the discovery of the formula.

...More
Reviewed By

Review Miranda Wood (2019) Review of "Euler's Pioneering Equation: The Most Beautiful Theorem in Mathematics". British Journal for the History of Mathematics (pp. 120-123). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB497710314/

Similar Citations

Article Amanda Paxton; (2021)
The Hard Math of Beauty: Gerard Manley Hopkins and "Spectral Numbers" (/isis/citation/CBB150662150/)

Article Zhang, Sheng; (2007)
Euler and Euler Numbers (/isis/citation/CBB000760554/)

Chapter Paolo Zellini; (2018)
La crescita dei numeri nel pensiero antico e moderno (/isis/citation/CBB053441886/)

Book Nahin, Paul J.; (2006)
Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula: Cures Many Mathematical Ills (/isis/citation/CBB000772751/)

Article Katia Asselah; (2011)
Jean Prestet: algèbre et combinatoire dans la résolution des équations (/isis/citation/CBB507580823/)

Article Coates, John; (2008)
Euler's Work on Zeta and L-Functions and Their Special Values (/isis/citation/CBB000931916/)

Article Ferraro, Giovanni; (2004)
Differentials and Differential Coefficients in the Eulerian Foundations of the Calculus (/isis/citation/CBB000410838/)

Article Bullynck, Maarten; (2010)
Factor Tables 1657--1817, with Notes on the Birth of Number Theory (/isis/citation/CBB001033636/)

Article Glasberg, Ronald; (2003)
Mathematics and Spiritual Interpretation: A Bridge to Genuine Interdisciplinarity (/isis/citation/CBB000411132/)

Article Bell, Jordan; (2010)
A Summary of Euler's Work on the Pentagonal Number Theorem (/isis/citation/CBB001022000/)

Article Hollenback, George M.; (2003)
Another Example of an Implied Pi Value of 3 1/8 in Babylonian Mathematics (/isis/citation/CBB000774901/)

Article Harmer, Adam; (2014)
Leibniz on Infinite Numbers, Infinite Wholes, and Composite Substances (/isis/citation/CBB001201140/)

Article Burckhardt, J.J.; (1986)
Euler's work on number theory: A concordance for A. Weil's Number theory (/isis/citation/CBB000031560/)

Article Antropov, A.A.; (1995)
On Euler's partition of forms into genera (/isis/citation/CBB000062548/)

Article Scriba, Christoph J.; (1983)
Eulers zahlentheoretische Studien im Lichte seines wissenschaftlichen Briefwechsels (/isis/citation/CBB000007121/)

Essay Review Christopher J. Phillips; (2020)
Who Wants to Be a Mathematician? (/isis/citation/CBB944497847/)

Book Vieri Benci; Paolo Freguglia; (2019)
La matematica e l'infinito: Storia e attualità di un problema (/isis/citation/CBB436831674/)

Chapter Oort, Frans; (2007)
Congruent Numbers in the Tenth and in the Twentieth Century (/isis/citation/CBB000930936/)

Article Leïla Hamouda; Yassine Hachaichi; (2021)
Note sur l'extraction de la racine carrée d'un entier chez ibn Al-Hayṯam et comparaison avec Al-Baġdādī (/isis/citation/CBB183440774/)

Authors & Contributors
Hachaichi, Yassine
Paxton, Amanda
Hamouda, Leïla
Asselah, Katia
Phillips, Christopher J.
Zhang, Sheng
Concepts
Mathematics
Number theory; number concept
Numbers
Infinity
Equations and formulae
Infinitesimals
Time Periods
18th century
17th century
Medieval
Ancient
19th century
Early modern
Places
Middle and Near East
France
Mesopotamia
Great Britain
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment