An Imaginary Tale - The Story of -1

Zusatztext "You will definitely enjoy it. In fact it clearly reflects the the joy and delight that the author experienced when he was confronted with complex analysis during his engineering studies." ---Adhemar Bultheel! European Mathematical Society Informationen zum Autor Paul J. NahinWith a new preface by the author Klappentext Today complex numbers have such widespread practical use--from electrical engineering to aeronautics--that few people would expect the story behind their derivation to be filled with adventure and enigma. In An Imaginary Tale, Paul Nahin tells the 2000-year-old history of one of mathematics' most elusive numbers, the square root of minus one, also known as i. He recreates the baffling mathematical problems that conjured it up, and the colorful characters who tried to solve them. Nahin weaves into this narrative entertaining historical facts and mathematical discussions, including the application of complex numbers and functions to important problems, such as Kepler's laws of planetary motion and ac electrical circuits. This book can be read as an engaging history, almost a biography, of one of the most evasive and pervasive "numbers" in all of mathematics. Zusammenfassung In the title, "[the square root of minus one]" appears as a radical over "-1."

Product details

• Authors: Paul Nahin, Paul J Nahin, Paul J. Nahin, Nahin Paul J.
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 08.04.2016
• EAN: 9780691169248
• ISBN: 978-0-691-16924-8
• No. of pages: 296
• Dimensions: 137 mm x 215 mm x 18 mm
• Series: Princeton Science Library
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Non-fiction book > Nature, technology > Natural science; MATHEMATICS / Number Theory, MATHEMATICS / Recreations & Games, Number Theory, Popular and recreational mathematics, Popular mathematics