Download or read book John Napier and the Invention of Logarithms 1614 written by E. W. Hobson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-29 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1914, this volume was created to mark the tercentenary of John Napier's Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio. Written by the prominent English mathematician Ernest William Hobson, the text provides a highly readable introduction to the theory of logarithms and puts their discovery within a historical context. Illustrations are also included. This is a concise and accessible book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in logarithms and the history of mathematics.
Download or read book John Napier written by Julian Havil and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-05 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most comprehensive account of the mathematician's life and work John Napier (1550–1617) is celebrated today as the man who invented logarithms—an enormous intellectual achievement that would soon lead to the development of their mechanical equivalent in the slide rule: the two would serve humanity as the principal means of calculation until the mid-1970s. Yet, despite Napier's pioneering efforts, his life and work have not attracted detailed modern scrutiny. John Napier is the first contemporary biography to take an in-depth look at the multiple facets of Napier’s story: his privileged position as the eighth Laird of Merchiston and the son of influential Scottish landowners; his reputation as a magician who dabbled in alchemy; his interest in agriculture; his involvement with a notorious outlaw; his staunch anti-Catholic beliefs; his interactions with such peers as Henry Briggs, Johannes Kepler, and Tycho Brahe; and, most notably, his estimable mathematical legacy. Julian Havil explores Napier’s original development of logarithms, the motivations for his approach, and the reasons behind certain adjustments to them. Napier’s inventive mathematical ideas also include formulas for solving spherical triangles, "Napier’s Bones" (a more basic but extremely popular alternative device for calculation), and the use of decimal notation for fractions and binary arithmetic. Havil also considers Napier’s study of the Book of Revelation, which led to his prediction of the Apocalypse in his first book, A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John—the work for which Napier believed he would be most remembered. John Napier assesses one man’s life and the lasting influence of his advancements on the mathematical sciences and beyond.
Download or read book The Life and Works of John Napier written by Brian Rice and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-03-09 with total page 1009 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time, all five of John Napier’s works have been brought together in English in a single volume, making them more accessible than ever before. His four mathematical works were originally published in Latin: two in his lifetime (1550–1617), one shortly after he died, and one over 200 years later. The authors have prepared three introductory chapters, one covering Napier himself, one his mathematical works, and one his religious work. The former has been prepared by one of Napier’s descendants and contains many new findings about Napier’s life to provide the most complete biography of this enigmatic character, whose reputation has previously been overshadowed by rumour and speculation. The latter has been written by an academic who was awarded a PhD for his thesis on Napier at the University of Edinburgh, and it provides the most lucid and coherent coverage available of this abstruse and little understood work. The chapter on Napier’s mathematical texts has been authored by an experienced and respected academic, whose recent works have specialised in the history of mathematics and whose Journey through Mathematics was selected in March of 2012 as an Outstanding Title in Mathematics by Choice magazine, a publication of the American Library Association. All three authors have revisited the primary sources extensively and deliver new insights about Napier and his works, whilst revising the many myths and assumptions that surround his life and character.
Download or read book The Daring Invention of Logarithm Tables written by Klaus Truemper and published by . This book was released on 2020-09-16 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 17th century, both Jost Bürgi and John Napier dared to invent a logarithm table whose construction required tens of thousands of computing steps. These tables reduced computing effort for multiplication and division by an order of magnitude. Indeed, their invention launched a computing revolution that continues to this day. The book tells the story of Bürgi's and Napier's work, and how Henry Briggs built on Napier's idea, creating a table of logarithms that was easier to use. John Napier and Henry Briggs described their methods in detail; distribution of their results was widespread. In contrast, Jost Bürgi did not leave detailed records of his work. Just a few copies of his table and terse handwritten instructions for its use have survived. To fill this gap, the book reconstructs Bürgi's thinking leading up to his table. The reader looks over his shoulder, so to speak, and learns how Bürgi came upon the idea, how he decided on the specific format of the table, and how his instructions should be interpreted. And so the reader experiences the magic of the invention of logarithms. The final chapters examine the question "Who invented logarithms?". For centuries, few people were aware of Bürgi's work; John Napier was considered to be the sole inventor. This changed at the middle of the 19th century when Jost Bürgi's work became more widely known. Since then there has been extensive debate whether Bürgi should be considered an independent co-inventor. Careful parsing of the history of logarithm going back to Archimedes of antiquity then reveals that, without doubt, John Napier and Jost Bürgi are independent co-inventors of logarithms.
Download or read book The Construction of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms written by John Napier and published by . This book was released on 1889 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rabdology written by John Napier and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first English translation of Napier's Rabdologia provides a clear and readable introduction to a group of physical calculating devices, which, long overshadowed by Napier's logarithms, have their own intrinsic interest and charm. "The tasks which fill'd beginners with dismayThis little book has banish'd clear away." John Napier had already discovered and published an epochmaking treatise on logarithms when in 1617 he turned to "rabdology" or rod-reckoning as yet another means by which to confront the problem of simplifying the huge calculations involved in multiplication, division, and the extraction of roots. This first English translation of Napier's Rabdologia provides a clear and readable introduction to a group of physical calculating devices, which, long overshadowed by Napier's logarithms, have their own intrinsic interest and charm. Book I describes the first device, a set of rods known as "Napier's Bones," which were inscribed with numbers forming multiplication tables and used in conjunction with pencil and paper. Book 11 presents a series of simple calculations that readers can solve by using the rods, and a series of tables of ratios useful for division. Napier then describes the second mechanical device for calculation, a forerunner of the modern calculator that he named promptuary or "place where things are stored ready for use." The third device, similar to a chessboard, allowed calculations to be performed by moving counters around the squares. Observing that the numbers had to be represented in what would now be called binary form, Napier provides instructions for changing from ordinary to binary numbers and back again, a method that worked equally well for multiplication and division and that had a particularly elegant symmetry when applied to the extraction of square roots.
Download or read book John Napier written by and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a biographical sketch of Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550-1617), compiled as part of the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland. Highlights Naimark's work on logarithms.
Download or read book Memoirs of John Napier of Merchiston written by Mark Napier and published by . This book was released on 1834 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Making up Numbers A History of Invention in Mathematics written by Ekkehard Kopp and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2020-10-23 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making up Numbers: A History of Invention in Mathematics offers a detailed but accessible account of a wide range of mathematical ideas. Starting with elementary concepts, it leads the reader towards aspects of current mathematical research. The book explains how conceptual hurdles in the development of numbers and number systems were overcome in the course of history, from Babylon to Classical Greece, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and so to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The narrative moves from the Pythagorean insistence on positive multiples to the gradual acceptance of negative numbers, irrationals and complex numbers as essential tools in quantitative analysis. Within this chronological framework, chapters are organised thematically, covering a variety of topics and contexts: writing and solving equations, geometric construction, coordinates and complex numbers, perceptions of ‘infinity’ and its permissible uses in mathematics, number systems, and evolving views of the role of axioms. Through this approach, the author demonstrates that changes in our understanding of numbers have often relied on the breaking of long-held conventions to make way for new inventions at once providing greater clarity and widening mathematical horizons. Viewed from this historical perspective, mathematical abstraction emerges as neither mysterious nor immutable, but as a contingent, developing human activity. Making up Numbers will be of great interest to undergraduate and A-level students of mathematics, as well as secondary school teachers of the subject. In virtue of its detailed treatment of mathematical ideas, it will be of value to anyone seeking to learn more about the development of the subject.
Download or read book e The Story of a Number written by Eli Maor and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-12 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The interest earned on a bank account, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the shape of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are all intimately connected with the mysterious number e. In this informal and engaging history, Eli Maor portrays the curious characters and the elegant mathematics that lie behind the number. Designed for a reader with only a modest mathematical background, this biography brings out the central importance of e to mathematics and illuminates a golden era in the age of science.
Download or read book Curves for the Mathematically Curious written by Julian Havil and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten amazing curves personally selected by one of today's most important math writers Curves for the Mathematically Curious is a thoughtfully curated collection of ten mathematical curves, selected by Julian Havil for their significance, mathematical interest, and beauty. Each chapter gives an account of the history and definition of one curve, providing a glimpse into the elegant and often surprising mathematics involved in its creation and evolution. In telling the ten stories, Havil introduces many mathematicians and other innovators, some whose fame has withstood the passing of years and others who have slipped into comparative obscurity. You will meet Pierre Bézier, who is known for his ubiquitous and eponymous curves, and Adolphe Quetelet, who trumpeted the ubiquity of the normal curve but whose name now hides behind the modern body mass index. These and other ingenious thinkers engaged with the challenges, incongruities, and insights to be found in these remarkable curves—and now you can share in this adventure. Curves for the Mathematically Curious is a rigorous and enriching mathematical experience for anyone interested in curves, and the book is designed so that readers who choose can follow the details with pencil and paper. Every curve has a story worth telling.
Download or read book A History of Mathematics written by Victor J. Katz and published by . This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is ideal for a junior or senior level course in the history of mathematics for mathematics majors intending to become teachers. This title is part of the Pearson Modern Classics series. Pearson Modern Classics are acclaimed titles at a value price. Please visit www.pearsonhighered.com/math-classics-series for a complete list of titles. A History of Mathematics, 3rd Edition, provides students with a solid background in the history of mathematics and focuses on the most important topics for today's elementary, high school, and college curricula. Students will gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in their historical context, and future teachers will find this book a valuable resource in developing lesson plans based on the history of each topic.
Download or read book Attacking Problems in Logarithms and Exponential Functions written by David S. Kahn and published by Courier Dover Publications. This book was released on 2015-10-21 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concise review of what high school and beginning college students need to know to solve problems in logarithms and exponential functions. Presents rigorously tested examples and coherent explanations in an easy-to-follow format. 2015 edition.
Download or read book A Description of the Admirable Table of Logarithmes written by John Napier and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2013-02-24 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Napier published his treatise on the discovery of logarithms in 1614. It was written in Latin, the scholarly language of his day, under the title Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio. The importance of the work was quickly perceived and an English language translation by Edward Wright followed two years later, with the title A Description of the Admirable Table of Logarithmes. A further English edition followed in 1618. It is said that this book freed the world from a logjam of calculations. John Napier spent more than twenty years working alone on his system of logarithms, during a time when the multiplication and division of large numbers, as well as the finding of square roots, was considered to be extremely difficult. Because of his discovery of logarithms, these tedious mathematical operations could be replaced by the much easier processes of simple addition, subtraction and division by two. Never again would astronomers, architects, merchants and navigators become bogged down with calculations that were simply too difficult or time consuming to carry out. Seeking a name for his discovery, Napier turned to Greek, coining the word Logarithm from logos (Greek for ratio or reckoning) and arithmos (Greek for number). Johannes Kepler, the imperial mathematician and astronomer at Prague, was one of the first to realize the enormous importance of Naperian logarithms. Initially indifferent, his attitude was quickly changed to one of great enthusiasm when he saw that tables of logarithms could considerably ease the burden of difficult astronomical calculations. The French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Simon Laplace said that logarithms, '...by shortening the labours, doubled the life of the astronomer.' At a congress held in Edinburgh to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the publication of this book, it was remarked that '...no previous work had led up to it; nothing had foreshadowed it or heralded its arrival. It stands isolated, breaking upon human thought abruptly, without borrowing from the works of other intellects or following known lines of mathematical thought.' Thus has posterity judged the worth of John Napier, Baron of Merchiston, and his logarithms.
Download or read book The Handy Science Answer Book written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of Mathematical Tables written by Martin Campbell-Kelly and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2003-10-02 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The oldest known mathematical table was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Shuruppag in southern Iraq. Since then, tables have been an important feature of mathematical activity; table making and printed tabular matter are important precursors to modern computing and information processing. This book contains a series of articles summarising the technical, institutional and intellectual history of mathematical tables from earliest times until the late twentieth century. It covers mathematical tables (the most important computing aid for several hundred years until the 1960s), data tables (eg. Census tables), professional tables (eg. insurance tables), and spreadsheets - the most recent tabular innovation. The book is presented in a scholarly yet accessible way, making appropriate use of text boxes and illustrations. Each chapter has a frontispiece featuring a table along with a small illustration of the source where the table was first displayed. Most chapters have sidebars telling a short "story" or history relating to the chapter. The aim of this edited volume is to capture the history of tables through eleven chapters written by subject specialists. The contributors describe the various information processing techniques and artefacts whose unifying concept is "the mathematical table".
Download or read book The Irrationals written by Julian Havil and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-22 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first popular history of irrational numbers and their discoverers, from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century The ancient Greeks discovered them, but it wasn't until the nineteenth century that irrational numbers were properly understood and rigorously defined, and even today not all their mysteries have been revealed. In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil tells the story of irrational numbers and the mathematicians who have tackled their challenges, from antiquity to the twenty-first century. Along the way, he explains why irrational numbers are surprisingly difficult to define—and why so many questions still surround them. Fascinating and illuminating, this is a book for everyone who loves math and the history behind it.
