The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth
eBook - PDF

The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth

The Early History of Trigonometry

  1. 352 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth

The Early History of Trigonometry

About this book

The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth is the first major history in English of the origins and early development of trigonometry. Glen Van Brummelen identifies the earliest known trigonometric precursors in ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Greece, and he examines the revolutionary discoveries of Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer believed to have been the first to make systematic use of trigonometry in the second century BC while studying the motions of the stars. The book traces trigonometry's development into a full-fledged mathematical discipline in India and Islam; explores its applications to such areas as geography and seafaring navigation in the European Middle Ages and Renaissance; and shows how trigonometry retained its ancient roots at the same time that it became an important part of the foundation of modern mathematics.

The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth looks at the controversies as well, including disputes over whether Hipparchus was indeed the father of trigonometry, whether Indian trigonometry is original or derived from the Greeks, and the extent to which Western science is indebted to Islamic trigonometry and astronomy. The book also features extended excerpts of translations of original texts, and detailed yet accessible explanations of the mathematics in them.

No other book on trigonometry offers the historical breadth, analytical depth, and coverage of non-Western mathematics that readers will find in The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth.

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Yes, you can access The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth by Glen Van Brummelen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Mathematics & History & Philosophy of Mathematics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Half-title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication Page
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. The Ancient Heavens
  9. 1. Precursors
  10. 2. Alexandrian Greece
  11. 3. India
  12. 4. Islam
  13. 5. The West to 1550
  14. Bibliography
  15. Index