eBook - ePub

The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved

Name: The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved
Author: Mario Livio

How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry

Mario Livio,

368 pages
English
ePUB (mobile friendly)
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - ePub

The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved

How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry

Mario Livio,

About this book

What do Bach's compositions, Rubik's Cube, the way we choose our mates, and the physics of subatomic particles have in common? All are governed by the laws of symmetry, which elegantly unify scientific and artistic principles. Yet the mathematical language of symmetry-known as group theory-did not emerge from the study of symmetry at all, but from an equation that couldn't be solved. For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two great prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. These geniuses, a Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel and a romantic Frenchman named Évariste Galois, both died tragically young. Their incredible labor, however, produced the origins of group theory. The first extensive, popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.

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Yes, you can access The Equation that Couldn't Be Solved by Mario Livio in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Mathematik & Mathematik Allgemein. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.