Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula : Cures Many Mathematical Ills
Paul J. Nahin (Author)
I used to think math was no fun'Cause I couldn't see how it was doneNow Euler's my heroFor I now see why zeroEquals e[pi] i+1 --Paul Nahin, electrical engineer In the mid-eighteenth century, Swiss-born mathematician Leonhard Euler developed a formula so innovative and complex that it continues to inspire research, discussion, and even the occasional limerick. Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula shares the fascinating story of this groundbreaking formula--long regarded as the gold standard for mathematical beauty--and shows why it still lies at the heart of complex number theory. This book is the sequel to Paul Nahin's An Imaginary Tale: The Story of I [the square root of -1], which chronicled the events leading up to the discovery of one of mathematics' most elusive numbers, the square root of minus one. Unlike the earlier book, which devoted a significant amount of space to the historical development of complex numbers, Dr. Euler begins with discussions of many sophisticated applications of complex numbers in pure and applied mathematics, and to electronic technology. The topics covered span a huge range, from a never-before-told tale of an encounter between the famous mathematician G.H. Hardy and the physicist Arthur Schuster, to a discussion of the theoretical basis for single-sideband AM radio, to the design of chase-and-escape problems. The book is accessible to any reader with the equivalent of the first two years of college mathematics (calculus and differential equations), and it promises to inspire new applications for years to come. Or as Nahin writes in the book's preface: To mathematicians ten thousand years hence, "Euler's formula will still be beautiful and stunning and untarnished by time."Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions
eBook, English, 2011
With a New preface by the author View all formats and editions
Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 2011
History
1 online resource (416 pages) : illustrations
9781400838479, 1400838479
1004882866
Frontmatter
Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. Complex Numbers
Chapter 2. Vector Trips
Chapter 3. The Irrationality of s
Chapter 4. Fourier Series
Chapter 5. Fourier Integrals
Chapter 6. Electronics and {u221A} {u2212}1
Euler: The Man and the Mathematical Physicist
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
In English
Cover Click to view the cover
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