Seventeen Equations that Changed the World

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Modern use: Thermodynamics underlies much of our understanding of chemistry and is essential in building any kind of power plant or engine. He built a conceptual tower whose foundations were points, lines, and circles, and whose pinnacle was the existence of precisely five regular solids. Einstein’s general theory of relativity improves on Newton by fitting some observations better, while not messing up those where we already know Newton’s law does a good job.

This relationship, in some ways, actually distinguishes our normal, flat, Euclidean geometry from curved, non-Euclidean geometry. Modern use: Oil companies set off explosives, then read data from the ensuing sound waves to predict geological formations.

Yet, mathematician Ian Stewart argues in his book In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World, “[e]quations are too important to be hidden away. Recommended for anyone interested in the influence of mathematics on the development of science and on the emergence of our current technology-driven society. Allegedly, Prime Minister William Gladstone asked whether anything of practical consequence would come from it.

Most of the equations discussed are from Physics, and a lot of the time it's pretty obvious Stewart is writing outside of his field there—he's probably exactly the wrong person to be writing about the implications of the Copenhagen interpretation. However, perhaps someone could teach a mathematics course with this as a supplementary text, with the necessary "translation" being performed by the teacher. Overall it was A very interesting book and one that I will probably still recommend to some of the more dedicated math/science students in my GenEd classes. The final non-Mathematics equation is the Black-Scholes equation, which is hard to fuck up in that that equation is just smoke and mirrors to obscure the fact that the assholes running the financial sector don't outperform random number generators. Nothing less than a quick tour of the history of scientific thought, from ancient Greece to quantum mechanics and beyond.Paul Coxon's twitter account by mathematics tutor and blogger Larry Phillips that summarizes the equations. He often refers to things in today's society that are relevant to the equation and its consequences. However, he personally would have preferred a less "discursive style" but acknowledged that Stewart's writing was appropriate for his intended audience.

An entertaining journey through the development of theoretical mathematics, as well as an informative look at applied science. He used two parallel lines (he used an obsolete word gemowe, meaning ‘twin’) to avoid tedious repetition of the words ‘is equal to’.Seemingly basic equations have enabled us to predict eclipses, engineer earthquake-proof buildings, and invent the refrigerator. A member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force using a slide rule, which uses logarithms to assist in complex calculations. He chose these towns because they lay on the same line of longitude and were exactly one degree of arc apart.

Word of the method spread across Europe, reaching the ears of the Danish nobleman and astronomer Tycho Brahe. The section on the Schrodinger equation, for example, is presented in such a way that it's almost impossible to understand what he's on about, throwing around terms like the Hamiltonian and eigenfunctions without ever giving enough information to follow the description of what is happening. Ich würde es daher eher Leser*innen empfehlen, die zumindest sehr interessiert an Mathematik und verwandten Themen sind, da es sonst durchaus demotivierend sein könnte, die eher mathematischen Passagen im Buch nachzuvollziehen.

It provides a vital link between geometry and algebra, allowing us to calculate distances in terms of coordinates.