Kepler's conjecture : how some of the greatest minds in history helped solve one of the oldest math problems in the world / George Szpiro.
The fascinating story of a problem that perplexed mathematicians for nearly 400 years In 1611, Johannes Kepler proposed that the best way to pack spheres as densely as possible was to pile them up in the same way that grocers stack oranges or tomatoes. This proposition, known as Kepler's Conjec...
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Main Author: | |
Format: | eBook |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Hoboken, N.J. :
John Wiley & Sons,
©2003.
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Subjects: |
Summary: | The fascinating story of a problem that perplexed mathematicians for nearly 400 years In 1611, Johannes Kepler proposed that the best way to pack spheres as densely as possible was to pile them up in the same way that grocers stack oranges or tomatoes. This proposition, known as Kepler's Conjecture, seemed obvious to everyone except mathematicians, who seldom take anyone's word for anything. In the tradition of Fermat's Enigma, George Szpiro shows how the problem engaged and stymied many men of genius over the centuries, Sir Walter Raleigh, astronomer Tycho Brahe, Sir Isaac Newton, math. |
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Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 296 pages) : illustrations. |
Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-286) and index. |
ISBN: | 0471480622 9780471480624 |