Leonhard Euler's polyhedron formula describes the structure of many objects--from soccer balls and gemstones to Buckminster Fuller's buildings and giant all-carbon molecules. Yet Euler's formula is so simple it can be explained to a child. Euler's Gem tells the illuminating story of this indispensable mathematical idea. From ancient Greek geometry to today's cutting-edge research, Euler's Gem celebrates the discovery of Euler's beloved polyhedron formula and its far-reaching impact on topology, the study of shapes. In 1750, ...
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Leonhard Euler's polyhedron formula describes the structure of many objects--from soccer balls and gemstones to Buckminster Fuller's buildings and giant all-carbon molecules. Yet Euler's formula is so simple it can be explained to a child. Euler's Gem tells the illuminating story of this indispensable mathematical idea. From ancient Greek geometry to today's cutting-edge research, Euler's Gem celebrates the discovery of Euler's beloved polyhedron formula and its far-reaching impact on topology, the study of shapes. In 1750, Euler observed that any polyhedron composed of V vertices, E edges, and F faces satisfies the equation V-E+F=2. David Richeson tells how the Greeks missed the formula entirely; how Descartes almost discovered it but fell short; how nineteenth-century mathematicians widened the formula's scope in ways that Euler never envisioned by adapting it for use with doughnut shapes, smooth surfaces, and higher dimensional shapes; and how twentieth-century mathematicians discovered that every shape has its own Euler's formula. Using wonderful examples and numerous illustrations, Richeson presents the formula's many elegant and unexpected applications, such as showing why there is always some windless spot on earth, how to measure the acreage of a tree farm by counting trees, and how many crayons are needed to color any map. Filled with a who's who of brilliant mathematicians who questioned, refined, and contributed to a remarkable theorem's development, Euler's Gem will fascinate every mathematics enthusiast.
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Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $6.16, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $6.16, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $6.16, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $7.48, good condition, Sold by Friends Tucson rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tucson, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
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Hardcover. NOT Ex-library. Good condition. Dust jacket included. Until further notice, USPS Priority Mail only reliable option for Hawaii. Proceeds benefit the Pima County Public Library system, which serves Tucson and southern Arizona.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $10.74, good condition, Sold by Aspen Book Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
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Good. Minimal signs of wear. Corners and cover may show wear. May contain highlighting and or writing. May be missing dust jacket. May not include supplemental materials. May be a former library book.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $15.20, good condition, Sold by Munster & Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Corvallis, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
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Good in Good jacket. Princeton University Press, 2008. First edition, first printing with full number line; jacket faintly rubbed, very barely bumped, edges very lightly bumped, bottom spine end very lightly bumped; cover bottom edge front board ever-so-slightly bumped, top edge back board ever-so-slightly bumped; top/fore edges ever-so-slightly soiled; text block extremely clean and bright; binding tight; jacket, covers, edges, and interior intact and clean except as noted. First Edition. hardcover. Good/Good.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth to cart. $17.99, very good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of Euler's Gem: the Polyhedron Formula and the Birth of to cart. $35.98, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Princeton University Press.
When I became aware of the formula " e to the i pi plus one equals zero" I thought that, for sure, there was a god, and he/she/it was a mathematician (among other things). Euler developed this formula, too, as the book describes.
The bok is really a history lesson in mathematics, and in context with other developments and events that are more familiar to the history student.
If you love mathematics, and history, as I do, this is a real treat. Don't miss it.