Author: Isaac Asimov
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Published: 1981
Total Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 9780449243992
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Basic concepts about numbers from zero to infinity are introduced and explained.
Author: Menny Aka
Publisher: Springer Nature
Published: 2020-10-03
Total Pages: 344
ISBN-13: 3030552330
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book takes the reader on a journey from familiar high school mathematics to undergraduate algebra and number theory. The journey starts with the basic idea that new number systems arise from solving different equations, leading to (abstract) algebra. Along this journey, the reader will be exposed to important ideas of mathematics, and will learn a little about how mathematics is really done. Starting at an elementary level, the book gradually eases the reader into the complexities of higher mathematics; in particular, the formal structure of mathematical writing (definitions, theorems and proofs) is introduced in simple terms. The book covers a range of topics, from the very foundations (numbers, set theory) to basic abstract algebra (groups, rings, fields), driven throughout by the need to understand concrete equations and problems, such as determining which numbers are sums of squares. Some topics usually reserved for a more advanced audience, such as Eisenstein integers or quadratic reciprocity, are lucidly presented in an accessible way. The book also introduces the reader to open source software for computations, to enhance understanding of the material and nurture basic programming skills. For the more adventurous, a number of Outlooks included in the text offer a glimpse of possible mathematical excursions. This book supports readers in transition from high school to university mathematics, and will also benefit university students keen to explore the beginnings of algebraic number theory. It can be read either on its own or as a supporting text for first courses in algebra or number theory, and can also be used for a topics course on Diophantine equations.
Author: New Scientist
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Published: 2018-05-01
Total Pages: 224
ISBN-13: 1473670365
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Think of a number between one and ten No, hang on, let's make this interesting. Between zero and infinity. Even if you stick to the whole numbers, there are a lot to choose from - an infinite number in fact. Throw in decimal fractions and infinity suddenly gets an awful lot bigger (is that even possible?) And then there are the negative numbers, the imaginary numbers, the irrational numbers like p which never end. It literally never ends. The world of numbers is indeed strange and beautiful. Among its inhabitants are some really notable characters - pi, e, the square root of minus two and the famous golden ratio to name just a few. Prime numbers occupy a special status. Zero is very odd indeed. And even some apparently common-or-garden integers such as 37 have special properties. Adventures In Mathematics takes a tour of this mind-blowing but beautiful world of numbers and the mathematical rules that connect them. Find out mathematicians' favourite numbers, and the ones they are afraid of (spoiler: it isn't 13). Discover the incredible connection between numbers and the rules of nature. And learn some amazing mathematical tricks that will keep you amused for hours.
Author: Antonio Padilla
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2022-07-26
Total Pages: 211
ISBN-13: 0374600570
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A fun, dazzling exploration of the strange numbers that illuminate the ultimate nature of reality. For particularly brilliant theoretical physicists like James Clerk Maxwell, Paul Dirac, or Albert Einstein, the search for mathematical truths led to strange new understandings of the ultimate nature of reality. But what are these truths? What are the mysterious numbers that explain the universe? In Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them, the leading theoretical physicist and YouTube star Antonio Padilla takes us on an irreverent cosmic tour of nine of the most extraordinary numbers in physics, offering a startling picture of how the universe works. These strange numbers include Graham’s number, which is so large that if you thought about it in the wrong way, your head would collapse into a singularity; TREE(3), whose finite nature can never be definitively proved, because to do so would take so much time that the universe would experience a Poincaré Recurrence—resetting to precisely the state it currently holds, down to the arrangement of individual atoms; and 10^{-120}, measuring the desperately unlikely balance of energy needed to allow the universe to exist for more than just a moment, to extend beyond the size of a single atom—in other words, the mystery of our unexpected universe. Leading us down the rabbit hole to a deeper understanding of reality, Padilla explains how these unusual numbers are the key to understanding such mind-boggling phenomena as black holes, relativity, and the problem of the cosmological constant—that the two best and most rigorously tested ways of understanding the universe contradict one another. Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them is a combination of popular and cutting-edge science—and a lively, entertaining, and even funny exploration of the most fundamental truths about the universe.
Author: Barbara A. Oakley
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
Published: 2014-07-31
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13: 039916524X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. In her book, she offers you the tools needed to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field.
Author: Charles Stanley Ogilvy
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Published: 1988-01-01
Total Pages: 196
ISBN-13: 9780486257785
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Challenging, accessible mathematical adventures involving prime numbers, number patterns, irrationals and iterations, calculating prodigies, and more. No special training is needed, just high school mathematics and an inquisitive mind. "A splendidly written, well selected and presented collection. I recommend the book unreservedly to all readers." — Martin Gardner.
Author: Richard Friedberg
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Published: 2012-07-06
Total Pages: 241
ISBN-13: 0486152693
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This witty introduction to number theory deals with the properties of numbers and numbers as abstract concepts. Topics include primes, divisibility, quadratic forms, and related theorems.
Author: Eli Maor
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2011-10-12
Total Pages: 242
ISBN-13: 1400832349
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The interest earned on a bank account, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the shape of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are all intimately connected with the mysterious number e. In this informal and engaging history, Eli Maor portrays the curious characters and the elegant mathematics that lie behind the number. Designed for a reader with only a modest mathematical background, this biography brings out the central importance of e to mathematics and illuminates a golden era in the age of science.
Author: Charles Seife
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2010-09-23
Total Pages: 320
ISBN-13: 1101443502
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The bestselling author of Zero shows how mathematical misinformation pervades-and shapes-our daily lives. According to MSNBC, having a child makes you stupid. You actually lose IQ points. Good Morning America has announced that natural blondes will be extinct within two hundred years. Pundits estimated that there were more than a million demonstrators at a tea party rally in Washington, D.C., even though roughly sixty thousand were there. Numbers have peculiar powers-they can disarm skeptics, befuddle journalists, and hoodwink the public into believing almost anything. "Proofiness," as Charles Seife explains in this eye-opening book, is the art of using pure mathematics for impure ends, and he reminds readers that bad mathematics has a dark side. It is used to bring down beloved government officials and to appoint undeserving ones (both Democratic and Republican), to convict the innocent and acquit the guilty, to ruin our economy, and to fix the outcomes of future elections. This penetrating look at the intersection of math and society will appeal to readers of Freakonomics and the books of Malcolm Gladwell.