The Equation That Couldnt Be Solved~tqw~ darksiderg

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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
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Type.................: Ebook
Part Size............: 2,656,826 bytes

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Posted by............: ~tqw~

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What do the music of J. S. Bach, the basic forces of nature, Rubik's Cube, and
the selection of mates have in common? They are all characterized by certain
symmetries. Symmetry is the concept that bridges the gap between science and
art, between the world of theoretical physics and the everyday world we see
around us. Yet the "language" of symmetry--group theory in mathematics--emerged
from a most unlikely source: an equation that couldn't be solved.

Over the millennia, mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic
equations until they came to what is known as the quintic equation. For several
centuries it resisted solution, until two mathematical prodigies independently
discovered that it could not be solved by the usual methods, thereby opening the
door to group theory. These young geniuses, a Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel
and a Frenchman named Evariste Galois, both died tragically. Galois, in fact,
spent the night before his fatal duel (at the age of twenty) scribbling another
brief summary of his proof, at one point writing in the margin of his notebook
"I have no time."

The story of the equation that couldn't be solved is a story of brilliant
mathematicians and a fascinating account of how mathematics illuminates a wide
variety of disciplines. In this lively, engaging book, Mario Livio shows in an
easily accessible way how group theory explains the symmetry and order of both
the natural and the human-made worlds.

Table of Contents

1 Symmetry 1
2 eyE s'dniM eht ni yrtemmyS 29
3 Never forget this in the midst of your equations 51
4 The poverty-stricken mathematician 90
5 The romantic mathematician 112
6 Groups 158
7 Symmetry rules 198
8 Who's the most symmetrical of them all? 233
9 Requiem for a romantic genius 262
App. 1 Card puzzle 277
App. 2 Solving a system of two linear equations 278
App. 3 Diophantus's solution 280
App. 4 A diophantine equation 281
App. 5 Tartaglia's verses and formula 282
App. 6 Adriaan van Roomen's challenge 285
App. 7 Properties of the roots of quadratic equations 286
App. 8 The Galois family tree 288
App. 9 The 14-15 puzzle 291
App. 10 Solution to the matches problem 292

Product Details

* ISBN: 0743258215
* ISBN-13: 9780743258210
* Format: Paperback, 368pp
* Publisher: Simon & Schuster Trade
* Pub. Date: August 2006

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