Name: e: The Story of a Number By Eli Maor
SKU: 9780691168487
Price: 15.63 USD
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e: The Story of a Number Summary

e: The Story of a Number by Eli Maor

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.

e: The Story of a Number Reviews

Honorable Mention for the 1994 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Mathematics, Association of American Publishers This is a gently paced, elegantly composed book, and it will bring its readers much pleasure... Maor has written an excellent book that should be in every public and school library.--Ian Stewart, New Scientist Maor wonderfully tells the story of e. The chronological history allows excursions into the lives of people involved with the development of this fascinating number. Maor hangs his story on a string of people stretching from Archimedes to David Hilbert. And by presenting mathematics in terms of the humans who produced it, he places the subject where it belongs--squarely in the centre of the humanities.--Jerry P. King, Nature Maor has succeeded in writing a short, readable mathematical story. He has interspersed a variety of anecdotes, excursions, and essays to lighten the flow... [The book] is like the voyages of Columbus as told by the first mate.--Peter Borwein, Science Maor attempts to give the irrational number e its rightful standing alongside pi as a fundamental constant in science and nature; he succeeds very well... Maor writes so that both mathematical newcomers and long-time professionals alike can thoroughly enjoy his book, learn something new, and witness the ubiquity of mathematical ideas in Western culture.--Choice It can be recommended to readers who want to learn about mathematics and its history, who want to be inspired and who want to understand important mathematical ideas more deeply.--EMS Newsletter [A] very interesting story about the history of e, logarithms, and related matters, especially the history of calculus... [A] useful complement to a course in calculus and analysis, shedding light on some fundamental topics.--Mehdi Hassani, MAA Reviews

About Eli Maor

Eli Maor is the author of Beautiful Geometry (with Eugen Jost), Venus in Transit, Trigonometric Delights, To Infinity and Beyond, and The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History (all Princeton).

Preface1John Napier, 161432Recognition113Financial Matters234To the Limit, If It Exists285Forefathers of the Calculus406Prelude to Breakthrough497Squaring the Hyperbola588The Birth of a New Science709The Great Controversy8310e[superscript x]: The Function That Equals its Own Derivative9811e[superscript theta]: Spira Mirabilis11412(e[superscript x] + e[superscript -x])/2: The Hanging Chain14013e[superscript ix]: The Most Famous of All Formulas15314e[superscript x + iy]: The Imaginary Becomes Real16415But What Kind of Number Is It?183App. 1. Some Additional Remarks on Napier's Logarithms195App. 2. The Existence of lim (1 + 1/n)[superscript n] as n [approaches] [infinity]197App. 3. A Heuristic Derivation of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus200App. 4. The Inverse Relation between lim (b[superscript h] - 1)/h = 1 and lim (1 + h)[superscript 1/h] = b as h [approaches] 0202App. 5. An Alternative Definition of the Logarithmic Function203App. 6. Two Properties of the Logarithmic Spiral205App. 7. Interpretation of the Parameter [phi] in the Hyperbolic Functions208App. 8. e to One Hundred Decimal Places211Bibliography213Index217

Additional information

Sku

CIN0691168482VG

ISBN 13

9780691168487

ISBN 10

0691168482

Title

e: The Story of a Number by Eli Maor

Author

Eli Maor

Condition

Used - Very Good

Binding type

Paperback

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Year published

20150922

Number of pages

248

Prizes

N/A

Cover note

Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.

Note

This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

e: The Story of a Number Eli Maor

e: The Story of a Number by Eli Maor

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e: The Story of a Number Summary

e: The Story of a Number by Eli Maor

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