Billiards, Surfaces, and Geometry by Diana Davis

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

Richly illustrated and engaging, the text explores mathematical billiards through a series of problems and creative activities in two and three dimensions. Starting with square billiard paths, it gradually reveals links to polygon dynamics, continued fractions, and current research insights, inspiring curiosity throughout.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free US shipping over $15
  • Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
  • Millions of affordable books
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

Billiards, Surfaces, and Geometry by Diana Davis

This richly illustrated text guides readers to discover the beautiful structure of mathematical billiards. Centered around expertly designed problem sets, the book incrementally builds up ideas through threads of related problems, fostering curiosity, exploration, and conversation. Working through the problems, the reader builds an understanding of foundational results, useful techniques, and key examples, all the way up to current research, while hands-on construction activities offer an opportunity to explore phenomena in three dimensions. Beginning with the square billiard table, the opening chapters explore periodic billiard paths in depth, including connections to continued fractions and symbolic dynamics. From this foundation, the book goes on to explore billiards in triangles and other polygons, flows on translation surfaces, interval exchange transformations, outer billiards and tiling billiards, billiards on the ellipse, and many other topics. Throughout, we meet contemporary mathematicians involved in the topics covered, showcasing the research achievements of the vibrant billiards community. Billiards, Surfaces, and Geometry offers a ground level, problem-centered entry point to this exciting field. Basic knowledge of geometry and matrix transformations is assumed, though the main prerequisite is a spirit of curiosity and exploration.
Diana Davis, Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781470483791
ISBN 10 1470483793
Title Billiards, Surfaces, and Geometry
Author Diana Davis
Series Student Mathematical Library
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher American Mathematical Society
Year published 2026-01-31
Number of pages 241
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.