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The Ellipse

A Historical and Mathematical Journey
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Ellipse traces the historical and mathematical journey of the ellipse, linking its development to humanity's progress from the Counter-Reformation through to the Enlightenment. The book weaves together geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus within rich historical narratives, illustrating the ellipse as the planetary orbit shape revealed by Newton. Each chapter combines historical context with mathematical concepts, making the story of the ellipse's discovery accessible and engaging.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for undergraduate students studying the history of mathematics, as well as mathematicians, engineers, and readers interested in historical mathematical developments.

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Explores the development of the ellipse and presents mathematical concepts within a rich, historical context The Ellipse features a unique, narrative approach when presenting the development of this mathematical fixture, revealing its parallels to mankind's advancement from the Counter-Reformation to the Enlightenment.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The Ellipse explores the development of the ellipse and presents mathematical concepts within a rich, historical context. This book features a unique, narrative approach when presenting the development of this mathematical fixture, revealing its parallels to mankind's advancement from the Counter-Reformation to the Enlightenment. Incorporating illuminating historical background and examples, the author brings together basic concepts from geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus to uncover the ellipse as the shape of a planet's orbit around the sun.

The book begins with a discussion that tells the story of man's pursuit of the ellipse, from Aristarchus to Newton's successful unveiling nearly two millenniums later. The narrative draws insightful similarities between mathematical developments and the advancement of the Greeks, Romans, Medieval Europe, and Renaissance Europe. The author begins each chapter by setting the historical backdrop that is pertinent to the mathematical material that is discussed, equipping readers with the knowledge to fully grasp the presented examples and derive the ellipse as the planetary pathway. All topics are presented in both historical and mathematical contexts, and additional mathematical excursions are clearly marked so that readers have a guidepost for the material's relevance to the development of the ellipse.

The Ellipse is an excellent book for courses on the history of mathematics at the undergraduate level. It is also a fascinating reference for mathematicians, engineers, or anyone with a general interest in historical mathematics.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A reviewer from the Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics praised the book's enthusiasm for mathematics and found it absorbing and worthy of repeated readings. Choice recommended it for mathematics and history of mathematics collections, particularly for lower-division undergraduate students and above.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780470587188

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 May 2010

Country: United States

Imprint: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Illustration: Photos: 2 B&W, 0 Color; Drawings: 62 B&W, 0 Color; Graphs: 67 B&W, 0 Color

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 472g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Arthur Mazer, PhD, is Manager of Quantitative Analytics at Southern California Edison, where he oversees the risk assessment of the company's power and gas portfolio. Throughout his career, he has held various academic positions as well as analyst positions at Electrabel, Process Energy, and Energy Power Marketing Company. Dr. Mazer is the author of Electric Power Planning for Regulated and Deregulated Markets, also published by Wiley.

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