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Trigonometry: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)
Loot Price: R269
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Trigonometry: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)
Series: Very Short Introductions
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List price R298
Loot Price R269
Discovery Miles 2 690
You Save R29 (10%)
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
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Born of the desire to understand the workings of motions of the
heavenly bodies, trigonometry gave the ancient Greeks the ability
to predict their futures. Most of what we see of the subject in
school comes from these heavenly origins; 15th century astronomer
Regiomontanus called it "the foot of the ladder to the stars". In
this Very Short Introduction Glen Van Brummelen shows how
trigonometry connects mathematics to science, and has today become
an indispensable tool in predicting cyclic patterns like animal
populations and ocean tides. Its historical journey through major
cultures such as medieval India and the Islamic World has taken it
through disciplines such as geography and even religious practice.
Trigonometry has also been a major player in the most startling
mathematical developments of the modern world. Its interactions
with the concept of infinity led to Taylor and Fourier series, some
of the most practical tools of modern science. The birth of complex
numbers led to a shocking union of exponential and trigonometric
functions, creating the most beautiful formulas and powerful
modelling tools in science. Finally, as Van Brummelen shows,
trigonometry allows us to explore the strange new worlds of
non-Euclidean geometries, opening up bizarre possibilities for the
shape of space itself. And indeed, one of those new geometries -
spherical - takes us full circle back to ancient Greek astronomers
and European navigators, who first used it to chart their ways
across the heavens and the earth. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short
Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds
of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books
are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our
expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly
readable.
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