The first book of its kind, "New Foundations in Mathematics: The Geometric Concept of Number" uses geometric algebra to present an innovative approach to elementary and advanced mathematics. Geometric algebra offers a simple and robust means of expressing a wide range of ideas in mathematics, physics, and engineering. In particular, geometric algebra extends the real number system to include the concept of direction, which underpins much of modern mathematics and physics. Much of the material presented has been developed from undergraduate courses taught by the author over the years in linear algebra, theory of numbers, advanced calculus and vector calculus, numerical analysis, modern abstract algebra, and differential geometry. The principal aim of this book is to present these ideas in a freshly coherent and accessible manner.

"New Foundations in Mathematics" will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics and physics who are looking for a unified treatment of many important geometric ideas arising in these subjects at all levels. The material can also serve as a supplemental textbook in some or all of the areas mentioned above and as a reference book for professionals who apply mathematics to engineering and computational areas of mathematics and physics.

Matrix algebra has been called "the arithmetic of higher mathematics" [Be]. We think the basis for a better arithmetic has long been available, but its versatility has hardly been appreciated, and it has not yet been integrated into the mainstream of mathematics. We refer to the system commonly called 'Clifford Algebra', though we prefer the name 'Geometric Algebm' suggested by Clifford himself. Many distinct algebraic systems have been adapted or developed to express geometric relations and describe geometric structures. Especially notable are those algebras which have been used for this purpose in physics, in particular, the system of complex numbers, the quatemions, matrix algebra, vector, tensor and spinor algebras and the algebra of differential forms. Each of these geometric algebras has some significant advantage over the others in certain applications, so no one of them provides an adequate algebraic structure for all purposes of geometry and physics. At the same time, the algebras overlap considerably, so they provide several different mathematical representations for individual geometrical or physical ideas.

The goal of this book is to present a unified mathematical treatment of diverse problems in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineer ing using geometric algebra. Geometric algebra was invented by William Kingdon Clifford in 1878 as a unification and generalization of the works of Grassmann and Hamilton, which came more than a quarter of a century before. Whereas the algebras of Clifford and Grassmann are well known in advanced mathematics and physics, they have never made an impact in elementary textbooks where the vector algebra of Gibbs-Heaviside still predominates. The approach to Clifford algebra adopted in most of the ar ticles here was pioneered in the 1960s by David Hestenes. Later, together with Garret Sobczyk, he developed it into a unified language for math ematics and physics. Sobczyk first learned about the power of geometric algebra in classes in electrodynamics and relativity taught by Hestenes at Arizona State University from 1966 to 1967. He still vividly remembers a feeling of disbelief that the fundamental geometric product of vectors could have been left out of his undergraduate mathematics education. Geometric algebra provides a rich, general mathematical framework for the develop ment of multilinear algebra, projective and affine geometry, calculus on a manifold, the representation of Lie groups and Lie algebras, the use of the horosphere and many other areas. This book is addressed to a broad audience of applied mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers."

The goal of this book is to present a unified mathematical treatment of diverse problems in mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineer ing using geometric algebra. Geometric algebra was invented by William Kingdon Clifford in 1878 as a unification and generalization of the works of Grassmann and Hamilton, which came more than a quarter of a century before. Whereas the algebras of Clifford and Grassmann are well known in advanced mathematics and physics, they have never made an impact in elementary textbooks where the vector algebra of Gibbs-Heaviside still predominates. The approach to Clifford algebra adopted in most of the ar ticles here was pioneered in the 1960s by David Hestenes. Later, together with Garret Sobczyk, he developed it into a unified language for math ematics and physics. Sobczyk first learned about the power of geometric algebra in classes in electrodynamics and relativity taught by Hestenes at Arizona State University from 1966 to 1967. He still vividly remembers a feeling of disbelief that the fundamental geometric product of vectors could have been left out of his undergraduate mathematics education. Geometric algebra provides a rich, general mathematical framework for the develop ment of multilinear algebra, projective and affine geometry, calculus on a manifold, the representation of Lie groups and Lie algebras, the use of the horosphere and many other areas. This book is addressed to a broad audience of applied mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers.

This text, written by established mathematicians and physicists, provides a systematic, unified exposition of Clifford (geometric) algebras. Beginning with an introductory chapter, the book covers the mathematical structure of Clifford algebras and the basic concepts of Clifford analysis, and then provides a detailed examination of the many applications of Clifford algebras to differential geometry, physics, computer vision and robotics. No prior knowledge of the subject is assumed. The book 's breadth will appeal to graduate students and researchers in mathematics, physics, and engineering.

Contents: P. Lounesto, Introduction to Clifford Algebras; I. Porteous, Mathematical Structure of Clifford Algebras; J. Ryan, Clifford Analysis; W. Baylis, Applications of Clifford Algebras in Physics; J. Selig, Clifford Algebras in Engineering; T. Branson, Clifford Bundles and Clifford Algebras; R. Ablamowicz and G. Sobczyk, Appendix: Software for Clifford (Geometric) Algebras

Matrix algebra has been called "the arithmetic of higher mathematics" [Be]. We think the basis for a better arithmetic has long been available, but its versatility has hardly been appreciated, and it has not yet been integrated into the mainstream of mathematics. We refer to the system commonly called 'Clifford Algebra', though we prefer the name 'Geometric Algebm' suggested by Clifford himself. Many distinct algebraic systems have been adapted or developed to express geometric relations and describe geometric structures. Especially notable are those algebras which have been used for this purpose in physics, in particular, the system of complex numbers, the quatemions, matrix algebra, vector, tensor and spinor algebras and the algebra of differential forms. Each of these geometric algebras has some significant advantage over the others in certain applications, so no one of them provides an adequate algebraic structure for all purposes of geometry and physics. At the same time, the algebras overlap considerably, so they provide several different mathematical representations for individual geometrical or physical ideas.