Add to wishlist
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013
Shortlisted for the 2013 BSHM Neumann Book Prize, British Society for the History of Mathematics
Heavenly Mathematics traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. Glen Van Brummelen explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. He conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. Heavenly Mathematics is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. This unique compendium also features easy-to-use appendixes as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
Preface vii
1 Heavenly Mathematics 1
2 Exploring the Sphere 23
3 The Ancient Approach 42
4 The Medieval Approach 59
5 The Modern Approach: Right- Angled Triangles 73
6 The Modern Approach: Oblique Triangles 94
7 Areas, Angles, and Polyhedra 110
8 Stereographic Projection 129
9 Navigating by the Stars 151
Appendix A. Ptolemy's Determination of the Sun's Position 173
Appendix B. Textbooks 179
Appendix C. Further Reading 182
Index 189
Description
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013
Shortlisted for the 2013 BSHM Neumann Book Prize, British Society for the History of Mathematics
Heavenly Mathematics traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. Glen Van Brummelen explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. He conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. Heavenly Mathematics is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. This unique compendium also features easy-to-use appendixes as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
