This web site is devoted to the Institute for History and Foundations of Science, which is part of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. The Institute consists of two distinct Sections: the History of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences Section and the Foundations of Physics Section, both located in De Uithof at the edge of the city of Utrecht.
THE MAYAN NUMBERS The Mayan' s number system is in some respects very similar to ours. They used only 3 symbols as opposed to our 10 and at the time hundreds of symbols used in Roman Numerals. These symbols are shown below.
We are all taught Mathematics, but few if any, know from where it came. This is a journey into the world of Mathematics to seek out its roots and heritage. This is a journey of ancient Mathematicians and forgotten theorems. This is a journey of prehistoric philosophers and misdirected mathematicians. This is a journey of failures and successes. This is a treatise upon treatises and a proof upon proofs. Here we will gather the clues and solve the mysteries. Or we may simply leave the mysteries unsolved. Here we will learn of our ancestors and predict our future. All, of course, with roots in Mathematics.
These pages show the names of the individuals who first used various common mathematical symbols, and the dates the symbols first appeared. The most important written source is the definitive A History of Mathematical Notations by Florian Cajori.
Ulugh Beg was the grandson of the conqueror Timur, who is often known as Tamerlane (from Timur-I-Leng meaning Timur the Lame, a title of contempt used by his Persian enemies). Although in this archive we are primarily interested in Ulugh Beg's achievements in mathematics and astronomy, we need to examine the history of the area since it had such a major impact on Ulugh Beg's life.
The Mayans devised a counting system that was able to represent very large numbers by using only 3 symbols, a dot, a bar, and a symbol for zero, or completion, usually a shell. The chart above shows the first complete cycle of numbers. Like our numbering system, they used place values to expand this system to allow the expression of very large values. Their system has two significant differences from the system we use: 1) the place values are arranged vertically, and 2) they use a base 20, or vigesimal, system. This means that, instead of the number in the second postion having a value 10 times that of the numeral (as in 11 - 1 × 10 + 1 × 1), in the Mayan system, the number in the second place has a value 20 times the value of the numeral. The number in the third place has a value of (20)2, or 400, times the value of the numeral. This principle is illustrated in the chart below.
The project provides a digital archive of the most important mathematical publications of the period 1868-1942 and a database based on the
This Section of ELibM is devoted to the electronic publication of mathematical works of enduring interest. Among these are the collected works of distinguished mathematicians, as well as other classical works in selected editions.
The works in this Section are published under the auspices of the Electronic Publishing Committee of the EMS and the editions have been prepared by recognized mathematicians or historians.
Anatomy & Construction
The standard abacus can be used to perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square-roots and cubic roots.
The abacus is typically constructed of various types of hardwoods and comes in varying sizes. The frame of the abacus has a series of vertical rods on which a number of wooden beads are allowed to slide freely. A horizontal beam separates the frame into two sections, known as the upper deck and the lower deck.
In questo sito viene presentata l'edizione "elettronica" dell'opera scientifica di Francesco Maurolico (1494-1575).
L'interesse verso la figura e l'opera di Maurolico si è molto sviluppato negli ultimi decenni. In particolare, in seguito a una serie di workshops tenutisi presso il Dipartimento di Matematica dell'Università di Pisa (All'alba della matematica moderna. Francesco Maurolico e il ritorno dei classici, 1993-96), è emersa la necessità di un'edizione completa dei suoi scritti matematici, circa 5000 pagine fra manoscritti e stampe. Si è costituito cosí un gruppo di ricerca, formato da studiosi di vari paesi allo scopo di tentare di condurre a buon fine questo progetto.
