| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
1 online resource (viii, 192 pages) : illustrations |
| Series |
Very short introductions
|
|
Very short introductions.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Cover -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The spirit of mathematics -- 3. Infinity -- 4. How steep is a curve? -- 5. Differentiation -- 6. Greatest and least -- 7. Playing with Infinity -- 8. Area and volume -- 9. Infinite series -- 10. 'Too much delight' -- 11. Dynamics -- 12. Newton and planetary motion -- 13. Leibniz's paper of 1684 -- 14. 'An enigma' -- 15. Who invented calculus? -- 16. Round in circles -- 17. Pi and the odd numbers -- 18. Calculus under attack -- 19. Differential equations -- 20. Calculus and the electric guitar -- 21. The best of all possible worlds? -- 22. The mysterious number e -- 23. How to make a series -- 24. Calculus with imaginary numbers -- 25. Infinity bites back -- 26. What is a limit, exactly? -- 27. The equations of nature -- 28. From calculus to chaos -- Further reading -- References for quotations -- Picture credits -- Index -- 1089 and all -- Math hysteria -- How to cut a cake -- Cows in the maze -- Infinity -- Nothing -- Four laws that drive the universe -- Euler's pioneering equation -- Conjuring the universe. |
| Summary |
Calculus is the key to much of modern science and engineering. It is the mathematical method for the analysis of things that change, and since in the natural world we are surrounded by change, the development of calculus was a huge breakthrough in the history of mathematics. But it is also something of a mathematical adventure, largely because of the way infinity enters at virtually every twist and turn ... In The Calculus Story David Acheson presents a wide-ranging picture of calculus and its applications, from ancient Greece right up to the present day. Drawing on their original writings, he introduces the people who helped to build our understanding of calculus. With a step by step treatment, he demonstrates how to start doing calculus, from the very beginning. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Calculus.
|
|
Calculus -- History.
|
|
Science -- History.
|
|
calculus. |
|
MATHEMATICS -- Calculus. |
|
MATHEMATICS -- Mathematical Analysis. |
|
Calculus. |
|
Science. |
| Genre/Form |
History.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Acheson, David. Calculus story. A mathematical adventure. Oxford : Oxford University Press (GBP) 2017 9780198804543 (OCoLC)969982150 |
| ISBN |
9780192526717 (electronic bk.) |
|
0192526715 (electronic bk.) |
|
9780192526724 (electronic bk.) |
|
0192526723 (electronic bk.) |
|
9780198804543 |
|
0198804547 |
| Standard No. |
99975705437 |
|
