The Enjoyment of Math
The Enjoyment of Math
Published on 21. November 1966
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-0-691-02351-9 (ISBN)
Description
What is so special about the number 30? How many colors are needed to color a map? Do the prime numbers go on forever? Are there more whole numbers than even numbers? These and other mathematical puzzles are explored in this delightful book by two eminent mathematicians. Requiring no more background than plane geometry and elementary algebra, this book leads the reader into some of the most fundamental ideas of mathematics, the ideas that make the subject exciting and interesting. Explaining clearly how each problem has arisen and, in some cases, resolved, Hans Rademacher and Otto Toeplitz's deep curiosity for the subject and their outstanding pedagogical talents shine through.
Reviews / Votes
"A thoroughly enjoyable sampler of fascinating mathematical problems and their solutions."--Science "Each chapter is a gem of mathematical exposition... [The book] will not only stretch the imagination of the amateur, but it will also give pleasure to the sophisticated mathematician."--American Mathematical MonthlyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
123 figs.
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
261 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-02351-9 (9780691023519)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Hans Rademacher was an Affiliate of Rockefeller University and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics in the University of Pennsylvania before his death in 1969. Otto Toeplitz was Professor of Mathematics in Kiel and Bonn.
Content
Preface v Introduction 5 1. The Sequence of Prime Numbers 9 2. Traversing Nets of Curves 13 3. Some Maximum Problems 17 4. Incommensurable Segments and Irrational Numbers 22 5. A Minimum Property of the Pedal Triangle 27 6. A Second Proof of the Same Minimum Property 30 7. The Theory of Sets 34 8. Some Combinatorial Problems 43 9. On Waring's Problem 52 10. On Closed Self-Intersecting Curves 61 11. Is the Factorization of a Number into Prime Factors Unique?66 12. The Four-Color Problem 73 13. The Regular Polyhedrons 82 14. Pythagorean Numbers and Fermat's Theorem 88 15. The Theorem of the Arithmetic and Geometric Means 95 16. The Spanning Circle of a Finite Set of Points 103 17. Approximating Irrational Numbers by Means of Rational Numbers ill 18. Producing Rectilinear Motion by Means of Linkages 119 19. Perfect Numbers 129 20. Euler's Proof of the Infinitude of the Prime Numbers 135 21. Fundamental Principles of Maximum Problems 139 22. The Figure of Greatest Area with a Given Perimeter 142 23. Periodic Decimal Fractions 147 24. A Characteristic Property of the Circle 160 25. Curves of Constant Breadth 163 26. The Indispensability of the Compass for the Constructions of Elementary Geometry 177 27. A Property of the Number 30 187 28. An Improved Inequality 192 Notes and Remarks 197