Preview

Napier: Comparison: John Napier's Theory And Contributions

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1158 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Napier: Comparison: John Napier's Theory And Contributions
SEMRA ÖZAL THE HISTORY OF LOGARITHMS John Napier is a Scottish mathematician who lived from 1550 to 1617. He worked more than twenty years to improve his theory and tables of what he called logarithms. Napier called the theory logarithms, because he thought of them as “reckoning numbers”, namely to calculate an amount(Caulfield 2010). “The word he derived from two Greek roots: logos meaning word, or study, or reasoning, or in Napier’s use “reckoning” and aritmos meaning “number”.”[1] Napier lived during an age of great innovation of astronomy. He also published a book about solar system (1453). Many …show more content…
+ 1/2! + 1/3! + ... and that e is the limit of (1 + 1/n)n as n tends to infinity. Euler gave an approximation for e to 18 decimal places, e = 2.718281828459045235 “5
He calculated value himself, but there was no indication of how this was done.
In 1864 Benjamin Peirce had his picture taken standing in front of a blackboard on which he had written the formula i-i = √(eπ). In his lectures he would say to his students:
“Gentlemen, we have not the slightest idea what this equation means, but we may be sure that it means something very important.”5
The mathematician Hermite was the first person who proved the number e is not an algebraic number.5 After investigating the history of logartihm, knowing people who developed the idea of logarithm and understanding the process of the stage of the development about logarithmic function, we should take another step and research the subject of “What is logarithm”.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/john-napier-his-life-his-logs-and-his-bones
2. http://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/logarithms-the-early-history-of-a-familiar-function-introduction
3. Calderon R. A look at the history and uses of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Leonhard Euler was a ground-breaking Swiss mathematician and physicist from the 1700's. He made many revolutionary discoveries. However, the one that caught my eye was his solution to the Basel Problem in the year 1734.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fox River Killer Scenarios

    • 1781 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Her math proofs are just too good! She’s never wrong!” Millard Newton, the long-lost descendant of Sir Isaac Newton, exclaimed as he planned her demise. “It is possible that one day my nemesis Celine will surpass the influence and superiority of great grandpa Isaac!” His plan? Send her an invitation to a fake prestigious math conference in the most treacherous place outside of the continental United States – Alaska. His intent? Murder. The moment Celine arrived at the conference, Millard swept her away with exciting news of a discovery of primitive math found…

    • 1781 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Navigating Early

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages

    * The number PI is one of the most common constants in all of mathematics.…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1.|So far as we know, the first person who claimed that natural phenomena could be described by mathematics was|…

    • 16897 Words
    • 68 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not everyone discusses every detail of their life to family members. It doesn’t mean they aren’t close, just afraid of their reaction, afraid of being seen as different or changed. The poem, “Snapping Beans” by Lisa Parker, is about a student who came home from school to spend time with her grandmother. Her grandma asked her about school and she couldn't speak up about her experiences for it might trouble her. Parker uses a combination of elements of poetry such as imagery, speaker, alliteration, and symbolism to describe the relationship between the speaker and the grandmother.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Wallis

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Considered to be the most influential mathematician prior to Sir Isaac Newton, John Wallis was born in 1616 in Ashford, Kent, England, the son of Reverend John Wallis. At first locally educated, Wallis was first introduced to Math while at school in Felsted, Essex. At the time, however, Math was not considered a primary academic study. Enrolling in Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Wallis' plan was to become a Doctor but, after graduating, he went on to obtain his Masters degree in 1640, before becoming a Priest. Wallis was elected to a fellowship at Queen’s College, Cambridge in 1644 but resigned the following year after his marriage to Susanna Glyde.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During the early years of the 1600’s many Europeans and Africans moved over from England and became indentured servants. Indentured servants were employed by wealthy people and were used mainly for cheap labor. Some types of labor consisted of working in the fields and helping farmers.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eves, Howard Whitley, and Jamie H. Eves. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics. Philadelphia:…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ancient Greek mathematician Euclid influenced mathematics in a large way after developing the Pythagorean theorem. His theorem (written around 300 B.C.) stated that “If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be the same” (Doc. 5). Euclid wrote this theorem to set a base rule to help find the sum of the angles of a triangle. The Pythagorean theorem is still used today in mathematics thanks to Euclid’s contribution to society.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pierre de Fermat

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pierre De Fermat was a busy lawyer, and didn’t leave much time for his love of math. Since math was just his hobby, he never wanted any of his work to be published. When he did publish his work, it was always anonymously. Fermat would state theorems, but always neglected the proofs. For example, his most famous work, ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem,’ didn’t include a proof until when Andrew J. Wiles provided the first in 1993.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Caminos Peligrosos

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Finding pi came about through the desire to “find not the ratio of the particular circle you were interested in using, but a universal ratio that would hold for all circles for all time”. Pi, or the concept of pi, some may say has been discussed in the past, as far back as biblical times. It is understood to today however, that one of the closest approximations to pi remains 22/7, which is only .04 percent off from pi. The Greeks reinvented the way in looking at pi, by ironically finding the exact number. They eventually did determine pi, but being infinite, they had to bear through the “tedium of working with polygons of large numbers of sides.” This meant that they created so many polygons with in each other, trying to form a circle out of them, however as we know today, that would be an asymptote, for they might come infinitesimally close, and never reach the real value. In the sixteenth century, the fraction 355/ 113 was first used as an approximation of pi being only .000008 percent off. This very small fraction however was not exact, so the fight to find pi kept on. Francois Vieta, a French mathematician of the sixteenth century was the next to take up the challenge. He is one of the most famous math mathematician even being called the “father of algebra” for he was the one who brought variables in to the developing equation of math. He performed the algebraic equivalence of Archimedes’…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ● Archimedes invented “the Beast Number”, (10 to the power of 8 all to the power of 10 to the power of 8) to the power of 10 to the power of 8. All because of his irritability at “people saying it’s impossible to calculate the grains of sand on a beach.” "Archimedes." Famous Scientists.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Leonhard Euler: A Biography

    • 4001 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Leonhard Euler (/ˈɔɪlər/ oil-er;[2] German pronunciation: [ˈɔʏlɐ] ( listen), local pronunciation: [ˈɔɪlr̩] ( listen); 15 April 1707 – 18 September 1783) was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion of amathematical function.[3] He is also renowned for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, and astronomy. Euler spent most of his adult life in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in Berlin, Prussia. He is considered to be the pre-eminent mathematician of the 18th century, and one of the greatest mathematicians ever to have lived. He is also one of the most prolific mathematicians ever; his collected works fill 60–80 quarto volumes.[4] A statement attributed to Pierre-Simon Laplace expresses Euler 's influence on mathematics: "Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all."[5]…

    • 4001 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this time, “Europe was in deep slumber” (crest of the peacock). The transference of this knowledge to European colonies resulted in the production of some of the most influential mathematical knowledge. From a political point of view, mathematical knowledge can be considered as power. The mathematisation of modern life and society has been growing exponentially, so much so that the majority of human movements are conceptualised and controlled numerically. A strong education system has become the key to the quantified thought processes that are required in modern citizens.…

    • 1864 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet Essay

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Take away love, and our earth is a tomb”, a popular quote from an English poet and playwright Robert Browning, that best describes the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet felt that they should be together and they did not care what it took. They were willing to give even their lives. Their love ended in death. The play Romeo and Juliet showed that the ruling passion of true love surpasses the three other kinds of love shown in the play; physical, courtly and family love.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays