Heavenly Mathematics
：The Forgotten Art of Spherical Trigonometry
Publication subTitle ：The Forgotten Art of Spherical Trigonometry
Author： Van Brummelen Glen
Publisher： Princeton University Press
Publication year： 2012
E-ISBN: 9781400844807
P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780691148922
Subject： O124.2 spherical trigonometry
Keyword： 天文学,公路运输,数学
Language： ENG
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Description
Spherical trigonometry was at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia. The discipline was a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries, and it was a standard subject in high schools until the 1950s. Today, however, it is rarely taught. Heavenly Mathematics traces the rich history of this forgotten art, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used spherical trigonometry to chart the heavens and the Earth. 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 for its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions.
Heavenly Mathematics is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams that have been used to teach the subject in the past. This unique compendium also features easy-to-use appendixes as well as exercises at the end of each chapter that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
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