Why Beauty Is Truth: A History of Symmetry
| AUTHOR | Stewart, Ian |
| PUBLISHER | Basic Books (04/29/2008) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Paperback (Paperback) |
Description
At the heart of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, string theory, and much of modern cosmology lies one concept: symmetry. In Why Beauty Is Truth, world-famous mathematician Ian Stewart narrates the history of the emergence of this remarkable area of study. Stewart introduces us to such characters as the Renaissance Italian genius, rogue, scholar, and gambler Girolamo Cardano, who stole the modern method of solving cubic equations and published it in the first important book on algebra, and the young revolutionary Evariste Galois, who refashioned the whole of mathematics and founded the field of group theory only to die in a pointless duel over a woman before his work was published. Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics, in which particular numbers have unique and unpredictable properties related to symmetry. He shows how Wilhelm Killing discovered "Lie groups" with 14, 52, 78, 133, and 248 dimensions-groups whose very existence is a profound puzzle. Finally, Stewart describes the world beyond superstrings: the "octonionic" symmetries that may explain the very existence of the universe.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780465082377
ISBN-10:
0465082378
Binding:
Paperback or Softback (Trade Paperback (Us))
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
304
Carton Quantity:
22
Product Dimensions:
5.44 x 0.82 x 8.02 inches
Weight:
0.63 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Price on Product - Canadian,
Price on Product,
Table of Contents,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Science | History
Science | Physics - General
Science | Life Sciences - Neuroscience
Grade Level:
College Freshman
and up
Dewey Decimal:
539.725
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
At the heart of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, string theory, and much of modern cosmology lies one concept: symmetry. In Why Beauty Is Truth, world-famous mathematician Ian Stewart narrates the history of the emergence of this remarkable area of study. Stewart introduces us to such characters as the Renaissance Italian genius, rogue, scholar, and gambler Girolamo Cardano, who stole the modern method of solving cubic equations and published it in the first important book on algebra, and the young revolutionary Evariste Galois, who refashioned the whole of mathematics and founded the field of group theory only to die in a pointless duel over a woman before his work was published. Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics, in which particular numbers have unique and unpredictable properties related to symmetry. He shows how Wilhelm Killing discovered "Lie groups" with 14, 52, 78, 133, and 248 dimensions-groups whose very existence is a profound puzzle. Finally, Stewart describes the world beyond superstrings: the "octonionic" symmetries that may explain the very existence of the universe.
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Author:
Stewart, Ian
IAN STEWART teaches political science at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
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List Price $21.99
Your Price
$21.77