Related papers: The geometry in Plato's Meno
One of the most distinguished features of our algebraic geometrical, pencil concept of space-time is the fact that spatial dimensions and time stand, as far as their intrinsic structure is concerned, on completely different footings: the…
A problem about the present structure of dimensional analysis, and another one about the differences between solids and fluids are suggested. Both problems appear to have certain foundational aspects.
This paper looks at how ancient mathematicians (and especially the Pythagorean school) were faced by problems/paradoxes associated with the infinite which led them to juggle two systems of numbers: the discrete whole/rationals which were…
Some conjectures and open problems in convex geometry are presented, and their physical origin, meaning, and importance, for quantum theory and generic statistical theories, are briefly discussed.
We debate, departing from 2-3 readings of a single sentence in Proclus' Commentary to Plato's Republic, the plausibility of a rigorous (inductive) arithmetical derivation of an infinite sequence of pairs of side and diameter numbers by…
This paper constructs a Riemann surface associated to the icosahedron and discusses the geodesics associated to a flat metric on this surface. Because of the icosahedral symmetry, this is a distinguished special case of the example treated…
The solution of the geodesic problem for an oblate ellipsoid is developed in terms of series. Tables are provided to simplify the computation. [This is an English translation of F. W. Bessel, Astronomische Nachrichten 4(86), 241-254 (1825).…
In the past decade, observational cosmology has had one of the most exciting periods in the past century. The precision with which we have been able to measure cosmological parameters has increased tremendously, while at the same time, we…
The modern usage of the words astronomy and astrology is traced back to distinctions, largely ignored in recent scholarship. Three interpretations of celestial phenomena (in a geometric, a substantialist and a prognostic versions) coexisted…
This is a translation from Latin of E348 'Methodus facilis motus corporum coelestium utcunque perturbatos ad rationem calculi astronomici revocandi', in which Euler develops a method to alleviate the astronomical computations in a typical…
This is a point of view of the work of Herbert Busemann (1905-1994), seen as a return to the geometry of Ancient Greece. The importance of this work, its recognition and its relation with other works are discussed. The final version of this…
These lecture notes are based on a set of six lectures that I gave in Edinburgh in 2008/2009 and they cover some topics in the interface between Geometry and Physics. They involve some unsolved problems and conjectures and I hope they may…
The Great Pyramids of Egypt hide mathematic information unknown up to date. The measurements of the three Great Pyramids of Egypt at Giza show that Egyptians knew how to calculate the circumference, the volume and the area of the sphere…
One considers geometry with the intransitive equaivalence relation. Such a geometry is a physical geometry, i.e. it is described completely by the world function, which is a half of the squared distance function. The physical geometry…
We survey the history and recent developments around two decades-old problems that continue to attract a great deal of interest: the slicing $\times 2$, $\times 3$ conjecture of H. Furstenberg in ergodic theory, and the distance set problem…
Supersymmetry has been studied for over three decades by physicists, its superset even longer by mathematicians, and superspace has proven to be very useful both conceptually and in facilitating computations. However, the (1) necessary…
The subjects in the title are interwoven in many different and very deep ways. I recently wrote several expository accounts [64-66] that reflect a certain range of developments, but even in their totality they cannot be taken as a…
In the present paper I shall reveal two circular figures hidden behind the Susa mathematical text no.3,lines 5 and 6 with my own analysis of the text.
This paper investigates the relationship between a system of differential equations and the underlying geometry associated with it. The geometry of a surface determines shortest paths, or geodesics connecting nearby points, which are…
The purpose of this paper is to expound and clarify the mathematics and explanations commonly employed in certain notable areas of astronomy and astrophysics. The first section concentrates upon the mathematics employed to represent and…