Related papers: Huygens and $\pi$
The so-called Riemann sums have their origin in the efforts of Greek mathematicians to find the center of gravity or the volume of a solid body. These researches led to the method of exhaustion, discovered by Archimedes and described using…
In 1907, Henry Ernest Dudeney posed a puzzle: ``cut any equilateral triangle \dots\ into as few pieces as possible that will fit together and form a perfect square'' (without overlap, via translation and rotation). Four weeks later, Dudeney…
Using techniques from calculus, we combine classical identities for $\pi$, $\operatorname{ln}2$, and harmonic numbers, to arrive at a nice infinite series formula for $\pi/3$ that does not appear to be well known. In addition, we give…
Carl Gustav Hempel (1905-1997) formulated the dilemma that carries his name in an attempt to determine the boundaries of physics. Where does physics go over into metaphysics? The purpose of this contribution is to indicate how a recently…
Magnitude is a numerical invariant of metric spaces and graphs, analogous, in a precise sense, to Euler characteristic. Magnitude homology is an algebraic invariant constructed to categorify magnitude. Among the important features of the…
Eugene Wigner famously argued for the "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" for describing physics and other natural sciences in his 1960 essay. That essay has now led to some 55 years of (sometimes anguished) soul searching ---…
We discuss the work of a brilliant line of Mathematicians who lived in central Kerala and starting with its founder Madhava (1350 CE) developed what can best be described as Calculus and applied it to a class of trigonometric functions. We…
Residues to a given modulus have been introduced to mathematics by Carl Friedrich Gauss with the definition of congruence in the `Disquisitiones Arithmeticae'. Their extraordinary properties provide the basis for a change of paradigm in…
The idea of the principle of nested intervals or the concept of convergent sequences which is equivalent to this idea dates back to the ancient world. Archimedes calculated the unknown in excess and deficiency, approximating with two sets…
In this work, we develop a new iterative method for computing the digits of $\pi$ by argument reduction of the tangent function. This method combines a modified version of the iterative formula for $\pi$ with squared convergence that we…
As rewards of reading two great papers of Hermite from 1873, we trace the historical origin of the integral Niven used in his well-known proof of the irrationality of $\pi$, uncover a rarely acknowledged simple proof by Hermite of the…
An investigation of the comparative efficiency of the different methods in which {\pi} is cal- culated. This thesis will compare and contrast five different methods in calculating {\pi} by first deriving the various proofs to each method…
We discuss the classical results of Stanis{\l}aw Go\l\k{a}b, on the values of pi in arbitrary normed planes, including the classification of extremal values. We reprove the result of J. Duncan, D. Luecking, and C. McGregor, which states…
Kepler's thinking is highly original and the inspiration for discovering his famous third law is based on his rather curious geometric approach in his Harmonices mundi for explaining consonances. In this article we try to use a modern…
By closely rereading the original Turing's 1936 article, we can gain insight about that it is based on the claim to have defined a number which is not computable, arguing that there can be no machine computing the diagonal on the…
We report new hypergeometric constructions of rational approximations to Catalan's constant, $\log2$, and $\pi^2$, their connection with already known ones, and underlying "permutation group" structures. Our principal arithmetic achievement…
In this paper we investigate properties of the Steiner symmetrization in the complex plane. We use two recursive dynamic processes in order to derive some sharp inequalities on analytic functions in the unit disk. We answer a question that…
In this paper are given some estimates of precision of the Huygens approximation $x \approx \frac{2}{3} \sin x + \frac{1}{3} \tan x,$ for right neighbourhood of zero, by determining some boundaries for the Huygens function $f(x) =…
This article explores the limits of geometric construction using various tools, both classical and modern. Starting with ruler and compass constructions, we examine how adding methods such as origami, marked rulers (neusis), conic sections,…
In this paper a novel calculus system has been established based on the concept of 'werden'. The basis of logic self-contraction of the theories on current calculus was shown. Mistakes and defects in the structure and meaning of the…