When least is best : how mathematicians discovered many clever ways to make things as small (or as large) as possible
Nahin, Paul J.2021
Books, Manuscripts
What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? When Least is Best combines the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples to answer these intriguing questions and more. Paul Nahin shows how life often works at the extremes -- with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible -- and he considers how mathematicians over the centuries, including Descartes, Fermat, and Kepler, have grappled with these problems of minima and maxima. Throughout, Nahin examines entertaining conundrums, such as how to build the shortest bridge possible between two towns, how to vary speed during a race, and how to make the perfect basketball shot. Moving from medieval writings and moder calculus to the field of optimization, the engaging and witty explorations of When Least is Best will delight math enthusiasts everywhere.
Main title:
When least is best : how mathematicians discovered many clever ways to make things as small (or as large) as possible / by Paul J. Nahin ; with a new preface by the author.
Author:
Edition:
First Princeton science library paperback edition, New paperback edition.
Imprint:
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2021.©2004.
Collation:
xxxii, 372 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Series title:
Notes:
First published: New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2004.Includes index.
ISBN:
9780691218762 (paperback)
Dewey class:
511.66
Language:
English
Added title:
BRN:
408198
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | Nonfiction | 511.66 WHE | Available |