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Zu Chongzhi
Zu Chongzhi (; 429–500 AD), courtesy name Wenyuan (), was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, politician, inventor, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, a record in accuracy which would not be surpassed for over 800 years. Life and works Chongzhi's ancestry was from modern Baoding, Hebei. To flee from the ravages of war, Zu's grandfather Zu Chang moved to the Yangtze, as part of the massive population movement during the Eastern Jin. Zu Chang () at one point held the position of Chief Minister for the Palace Buildings () within the Liu Song and was in charge of government construction projects. Zu's father, Zu Shuozhi (), also served the court and was greatly respected for his erudition. Zu was born in Jiankang. His family had historically been involved in astronomical research, and from childhood Zu was exposed to both astronomy and mathematics. When he was only a youth his tal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zu (surname)
Zu is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written in Chinese character. It is romanized Tsu in Wade–Giles. It is listed 249th in the Song dynasty classic text ''Hundred Family Surnames''. It is not among the 300 most common surnames in China. Notable people * Zu Ti ( 祖逖; 266–321), celebrated Eastern Jin general * Zu Yue ( 祖約; died 330), Eastern Jin general, younger brother of Zu Ti * Zu Chongzhi (429–500), Liu Song dynasty mathematician and astronomer * Zu Gengzhi (450? – 520?), mathematician, son of Zu Chongzhi * Zu Ting (6th century), scholar-official of the Northern Qi dynasty * Zu Xiaosun (6th – 7th century), Sui and Tang dynasty musician * Zu Yong (699–746?), Tang dynasty poet * Zu Dashou (died 1656), Ming dynasty general who surrendered to the Qing * Zu Zhiwang ( 祖之望; 1754–1813), Qing dynasty Governor of Hunan and Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Rep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth the mass of the Sun. Jupiter is the List of brightest natural objects in the sky, third brightest natural object in the Earth's night sky after the Moon and Venus, and it has been observed since Pre-history, prehistoric times. It was named after the Jupiter (mythology), Roman god Jupiter, the king of the gods. Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen, but helium constitutes one-quarter of its mass and one-tenth of its volume. It probably has a rocky core of heavier elements, but, like the other giant planets in the Solar System, it lacks a well-defined solid surface. The ongoing contraction of Jupiter's interior generates more heat than it receives from the Sun. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Hui's π Algorithm
Liu Hui's algorithm was invented by Liu Hui (fl. 3rd century), a mathematician of the state of Cao Wei. Before his time, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter was often taken experimentally as three in China, while Zhang Heng (78–139) rendered it as 3.1724 (from the proportion of the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth, ) or as \pi \approx \sqrt \approx 3.162. Liu Hui was not satisfied with this value. He commented that it was too large and overshot the mark. Another mathematician Wang Fan (219–257) provided . All these empirical values were accurate to two digits (i.e. one decimal place). Liu Hui was the first Chinese mathematician to provide a rigorous algorithm for calculation of to any accuracy. Liu Hui's own calculation with a 96-gon provided an accuracy of five digits: . Liu Hui remarked in his commentary to ''The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art'', that the ratio of the circumference of an inscribed hexagon to the diamete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yi Xing
Yi Xing (, 683–727), born Zhang Sui (), was a Chinese astronomer, Buddhist monk, inventor, mathematician, mechanical engineer, and philosopher during the Tang dynasty. His astronomical celestial globe featured a liquid-driven escapement, the first in a long tradition of Chinese astronomical clockworks. Science and technology Astrogeodetic survey In the early 8th century, the Tang court put Yi Xing in charge of an astrogeodetic survey.Hsu, 98. This survey had many purposes. It was established in order to obtain new astronomical data that would aid in the prediction of solar eclipses. The survey was also initiated so that flaws in the calendar system could be corrected and a new, updated calendar installed in its place. The survey was also essential in determining the arc measurement, i.e., the length of meridian arc-although Yi Xing, who did not know the Earth was spherical, did not conceptualize his measurements in these terms. This would resolve the confusion created by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphere
A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the centre (geometry), centre of the sphere, and is the sphere's radius. The earliest known mentions of spheres appear in the work of the Greek mathematics, ancient Greek mathematicians. The sphere is a fundamental object in many fields of mathematics. Spheres and nearly-spherical shapes also appear in nature and industry. Bubble (physics), Bubbles such as soap bubbles take a spherical shape in equilibrium. spherical Earth, The Earth is often approximated as a sphere in geography, and the celestial sphere is an important concept in astronomy. Manufactured items including pressure vessels and most curved mirrors and lenses are based on spheres. Spheres rolling, roll smoothly in any direction, so mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Best Rational Approximation
In mathematics, a continued fraction is an expression obtained through an iterative process of representing a number as the sum of its integer part and the reciprocal of another number, then writing this other number as the sum of its integer part and another reciprocal, and so on. In a finite continued fraction (or terminated continued fraction), the iteration/recursion is terminated after finitely many steps by using an integer in lieu of another continued fraction. In contrast, an infinite continued fraction is an infinite expression. In either case, all integers in the sequence, other than the first, must be positive. The integers a_i are called the coefficients or terms of the continued fraction. It is generally assumed that the numerator of all of the fractions is 1. If arbitrary values and/or functions are used in place of one or more of the numerators or the integers in the denominators, the resulting expression is a generalized continued fraction. When it is necessary t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adriaen Anthonisz
Adriaan Anthonisz (also known as Adriaen Anthonisz of Alcmaer) (1527–1607) was a Dutch mathematician, surveyor, cartographer, and military engineer who specialized in the design of fortifications. As a mathematician Anthonisz calculated in 1585 the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, which would later be called pi. Life Anthonisz served as burgomaster (mayor) of Alkmaar in the Netherlands from 1582. Adriaan fathered two sons, and named them both Metius (from the Dutch word ''meten'', meaning 'measuring', 'measurer', or surveyor). They each became prominent members of society. Adriaan Metius (9 Dec 1571 – 6 Sep 1635) was a Dutch geometer and astronomer. Jacob Metius worked as an instrument-maker and a specialist in grinding lenses and applied for patent rights for the telescope a few weeks after Middelburg spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey tried to patent the same device. Career In 1585 Anthonisz discovered that the ratio of a circle's circumference to its dia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Netherlands
) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherlands , established_title2 = Act of Abjuration , established_date2 = 26 July 1581 , established_title3 = Peace of Münster , established_date3 = 30 January 1648 , established_title4 = Kingdom established , established_date4 = 16 March 1815 , established_title5 = Liberation Day (Netherlands), Liberation Day , established_date5 = 5 May 1945 , established_title6 = Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom Charter , established_date6 = 15 December 1954 , established_title7 = Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean reorganisation , established_date7 = 10 October 2010 , official_languages = Dutch language, Dutch , languages_type = Regional languages , languages_sub = yes , languages = , languages2_type = Reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Considered the greatest mathematician of ancient history, and one of the greatest of all time,* * * * * * * * * * Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying the concept of the infinitely small and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems. These include the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, the area of an ellipse, the area under a parabola, the volume of a segment of a paraboloid of revolution, the volume of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution, and the area of a spiral. Heath, Thomas L. 1897. ''Works of Archimedes''. Archimedes' other mathematical achievements include deriving an approximation of pi, defining and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshio Mikami
was a Japanese mathematician and historian of ''Japanese mathematics''. He was born February 16, 1875, in Kotachi, Hiroshima prefecture. He attended the High School of Tohoku University, and in 1911 was admitted to the Imperial University of Tokyo. He studied history of Japanese and Chinese mathematics. In 1913, he published "The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan" in Leipzig.Yoshio Mikami, The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan, 1913, Library of Congress 61-13497 This book consisted of two parts with 47 chapters. Part one has 21 chapters that describe in depth several important Chinese mathematicians and mathematical classics including Liu Hui, Shen Kuo, Qin Jiushao, Sun Tzu, The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections, Li Ye, Zhu Shijie and study on π. Part II deals with important ''wasan'' mathematicians and their works, including Kambei Mori, Yoshida Koyu, Kowa Seki, Imamura Chisho, Takahara Kisshu, Kurushima, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counting Rods
Counting rods () are small bars, typically 3–14 cm long, that were used by mathematicians for calculation in ancient East Asia. They are placed either horizontally or vertically to represent any integer or rational number. The written forms based on them are called rod numerals. They are a true positional numeral system with digits for 1–9 and a blank for 0, from the Warring states period (circa 475 BCE) to the 16th century. History Chinese arithmeticians used counting rods well over two thousand years ago. In 1954 forty-odd counting rods of the Warring States period (5th century BCE to 221 BCE) were found in Zuǒjiāgōngshān (左家公山) Chu Grave No.15 in Changsha, Hunan. In 1973 archeologists unearthed a number of wood scripts from a tomb in Hubei dating from the period of the Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). On one of the wooden scripts was written: "当利二月定算𝍥". This is one of the earliest examples of using counting-rod numerals in writing. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proof That 22/7 Exceeds π
Proofs of the mathematical result that the rational number is greater than (pi) date back to antiquity. One of these proofs, more recently developed but requiring only elementary techniques from calculus, has attracted attention in modern mathematics due to its mathematical elegance and its connections to the theory of Diophantine approximations. Stephen Lucas calls this proof "one of the more beautiful results related to approximating ". Julian Havil ends a discussion of continued fraction approximations of with the result, describing it as "impossible to resist mentioning" in that context. The purpose of the proof is not primarily to convince its readers that is indeed bigger than ; systematic methods of computing the value of exist. If one knows that is approximately 3.14159, then it trivially follows that < , which is approximately 3.142857. But it takes much less work to show that < by the method used in this proof than to show that is ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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