With diagrams. Loosely inserted handwritten letter by Julian Havil to Nick Lord thanking him for his positive opinion of the book. Some pages with neat pencilled mathematical annotations in the hand of Nick Lord. Light wear to spine, covers, corners & dustjacket. ; Octavo; xxiv, 266 pages.

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Bibliographic Details

Title

Gamma Exploring Euler's Constant

Publisher

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

Publication Date

2003

Language

English

ISBN 10

0691099839

ISBN 13

9780691099835

Binding

Original cloth

Edition

First Edition.

Condition

Very Good+

Dust Jacket Condition

Near Fine dust

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About this title

Synopsis

Among the myriad of constants that appear in mathematics, p, e, and i are the most familiar. Following closely behind is g, or gamma, a constant that arises in many mathematical areas yet maintains a profound sense of mystery. In a tantalizing blend of history and mathematics, Julian Havil takes the reader on a journey through logarithms and the harmonic series, the two defining elements of gamma, toward the first account of gamma's place in mathematics. Introduced by the Swiss mathematician, Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), who figures prominently in this book, gamma is defined as the limit of the sum of 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + ...up to 1/n, minus the natural logarithm of n - the numerical value being 0.5772156...But unlike its more celebrated colleagues p and e, the exact nature of gamma remains a mystery - we don't even know if gamma can be expressed as a fraction. Among the numerous topics that arise during this historical odyssey into fundamental mathematical ideas are the Prime Number Theorem and the most important open problem in mathematics today - the Riemann Hypothesis (though no proof of either is offered!). Sure to be popular with not only students and instructors but all math aficionados, "Gamma" takes us through countries, centuries, lives, and works, unfolding along the way the stories of some remarkable mathematics from some remarkable mathematicians.

About the Author

Julian Havil is a Master at Winchester College, England, where he has taught mathematics for nearly thirty years. He received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Oxford University. Freeman Dyson is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He is the author of several books, including "Disturbing the Universe" and "Origins of Life".

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