Research Catalog

Title

Edmond Halley's reconstruction of the lost book of Apollonius's Conics : translation and commentary / Michael N. Fried.

Author

Fried, Michael N.

Publication

New York : Springer, c2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

x, 132 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

Apollonius's Conics was one of the greatest works of advanced mathematics in antiquity.  The work comprised eight books, four of which have come down to us in their original Greek and three in Arabic.  By the time the Arabic translations were produced, the eighth book had already been lost. In 1710, Edmond Halley, then Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, produced an edition of the Greek text of the Conics of Books I-IV, a translation into Latin from the Arabic versions of Books V-VII, and a reconstruction of Book VIII.   Motivated by such questions as what role did Halley's reconstruction play in the mathematical world of the late 17th and early 18th century? and what did Halley see himself learning from engaging with mathematicians such as Apollonius?, Michael Fried's work provides the first complete English translation of Halley's reconstruction of Book VIII with supplementary notes on the text.  The volume also contains an introduction discussing aspects of Apollonius's Conics, an investigation of Edmond Halley's understanding of the nature of his venture into ancient mathematics, and appendices giving brief accounts of Apollonius's approach to conic sections and his mathematical techniques. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers interested in the history of ancient Greek mathematics and mathematics in the early modern period. 

Series Statement

Sources and studies in the history of mathematics and physical sciences

Uniform Title

Sources and studies in the history of mathematics and physical sciences.

Subject

• Halley, Edmond, 1656-1742
• Apollonius, of Perga
• Geschichte 200 v. Chr
• Mathematics, Greek
• Mathematics > Early works to 1800
• Geometry
• Mathematics

Genre/Form

Early works

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-129) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

I. Introduction -- 1. Edmond Halley: Ancient and Modern -- 2. Apollonius's Conics -- 3. The Path to Halley -- 4. Halley's General Strategy for Reconstructing Conics, Book VIII -- 5. Halley's Dialogue with the Past.-6. A Note on the Translation-II. Apollonius of Perga's On Conics: Book Eight Restored -- III.Synopsis and Appendices.-Synopsis of the Contents of Halley's Conics, Book VIII.-Appendix 1: Terminology and Notions from Greek Mathematics.-Appendix 2: Hippocrates' First Quadrature of a Lune.-References.-Index.

ISBN

• 9781461401452
• 1461401453

LCCN

^^2011933227

OCLC

• 731919977
• SCSB-11610092

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library