This history is long, sometimes it stagnates, then the creative spark of the experts accumulates new results, discovers new methods, overcoming obstacles that are a challenge to the creative genius of the scholars, regardless of their origin or culture until reaching , in the 20th century, to algebraic systems and categories.
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 The Babylonians and the Greeks
- 2 Arabs and Indians
- 3 Splashes of the Middle Ages
- 4 Renaissance Algebraists
- 5 Sources
- 6 See also
The Babylonians and the Greeks
In a direct and empirical way, the Babylonians used rudiments of algebra, when constructing their table of squares, in the sketch and pragmatic use of the link between the greater side and the lesser sides of a right triangle. The first rudiments appear already in the books of Euclid . Without a doubt, that the algebraic principles were known by Archimedes and Apollonius ; however, because the Greek genius did not like short forms in his calculus, the elements of algebra did not constitute a full and complete doctrinal corpus.
A Diophantus (325- 409) – Greek geometer is regarded as the creator of algebra. He wrote a treatise, divided into thirteen books; In part of them it is about the resolution, in whole numbers, of the indeterminate equations of the first degree, with two unknowns and a great battery of problems, solved using equations of the first and second degree, whose difficulties are gradually measured.
Arabs and Indians
From a stagnation of several centuries, the Arabs take the post and the Indians, with achievements similar to the Greeks, cultivated algebraic calculation; although, it is found that their methods are totally different from those presented by modern algebra. In the 6th century, Bramagupta (598) reaches us with his publication on arithmetic, algebra and geometry; the first two disciplines comprised the most important part.
Around 820, Mohamed ben Musa (born 795) wrote the first treatise on algebra, which was published among the Arabs. His translations into various languages achieved celebrity. Its content involved the addition, subtraction and multiplication of algebraic expressions with one unknown, powers of the second degree and even roots of order two.
Splashes of the Middle Ages
At this time it is interesting to see the contributions of the French scholar Gerbert (930-1003) originally from Aurillac, and the Italian scholar Leonardo of Pisa , born in 1175 and died in the 12th century. Geometric science owes the first to the discovery of various formulas linked to the arcs of some polygons, as well as the formula that provides the sum of the terms of an arithmetic progression . The second traveled and lived in the Orient, and upon his return he spread the arithmetic and algebraic knowledge of the Arabs in Western Europe. Fibonacci numbers honor your name and show your talent.
Renaissance Algebraists
These epigones of mathematical science are followed by Tartaglia , originally from Brescia (1500-1599) and Girolamo Cardano , born in Paris in 1501 and died in Rome in 1576. In his book Ars magna the procedure for solving a cubic equation appeared , although the creator of the formula was Tartaglia; many books talk about the Cardano formula. Francisco Vietacame to the world in Fontenay, in 1540, and died in the City of Light, in 1603, in fact he is the creator of modern algebra, thanks to his extraordinary talent, we owe him the use of letters to designate with them the known quantities and unknown – the cardinal apparatus of ordinary and current algebra. He created the science of mathematical symbols and generalized their use in all operations and procedures used in his time. He is the author of the equalities that link in different ways the coefficients of an algebraic equation of a higher degree with results of their respective roots.
