Beschreibung

How can one visualize a curve that fills the entire plane or all of space? Can a polyhedron be smoothly turned inside out? What is the projective plane? What does four-dimensional space look like? Can soap bubbles exist that are not spherical? How can one better understand the structure of vortices and currents?
In this book you will experience mathematics from the visual point of view, discovering fascinating and never previously published images that offer illustrative examples to the above questions. Every picture is accompanied by a brief explanatory text, references to further reading, and a number of web links where you can obtain further information.
This book is intended for all friends of mathematics students, teachers, amateurs, and professionals who want to see something beyond dry text and endless formulas. It will provide inspiration for pursuing further one or another topic that may previously have seemed inaccessible. You will get to know mathematics from a totally new and colorful viewpoint.

Inhaltsangabe

1. Polyhedral Models.- 2. Geometry in the Plane.- 3. Problems New and Old.- 4. Formulas and the Integers.- 5. Functions and Limits.- 6. Curves and Knots.- 7. Geometry and Topology of Surfaces.- 8. Minimal Surfaces and Soap Bubbles.- 9. Tilings and Packings.- 10. Space Forms and Dimension.- 11. Graphs and Incidence Geometry.- 12. Movable Forms.- 13. Fractals.- 14. Maps and Mappings.- 15. Forms and Processes in Nature and Technology.- Picture Credits.- Index

Klappentext

How can one visualize a curve that fills the entire plane or all of space? Can a polyhedron be smoothly turned inside out? What is the projective plane? What does four-dimensional space look like? Can soap bubbles exist that are not spherical? How can one better understand the structure of vortices and currents? In this book you will experience mathematics from the visual point of view, where fascinating images, many of them appearing in print for the first time, provide answers to the above questions. Every picture is accompanied by a brief explanatory text along with numerous references and web links for further reading.

This book is intended for all friends of mathematics- students, teachers, amateurs, and professionals-who want to see something beyond dry text and endless formulas. It will provide inspiration for further pursuit of topics in mathematics that may previously have seemed inaccessible. You will get to know mathematics from a totally new and colorful viewpoint.

Enjoy the beauty and fascination of mathematics in over 300 pages richly illustrated with more than 1000 figures on the following topics:

Polyhedral Models
Geometry in the Plane
Problems New and Old
Formulas and Numbers
Functions and Limits
Curves and Knots
Geometry and Topology of Surfaces
Minimal Surfaces and Soap Bubbles
Tilings and Packings
Space Forms and Dimension
Graphs and Incidence Geometry
Flexible Shapes
Fractals
Maps and Mappings
Forms and Processes in Nature and Technology