Treatise on Conic Sections [Hardcover]

Apollonius of Perga (Author), T. L. Heath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Reprint of the 1896 edition. Cloth. Oversized Octavo. clxx, 254 p. Very little is known about the life of Apollonius, the last great mathematician of antiquity. He was born at Perga in Pamphylia, southern Asia Minor, during the reign [247-222 b.c.] of Ptolemy Euergetes, King of Egypt. When he was quite young, Apllonius went to study at the school in Alexandria established by Euclid. Apollnius's fame in antiquity was based on his work on conics. His treatise on this subject consisted of eight books, of which seven have survived. Like most of the well-known Greek mathematicians, Apollonius was also a talented astronomer. The Conics was written book by book over a long period of time. The general preface to the work is given n Book 1. The first four books are an elementary introduction. These books are thus an extension of the earlier conics by other mathematicians such as Euclid. Since most of these results were already well known, one might expect Apollonius's presentation to be more concise and to attempt a greater logic and generality. Beginning with Book V, more advanced topics are taken up. Book V is perhaps the best of the latter four. Heath's work is the standard English translation of Apollonius's principal work, and contains modern mathematical notation.

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Martino Pub (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578983797
• ISBN-13: 978-1578983797
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,108,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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