Read about Mathematical Treasures in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of MAA FOCUS, the newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America.
Showing posts with label MAA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAA. Show all posts
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Austran weights
Nest of Austrian weights of the 18th century. Selected by D.E.Smith for his collection to illustrate the ancient, “Problem of Weights”. One example of this problem is given by Claude Bachet as:
What is the least number of weights that can be used on a scale pan to weigh any integral number of pounds from 1 to 40 inclusive, if the weights can be placed in either of the scale pans?
This particular set of weights is elaborately decorated and is one of the best specimens of the weight maker’s art of the period. It bears at least ten official seals, one of which contains the date 1787.
Austran weights
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Albrecht Durer's Treatise on Mensuration
This woodcut print on page 185, called "The Designer of the Lute", illustrates how one uses projection to represent a solid object on a two-dimensional canvas.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Jacob Kobel's Geometry
The book dealt primarily with measurement, showing its readers how to use various instruments to measure fields, determine heights of buildings, and perform various other necessary tasks. Read more.
Measuring the height of a tower using quadrants, when one cannot measure the distance to the tower.
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