Geometry (Greek γεωμετρία; geo = earth, metria = measure) arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers. In modern times, geometric concepts have been generalized to a high level of abstraction and complexity, and have been subjected to the methods of calculus and abstract algebra, so that many modern branches of the field are barely recognizable as the descendants of early geometry. (See areas of mathematics and algebraic geometry.)
Chinese culture at this same time period was just as advanced as its contemporaries, so it is likely that they also had an advanced form of mathematics, but no artifacts have survived from which we could learn about it. This may be partly due to their early use of paper, rather than clay tablets or stone, to record their achievements.
Many of the weights uncovered have been produced in definite geometrical shapes (cuboid, barrel, cone, and cylinder to name a few) which present knowledge of basic geometry, including the circle. This culture also produced artistic designs of a mathematical nature and there is evidence on carvings that these people could draw concentric and intersecting circles and triangles.
Further to the use of circles in decorative design there is indication of the use of bullock carts, the wheels of which may have had a metallic band wrapped round the rim. Some historians believe this points to the possession of knowledge of the ratio of the length of the circumference of the circle and its diameter, and thus values of π.
In Lothal, a thick ring-like shell object found with four slits each in two margins served as a compass to measure angles on plane surfaces or in horizon in multiples of 40–360 degrees. Such shell instruments were probably invented to measure 8–12 whole sections of the horizon and sky, explaining the slits on the lower and upper margins. Archaeologists consider this as evidence the Lothal experts had achieved something 2,000 years before the Greeks are credited with doing: an 8–12 fold division of horizon and sky, as well as an instrument to measure angles and perhaps the position of stars, and for navigation purposes. Lothal contributes one of three measurement scales that are integrated and linear (others found in Harappa and Mohenjodaro). An ivory scale from Lothal has the smallest-known decimal divisions in Indus civilization. The scale is 6 mm thick, 15 mm broad and the available length is 128 mm, but only 27 graduations are visible over 146 mm, the distance between graduation lines being 1.704 mm (the small size indicate use for finer purposes). The sum total of ten graduations from Lothal is approximate to the angula in the Arthashastra. The Lothal craftsmen took care to ensure durability and accuracy of stone weights by blunting edges before polishing. The Lothal weight of 12.184 gm is almost equal to the Egyptian Oedet of 13.792 gm.
As a result of the mathematics required for the construction of these altars, many rules and developments of geometry are found in Vedic works. These include:
Lagadha (circa 1350-1200) was probably the earliest known mathematician to have used geometry and trigonometry for astronomy.
Yajnavalkya (9th century BC) composed the Shatapatha Brahmana, which contains geometric aspects, including several computations of π, with the closest being correct to 2 decimal places (the most accurate value of π up to that time), and gives a rule implying knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem.
The Sulba Sutras ("Rule of Chords" in Vedic Sanskrit), which is another name for geometry, were composed between 800 BC and 500 BC and were appendices to the Vedas giving rules for the construction of religious altars. The Sulba Sutras contain the first use of irrational numbers, quadratic equations of the form a x2 = c and ax2 + bx = c, the use of the Pythagorean theorem and a list of Pythagorean triples discovered algebraically predating Pythagoras, geometric solutions of linear equations, and a number of geometrical proofs. These discoveries are mostly a result of altar construction, which also led to the first known calculations for the square root of 2, which were correct to a remarkable 5 decimal places.
Baudhayana (circa 800 BC) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, which contains a statement of the Pythagorean theorem, geometric solutions of a linear equation in a single unknown, several approximations of π (the closest value being 3.114), along with the first use of irrational numbers and quadratic equations of the forms ax2 = c and ax2 + bx = c, and a computation for the square root of 2, which was correct to a remarkable five decimal places.
Manava (circa 750 BC) composed the Manava Sulba Sutra, which contains approximate constructions of circles from rectangles, and squares from circles, which give approximate values of π, with the closest value being 3.125.
Apastamba (circa 600 BC) composed the Apastamba Sulba Sutra, which contains the method of squaring the circle, considers the problem of dividing a segment into 7 equal parts, calculates the square root of 2 correct to five decimal places, solves the general linear equation, and also contains a numerical proof of the Pythagorean theorem, using an area computation. The historian Albert Burk claims this was the original proof of the theorem which Pythagoras copied on his visit to India.
The Elements began with definitions of terms, fundamental geometric principles (called axioms or postulates), and general quantitative principles (called common notions) from which all the rest of geometry could be logically deduced. Following are his five axioms, somewhat paraphrased to make the English easier to read.
It was soon observed, and no doubt Euclid himself knew, that his fifth axiom could be replaced by the shorter statement “Given a line and a point not on the line, there is only one line through the given point and in the same plane with the given line that does not intersect the given line.” This is called Playfair’s Axiom, after the British teacher who proposed to make the replacement in all the school textbooks.
The axioms, according to Plato, should be simple and self-evident principles, so clearly true that they need no proof. Euclid’s first four axioms meet this criterion, but the fifth, even if replaced by Playfair’s Axiom, is not simple, and most would say not self-evident like the first four. The fifth resembled more the theorems that Euclid proved from the axioms. Furthermore, Euclid developed a substantial part of his theory of triangles without using the Fifth Axiom. The speculation arose, probably during Euclid’s lifetime, that the Fifth Axiom can and should be proved as a theorem from the first four, and thus is unnecessary as an axiom. Thus began many centuries of attempts to prove the Fifth Axiom, and the question was not settled until the 19th century.
Archimedes had followed Eudoxian methods to write out geometric solutions. One solution to the area and volume of a parabola used unit fractions, a form of rigorous arithmetic notation that was created by Egyptians 1,700 years earlier. A unit fraction link between Archimedes' method of slicing the parabola into small pieces, creating the first form of calculus, as given by the proof (noted by Dijksterhuis)
and, its 1/4th geometric infinite series form
The Moscow Mathematical Papyrus, dating to 2,000 BCE also sliced the area of a truncated pyramid, exactly finding its area, as Archimedes later applied by following the Eudoxian 1/4th geometric series, and proving his result by unit fraction arithmetic.
The great Library of Alexandria was later burned. There is a growing consensus among historians that the Library of Alexandria likely suffered from several destructive events, but that the destruction of Alexandria's pagan temples in the late 4th century was probably the most severe and final one. The evidence for that destruction is the most definitive and secure. Caesar's invasion may well have led to the loss of some 40,000-70,000 scrolls in a warehouse adjacent to the port (as Luciano Canfora argues, they were likely copies produced by the Library intended for export), but it is unlikely to have affected the Library or Museum, given that there is ample evidence that both existed later.
Civil wars, decreasing investments in maintenance and acquisition of new scrolls and generally declining interest in non-religious pursuits likely contributed to a reduction in the body of material available in the Library, especially in the fourth century. The Serapeum was certainly destroyed by Theophilus in 391, and the Museum and Library may have fallen victim to the same campaign.
Although the Muslim mathematicians are most famed for their work on algebra, number theory and number systems, they also made considerable contributions to geometry, trigonometry and mathematical astronomy, and were responsible for the development of algebraic geometry. Geometrical magnitudes were treated as "algebraic objects" by most Muslim mathematicians however.
The successors of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḵwārizmī (born 780) undertook a systematic application of arithmetic to algebra, algebra to arithmetic, both to trigonometry, algebra to the Euclidean theory of numbers, algebra to geometry, and geometry to algebra. This was how the creation of polynomial algebra, combinatorial analysis, numerical analysis, the numerical solution of equations, the new elementary theory of numbers, and the geometric construction of equations arose.
Al-Mahani (born 820) conceived the idea of reducing geometrical problems such as duplicating the cube to problems in algebra. Al-Karaji (born 953) completely freed algebra from geometrical operations and replaced them with the arithmetical type of operations which are at the core of algebra today.
An important geometrical aspect of Thabit's work was his book on the composition of ratios. In this book, Thabit deals with arithmetical operations applied to ratios of geometrical quantities. The Greeks had dealt with geometric quantities but had not thought of them in the same way as numbers to which the usual rules of arithmetic could be applied. By introducing arithmetical operations on quantities previously regarded as geometric and non-numerical, Thabit started a trend which led eventually to the generalisation of the number concept.
In some respects, Thabit is critical of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, particularly regarding motion. It would seem that here his ideas are based on an acceptance of using arguments concerning motion in his geometrical arguments.
Astronomy, time-keeping and geography provided other motivations for geometrical and trigonometrical research. For example Ibrahim ibn Sinan and his grandfather Thabit ibn Qurra both studied curves required in the construction of sundials. Abu'l-Wafa and Abu Nasr Mansur both applied spherical geometry to astronomy.
In a paper written by Khayyam before his famous algebra text Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, he considers the problem: Find a point on a quadrant of a circle in such manner that when a normal is dropped from the point to one of the bounding radii, the ratio of the normal's length to that of the radius equals the ratio of the segments determined by the foot of the normal. Khayyam shows that this problem is equivalent to solving a second problem: Find a right triangle having the property that the hypotenuse equals the sum of one leg plus the altitude on the hypotenuse. This problem in turn led Khayyam to solve the cubic equation x3 + 200x = 20x2 + 2000 and he found a positive root of this cubic by considering the intersection of a rectangular hyperbola and a circle. An approximate numerical solution was then found by interpolation in trigonometric tables. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that Khayyam states that the solution of this cubic requires the use of conic sections and that it cannot be solved by compass and straightedge, a result which would not be proved for another 750 years.
His Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra contained a complete classification of cubic equations with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections. In fact Khayyam gives an interesting historical account in which he claims that the Greeks had left nothing on the theory of cubic equations. Indeed, as Khayyam writes, the contributions by earlier writers such as al-Mahani and al-Khazin were to translate geometric problems into algebraic equations (something which was essentially impossible before the work of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḵwārizmī). However, Khayyam himself seems to have been the first to conceive a general theory of cubic equations.
In Commentaries on the difficult postulates of Euclid's book Khayyam made a contribution to non-Euclidean geometry, although this was not his intention. In trying to prove the parallel postulate he accidentally proved properties of figures in non-Euclidean geometries. Khayyam also gave important results on ratios in this book, extending Euclid's work to include the multiplication of ratios. The importance of Khayyam's contribution is that he examined both Euclid's definition of equality of ratios (which was that first proposed by Eudoxus) and the definition of equality of ratios as proposed by earlier Islamic mathematicians such as al-Mahani which was based on continued fractions. Khayyam proved that the two definitions are equivalent. He also posed the question of whether a ratio can be regarded as a number but leaves the question unanswered.
In the late 17th century, calculus was developed independently and almost simultaneously by Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716). This was the beginning of a new field of mathematics now called analysis. Though not itself a branch of geometry, it is applicable to geometry, and it solved two families of problems that had long been almost intractable: finding tangent lines to odd curves, and finding areas enclosed by those curves. The methods of calculus reduced these problems mostly to straightforward matters of computation.
It remained to be proven mathematically that the non-Euclidean geometry was just as self-consistent as Euclidean geometry, and this was first accomplished by Beltrami in 1868. With this, non-Euclidean geometry was established on an equal mathematical footing with Euclidean geometry.
While it was now known that different geometric theories were mathematically possible, the question remained, "Which one of these theories is correct for our physical space?" The mathematical work revealed that this question must be answered by physical experimentation, not mathematical reasoning, and uncovered the reason why the experimentation must involve immense (interstellar, not earth-bound) distances. With the development of relativity theory in physics, this question became vastly more complicated.
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