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Studies Arising From A Problem In The Calculus Of Variations, John Gonzalez
Studies Arising From A Problem In The Calculus Of Variations, John Gonzalez
Mathematics & Statistics ETDs
In mathematics, generalization is progress; so much so that oftentimes one loses sight of the fact that generalization is the result of arduous work in the consideration of the particular. In no other branch of mathematics is this better exemplified than in the Calculus of Variations. The beginning of a systematic development of the theory of the Calculus of Variations really started with the two Bernoulli brothers (1654-1748) in their discussion of the brachistochrone problem in 1696. The method devised by them were sufficiently powerful in the attack of a large number of problems. Euler (1707-85) further elaborated the geometrical …