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Full-Text Articles in Algebra
Euler, Reader Of Newton: Mechanics And Algebraic Analysis, Sébastien Maronne, Marco Panza
Euler, Reader Of Newton: Mechanics And Algebraic Analysis, Sébastien Maronne, Marco Panza
MPP Published Research
We follow two of the many paths leading from Newton’s to Euler’s scientific productions, and give an account of Euler’s role in the reception of some of Newton’s ideas, as regards two major topics: mechanics and algebraic analysis. Euler contributed to a re-appropriation of Newtonian science, though transforming it in many relevant aspects. We study this re-appropriation with respect to the mentioned topics and show that it is grounded on the development of Newton’s conceptions within a new conceptual frame also influenced by Descartes’s views sand Leibniz’s formalism.
Lagrange's Theory Of Analytical Functions And His Ideal Of Purity Of Method, Giovanni Ferraro, Marco Panza
Lagrange's Theory Of Analytical Functions And His Ideal Of Purity Of Method, Giovanni Ferraro, Marco Panza
MPP Published Research
We reconstruct essential features of Lagrange’s theory of analytical functions by exhibiting its structure and basic assumptions, as well as its main shortcomings. We explain Lagrange’s notions of function and algebraic quantity, and we concentrate on power-series expansions, on the algorithm for derivative functions, and the remainder theorem—especially on the role this theorem has in solving geometric and mechanical problems. We thus aim to provide a better understanding of Enlightenment mathematics and to show that the foundations of mathematics did not, for Lagrange, concern the solidity of its ultimate bases, but rather purity of method—the generality and internal organization of …
François Viète, Between Analysis And Cryptanalysis, Marco Panza
François Viète, Between Analysis And Cryptanalysis, Marco Panza
MPP Published Research
François Viète is considered the father both of modern algebra and of modern cryptanalysis. The paper outlines Viète's major contributions in these two mathematical fields and argues that, despite an obvious parallel between them, there is an essential difference. Viète's 'new algebra' relies on his reform of the classical method of analysis and synthesis, in particular on a new conception of analysis and the introduction of a new formalism. The procedures he suggests to decrypt coded messages are particular forms of analysis based on the use of formal methods. However, Viète's algebraic analysis is not an analysis in the same …