Most Popular
1500 questions
5
votes
1 answer
How old is the idea of effector islands in fungi?
When was the word mesosynteny first used to describe the unique features of fungal genomes? How old is the discovery?
rosysnake
- 153
- 2
5
votes
2 answers
When was the diving bell invented?
This question comes from my attempts to give a good answer to the previous question, How was difference in water pressure perceived in ancient cultures or the middle ages?
I know from my childhood that "Alexander the Great used a diving bell (some…
Alexandre Eremenko
- 48,930
- 3
- 80
- 177
5
votes
1 answer
What came first? The Schrödinger equation or commutation relation between $p$ and $x$
Some books like Griffith's begin quantum mechanics with the Schrödinger equation as a postulate while some other text books derive it and state $[x,p]=i \hbar$ as an axiom. I'm not sure which one came first as the operator $\hat{p}$ can be derived…
Weezy
- 161
- 4
5
votes
1 answer
How did Ramanujan empirically obtain these errors?
In one of Srinivasa Ramanujan's writings, he discusses the perimeter of an ellipse, $p$. He finds two approximations (page 39):
16. The following approximations for $p$ were obtained empirically:
…
HDE 226868
- 8,453
- 4
- 35
- 66
5
votes
1 answer
History of covering spaces
I want to know what lead to the notion of covering spaces, and the evolution of the concept. I understand that topology was not developed to solve problems, but to gain insight into the foundation of mathematics. So, what insight lead to the…
Avatrin
- 397
- 2
- 12
5
votes
6 answers
What are some concepts/discoveries in mathematics and science that found practical application years after they had been formulated/discovered?
I'm looking for examples of ideas/discoveries/concepts in Maths or Science that had no practical application at first and were maybe considered as nothing but a theoretical concept but they turned out to be useful years after?
I think that imaginary…
Richard Smith
- 151
- 3
5
votes
0 answers
Why isn't Aryabhata more famous than Pythagoras?
You saw the question right. Why isn't it so? Aryabhata had done more things than him. Is it because of the 400 or 500 years of difference between their existence? Pythagoras is famous most for his just one theorem. Is there something about…
manshu
- 181
- 6
5
votes
1 answer
Who popularized the question "why is the sky blue?"
"Why is the sky blue" is a question that everybody seems to know, and in modern times is associated with children's innate curiosity. If I casually flip through a few of the children's science books I have, there's always some mention of it. Of…
QCD_IS_GOOD
- 159
- 4
5
votes
1 answer
What was the evolution of "basis" and "generating set" in algebra?
Today, I've heard someone speak of a basis (of an ideal), meaning a generating set. All the time, I was fine with the term Gröbner-basis, but when it comes without the prefix, it's a bit funny, since basis, morally, is earmarked for something…
Ben
- 792
- 7
- 19
5
votes
1 answer
History of the d'Ocagne's identity for Fibonacci numbers
The d'Ocagne's identity is normally stated as $(-1)^n F_{m-n} = F_m F_{n+1}-F_n F_{m+1}$.
Every book about the Fibonacci numbers has this formula in it, but I can't find any context about it. When it was first published, why it deserves a name or…
Robert William Hanks
- 151
- 4
5
votes
1 answer
When and by whom were the different symbols for multiplication used?
I am interested in how multiplication symbols came about, and where different ones were used. When were $x\cdot y$ and $xy$ first used and by whom?
Steven
- 151
- 2
5
votes
1 answer
When was the optical effects of air pollution first measured, and by whom?
It is widely known nowadays that air pollution attenuates incoming light, particularly sunlight through scattering and absorption of certain wavelengths (both in the UV and visible wavelengths). This attenuation of light is significant to science…
user22
5
votes
1 answer
Injection of Bernoulli numbers into topology
The Bernoulli numbers appear in the Harer-Zagier formula enumerating gluings of polygons, the Kervaire-Milnor formula for the order of homotopy groups for n-spheres, and (with the connection to the Riemann zeta function at positive integer values)…
Tom Copeland
- 840
- 4
- 14
5
votes
1 answer
Where can I learn more about lesser known mathematicians?
I'm reaching the point in my mathematical career that the names aren't so well known. Everybody knows that Euler was great and Gauss was even better, and it's not hard to learn that if Riemann died too young, then Abel died when he was only…
user2942
5
votes
1 answer
History of infinite series
When was $\sum$ introduced as the notation for a sum and who was the first person to solve a infinite sum other than 0+0+0+...?
tox123
- 1,094
- 8
- 25