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    Infinite powers : how calculus reveals the secrets of the universe / Steven Strogatz.

    • Title:Infinite powers : how calculus reveals the secrets of the universe / Steven Strogatz.
    •    
    • Author/Creator:Strogatz, Steven.
    • Published/Created:New York : Houghton Miffilin Harcourt, 2020.
      ©2019
    • Holdings

       
    • Library of Congress Subjects:Calculus--History.
    • Edition:First Mariner books edition.
    • Description:xxiii, 360 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
    • Summary:"Steven Strogatz's brilliantly creative, down-to-earth history shows that calculus is not about complexity; it's about simplicity. It harnesses an unreal number--infinity--to tackle real-world problems, breaking them down into easier ones and then reassembling the answers into solutions that feel miraculous. Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves (a phenomenon predicted by calculus). Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to make electricity with magnets; how to ensure your rocket doesn't miss the moon; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS. As Strogatz proves, calculus is truly the language of the universe. By unveiling the principles of that language, Infinite Powers makes us marvel at the world anew."--Publisher's description
    • Notes:"Mariner Books."
      "An Eamon Dolan Book."
      Includes bibliographical references and index.
    • ISBN:0358299284 (paperback)
      9780358299288 (paperback)
    • Contents:1. Infinity
      2. The man who harnessed infinity
      3. Discovering the laws of motion
      4. The dawn of differential calculus
      5. The crossroads
      6. The vocabulary of change
      7. The secret fountain
      8. Fictions of the mind
      9. The logical universe
      10. Making waves
      11. The future of calculus.
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