Euclid

Euclid (/jukld/; Greek: Eukleids; fl. 300

BC), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek
mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of
Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign
of Ptolemy I (323283 BC). His Elements is one of the
most influential works in the history of mathematics,
serving as the main textbook for
teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the
time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th
century.
[1][2][3]
In the Elements, Euclid deduced the
principles of what is now called Euclidean
geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote
works onperspective, conic sections, spherical
geometry, number theory and rigor.
"Euclid" is the anglicized version of
the Greek name , meaning "Good Glory".
[4]

Life
Very few original references to Euclid survive, so little is known about his life. The date, place and
circumstances of both his birth and death are unknown and may only be estimated roughly relative
to other figures mentioned alongside him. He is rarely, if ever, referred to by name by other Greek
mathematicians from Archimedes onward, who instead call him " " ("the author of
Elements").
[5]
The few historical references to Euclid were written centuries after he lived,
by Proclus c. 450 AD and Pappus of Alexandria c. 320 AD.
[6]

Proclus introduces Euclid only briefly in his Commentary on the Elements. According to Proclus,
Euclid belonged to Plato's "persuasion" and brought together the Elements, drawing on prior work by
several pupils of Plato (particularly Eudoxus of Cnidus, Theaetetus and Philip of Opus.) Proclus
believes that Euclid is not much younger than these, and that he must have lived during the time
of Ptolemy I because he was mentioned by Archimedes (287-212 BC). Although the purported
citation of Euclid by Archimedes has been judged to be an interpolation by later editors of his works,
it is still believed that Euclid wrote his works before those of Archimedes.
[7][8][9]

Proclus later retells a story that, when Ptolemy I asked if there was a shorter path to learning
geometry than Euclid's Elements, "Euclid replied there is no royal road to geometry."
[10]
This
anecdote is questionable since it is similar to a story told aboutMenaechmus and Alexander the
Great.
[11]

In the only other key reference to Euclid, Pappus briefly mentioned in the fourth century
that Apollonius "spent a very long time with the pupils of Euclid at Alexandria, and it was thus that he
acquired such a scientific habit of thought" circa 247-222 BC.
[12][13]

A detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth town of
Tyre. This biography is generally believed to be completely fictitious.
[8]

Partly due to the lack of biographical information that is somewhat atypical for the period (extensive
biographies are available for most significant Greek mathematicians for several centuries before and
after Euclid), it has been proposed that Euclid was not, in fact, a historical character, and his works
were written by a team of mathematicians (not unlike Bourbaki) who took the name Euclid from the
historical character Euclid of Megara. However, this hypothesis is not well accepted by scholars and
there is little evidence in its favor.
[8][14]




Thales

Thales of Miletus (/eliz/; Greek: (
), Thals; c. 624 c. 546 BC) was a pre-Socratic Greek
philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven
Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the
first philosopher in the Greek tradition.
[1]
Aristotle reported Thales'
hypothesis about the nature of matter that the originating
principle of nature was a single material substance: water.
According to Bertrand Russell, "Western philosophy begins with
Thales."
[2]
Thales attempted to explain natural phenomena without
reference to mythology and was tremendously influential in this
respect. Almost all of the other Pre-Socratic philosophers follow
him in attempting to provide an explanation of ultimate substance,
change, and the existence of the world without reference to
mythology. Those philosophers were also influential and
eventually Thales' rejection of mythological explanations became
an essential idea for the scientific revolution. He was also the first
to define general principles and set forth hypotheses, and as a
result has been dubbed the "Father of Science," though it is
argued that Democritus is actually more deserving of this title.
[3][4]

In mathematics, Thales used geometry to solve problems such as calculating the height of pyramids
and the distance of ships from the shore. He is credited with the first use of deductive
reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales' Theorem. As a result, he has
been hailed as the first true mathematician and is the first known individual to whom a mathematical
discovery has been attributed.
[5]

Life[edit]
The current historical consensus is that Thales was born in the city of Miletus around the mid 620s
BC. Miletus was an ancient Greek Ionian city on the western coast of Asia Minor (in what is
today Aydin Province of Turkey), near the mouth of the Maeander River.
Background[edit]
The dates of Thales' life are not exactly known, but are roughly established by a few dateable events
mentioned in the sources. According to Herodotus (and determination by modern methods) Thales
predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC.
[6]
Diogenes Lartius quotes the chronicle
of Apollodorus of Athens as saying that Thales died at the age of 78 in the 58th Olympiad (548
545 BC).
Diogenes Lartius states that ("according to Herodotus and Douris and Democritus") Thales' parents
were Examyes and Cleobuline, then traces the family line back to Cadmus, a
mythological Phoenician prince of Tyre. Diogenes then delivers conflicting reports: one that Thales
married and either fathered a son (Cybisthus or Cybisthon) or adopted his nephew of the same
name; the second that he never married, telling his mother as a young man that it was too early to
marry, and as an older man that it was too late. Plutarch had earlier told this version: Solon visited
Thales and asked him why he remained single; Thales answered that he did not like the idea of
having to worry about children. Nevertheless, several years later, anxious for family, he adopted his
nephew Cybisthus.
[7]

Thales involved himself in many activities, taking the role of an innovator. Some say that he left no
writings, others say that he wrote On the Solstice and On the Equinox. (No writing attributed to him
has survived.) Diogenes Lartius quotes two letters from Thales: one to Pherecydes of
Syros offering to review his book on religion, and one to Solon, offering to keep him company on his
sojourn from Athens. Thales identifies the Milesians as Athenian colonists.
[8]

Hiparco de Nicea
Hiparco (Nicea, c. 190 a. C.-c. 120 a. C.) fue
un astrnomo, gegrafo y matemtico griego. Entre sus
aportaciones cabe destacar: el primer catlogo de estrellas; la
divisin del da en 24 horas de igual duracin (hasta la invencin
del reloj mecnico en el siglo XIV las divisiones del da variaban
con las estaciones); el descubrimiento de la precesin de los
equinoccios; la distincin entre ao sidreo y ao trpico, mayor
precisin en la medida de la distancia Tierra-Luna y de la
oblicuidad de la eclptica, invencin de la trigonometra y de los
conceptos de longitud y latitud geogrficas.
Elaboracin del primer catlogo de estrellas que contena la
posicin en coordenadas eclpticas de 1080 estrellas. Influy en
Hiparco la aparicin de una estrella nova, Nova Scorpii en el
ao 134 a. C. y el pretender fijar la posicin
del equinoccio de primavera sobre el fondo de estrellas.
Con el propsito de elaborar dicho catlogo, Hiparco invent instrumentos, especialmente
un teodolito, para indicar posiciones y magnitudes, de forma que fuese fcil descubrir s
las estrellas moran o nacan, si se movan o si aumentaban o disminuan de brillo. Adems clasific
las estrellas segn su intensidad, clasificndolas en magnitudes, segn su grado de brillo.
El primer catlogo de estrellas[editar]
El catlogo de estrellas de Hiparco se puede encontrar en el Almagesto de Ptolomeo, libros VII y
VIII. Aunque Ptolomeo afirmaba ser su observador, muchas evidencias
1
apuntan a Hiparco como su
verdadero autor. El catlogo contiene las posiciones de 850 estrellas en 48 constelaciones. Las
posiciones de las estrellas se dan en coordenadas eclpticas.
Precesin de los equinoccios[editar]
Gracias a la clasificacin sistemtica de las estrellas y a la utilizacin por primera vez de eclpticas,
Hiparco hizo su gran descubrimiento: la precesin de los equinoccios. Al comparar sus coordenadas
en las latitudes, fij el valor de la precesin en 45 segundos-arco en un ao, muy cercano a 50,27
segundos-arco que se maneja actualmente. La posicin de punto Aries realiz por el que Timocaris,
la observacin de un eclipse total de Luna cerca de los Equinoccios
Distincin entre el ao sidreo y el ao trpico[editar]
Despus de medir el valor de la precesin de los equinoccios, y consecuencia de ello, Hiparco
diferenci entre el ao sidreo y el ao trpico y estableci su duracin en 365d 6h 10m y 365d 5h
55m respectivamente con errores de 1 minuto y 6 minutos 15segundos respectivamente. Entendi
que el que se deba adoptar era el ao trpico por ser el que est en armona con las estaciones.
Mejora la medida de la distancia a la Luna[editar]
Consigui una excelente aproximacin de la distancia entre la Tierra y la Luna, ya intentada
por Aristarco de Samos, usando eclipses lunares totales de duracin mxima. Hiparco calcul que
esta distancia era de treinta veces el dimetro terrestre, calculado previamente por Eratstenes. Es
decir, unos 384.000 kilmetros.
2

Invencin de la trigonometra[editar]
Por otra parte, Hiparco es el inventor de la trigonometra, para cuyo objeto consiste en relacionar las
medidas angulares con las lineales. Las necesidades de ese tipo de clculos es muy frecuente
en Astronoma.