Famous problems of elementary geometry: the duplication of the cube, the trisection of an angle, the quadrature of the circle: an authorized translation of F. Klein’s Vorträge

Felix Klein9781407602769, 1407602764

Widely regarded as a classic of modern mathematics, this expanded version of Felix Klein’s celebrated 1894 lectures uses contemporary techniques to examine three famous problems of antiquity: doubling the volume of a cube, trisecting an angle, and squaring a circle. Today’s students will find this volume of particular interest in its answers to such questions as: Under what circumstances is a geometric construction possible? By what means can a geometric construction be effected? What are transcendental numbers, and how can you prove that e and pi are transcendental? The straightforward treatment requires no higher knowledge of mathematics. Unabridged reprint of the classic 1930 second edition.