For more information about this meeting, contact Victoria Sadovskaya, Flossie Dunlop, Mari Royer.
| Title: | Mathematics through physics |
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| Seminar: | MASS Colloquium |
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| Speaker: | Mark Levi, Penn State University |
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| Abstract: |
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| Physics often provides mathematics not only with a problem, but sometimes also with the idea of a solution.
Some calculus problems can be solved by a physical argument more quickly and easily than by the "standard"
approach used in college courses. This simplification can be quite striking in some cases.
Quite a few theorems which may seem somewhat mysterious become completely obvious when
interpreted physically (the trick is to find a suitable interpretation). This is the case for some “elementary” theorems
(the Pythagorean Theorem, Pappus' theorems, some trig identities (e.g., cos(x+y)=..., Euler's famous formula
V-E+F=2, and more) and for some less elementary ones (no familiarity with any of these is
assumed): Green's theorem, the Riemann Mapping Theorem, the Gauss-Bonnet
theorem, Noether's theorem on conserved quantities, Poincare integral invariance, and more.
I will describe a miscellaneous sampling of problems according to the audience's preferences. |
Room Reservation Information
| Room Number: | MB114 |
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| Date: | 09 / 05 / 2013 |
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| Time: | 01:25pm - 02:25pm |
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