Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Work
Michael P. Saclolo, Ph.D.
St. Edwards University
Austin, Texas
Pronunciation
Euler = Oiler
Leonhard Euler
Lisez Euler, lisez Euler, c'est notre matre
tous.
-- Pierre-Simon Laplace
Images of Euler
Academic Biography
Enrolled at University of Basel at age 14
Mentored by Johann Bernoulli
Studied mathematics, history, philosophy
(masters degree)
Academic Biography
Joined Johann Bernoullis sons in St.
Russia (St. Petersburg Academy-1727)
Lured into Berlin Academy (1741)
Went back to St. Petersburg in 1766
where he remained until his death
Religious
Mathematical Predecessors
Isaac Newton
Pierre de Fermat
Ren Descartes
Blaise Pascal
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Mathematical Successors
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
Augustin Louis Cauchy
Bernhard Riemann
Mathematical Contemporaries
Contemporaries: Non-mathematical
Voltaire
Candide
Academy of Sciences, Berlin
Benjamin Franklin
George Washington
Contributions to Mathematics
Calculus (Analysis)
Number Theoryproperties of the natural
numbers, primes.
Logarithms
Infinite Seriesinfinite sums of numbers
Analytic Number Theoryusing infinite
series, limits, calculus, to study
properties of numbers (such as primes)
Contributions to Mathematics
Complex Numbers
Algebraroots of polynomials,
factorizations of polynomials
Geometryproperties of circles, triangles,
circles inscribed in triangles.
Combinatoricscounting methods
Graph Theorynetworks
Other Contributions--Some
highlights
Mechanics
Motion of celestial bodies
Motion of rigid bodies
Propulsion of Ships
Optics
Fluid mechanics
Theory of Machines
a square pyramid?
Basel Problem
First posed in 1644 (Mengoli)
An example of an INFINITE SERIES
(infinite sum) that CONVERGES (has a
particular sum)
1 1 1
1
...
...
2
2
2
2
1 2 3
k
6
Then
p 4n 1
p a b
2
In a unique way
Example
5 4(1) 1 2 1
2
1 1 1 1 1
1
1 ... ...
2 3 5 7 11
p
i 1
...
1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
2
3
4
5
(
ix
)
(
ix
)
(
ix
)
(
ix
)
ix
e 1 ix
...
1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
2
3
4
5
x
ix
x
ix
ix
e 1 ix
...
1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
x
x
cos 1
...
1 2 1 2 3 4
3
x
x
sin x x
...
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
3
ix
ix
i sin x ix
...
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
x
ix
x
ix
e 1 ix
...
1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
ix
2
4
3
5
x
x
ix
ix
e ix 1
... ix
...
1 2 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5
e 1 0
e 1 (cos i sin ) 1
i
e 1 1 i 0 1
i
e 1 0
Euler Archive
http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~euler/
Eulers works in the original language (and
some translations)