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When Least Is Best : How Mathematicians Discovered Many Clever Ways to Make Things as Small (or as Large) as Possible /

What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? What will rainbows look like in the future? Why do soap bubbles have a shape that gives them the least area? By combining...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Nahin, Paul J. (Autor)
Formato: Electrónico eBook
Idioma:Inglés
Publicado: Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2007.
Colección:Book collections on Project MUSE.
Temas:
Acceso en línea:Texto completo
Descripción
Sumario:What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? What will rainbows look like in the future? Why do soap bubbles have a shape that gives them the least area? By combining the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples, Paul J. Nahin answers these intriguing questions and more in this engaging and witty volume. He shows how life often works at the extremes--with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible.
Notas:"First paperback printing, with a new preface by the author, 2007."
Descripción Física:1 online resource: illustrations
ISBN:9781400841363