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This portal is for the academic discipline of mathematics. For related portals of logic and statistics, please see portals: mathematics, logic, and statistics.
Mathematics, from the Greek: μαθηματικά or mathēmatiká, is the study of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions and of space configurations and their structure, measurement, transformations, and generalizations. It evolved through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning, from counting, calculation, measurement, and the systematic study of positions, shapes and motions of physical objects. Mathematicians explore such concepts, aiming to formulate new conjectures and establish their truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions.
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There are approximately 20595 mathematical articles in Wikipedia.
| 3D illustration of a stereographic projection from the north pole onto a plane below the sphere. |
In geometry, the stereographic projection is a particular mapping (function) that projects a sphere onto a plane. The projection is defined on the entire sphere, except at one point — the projection point. Where it is defined, the mapping is smooth and bijective. It is also conformal, meaning that it preserves angles. On the other hand, it does not preserve area, especially near the projection point.
Intuitively, then, the stereographic projection is a way of picturing the sphere as the plane, with some inevitable compromises. Because the sphere and the plane appear in many areas of mathematics and its applications, so does the stereographic projection; it finds use in diverse fields including differential geometry, complex analysis, cartography, geology, and crystallography.
| ...Archive | Image credit: Mark Howison | Read more... |
The Pythagoras tree is a plane fractal constructed from squares. It is named after Pythagoras because each triple of touching squares encloses in a configuration traditionally used to depict the Pythagorean theorem. This one has been specially coloured to give a more tree like and more 3 dimensional appearance.
- ...that a nonconvex polygon with three convex vertices is called a pseudotriangle?
- ...that it is possible for a three dimensional figure to have a finite volume but infinite surface area? An example of this is Gabriel's Horn.
- ... that as the dimension of a hypersphere tends to infinity, its "volume" (content) tends to 0?
- ...that the primality of a number can be determined using only a single division using Wilson's Theorem?
- ...that the line separating the numerator and denominator of a fraction is called a solidus if written as a diagonal line or a vinculum if written as a horizontal line?
- ...that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type the complete works of William Shakespeare?
- ...that outstanding mathematician Grigori Perelman was offered a Fields Medal in 2006, in part for his proof of the Poincaré conjecture, which he declined?
- ...that a regular heptagon is the regular polygon with the fewest number of sides which is not constructible with a compass and straightedge?
- ...that the Gudermannian function relates the regular trigonometric functions and the hyperbolic trigonometric functions without the use of complex numbers?
| Showing 9 items out of 21 | More did you know |
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