De maximis et minimis, geometrica divinatio : in qvintvm Conicorvm Apollonii Pergaei

Buch

First edition of Viviani's interpretation of Book V of the conics of Apollonius of Perga.; Only the first four of the books of Apollonius' Conics have come down to us in the original Greek. Viviani here attempted a reconstruction of the important fifth book from hints supplied by other Greek mathematicians.; Book V is that which has particularly evoked the admiration of modern mathematicians: it deals with normals to conics, when drawn as maximum and minimum straight lines from particular points or sets of points to the curve. Apollonius finally proves, in effect, that there exists on either side of the axis of a conic a series of points from which one can draw only one normal to the opposite side of the curve, and shows how to construct such points: these points form the curve known, in modern terms, as the evolute of the conic in question. (DSB, p.187)

Object Details

• Alternative title: De maximis et minimis, geometrica divinatio : in quintum Conicorum Apollonii Pergaei
• Location: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte
• Identifier: Rara V859d
• Extent: [8 Bl.], 154 S. : Ill.
• Language: Latein

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Maxima and minima 511.66

Contributors, Places and Time

• Contributor: Viviani, Vincenzo (Autor)
• Published: Florence: Cocchini, 1659

Further information

• Last update: 31.05.2022, 1:44 PM CEST