Kepler's Conjecture: How Some of the Greatest Minds in History Helped Solve One of the Oldest Math Problems in the World

by George G. Szpiro

Book Overview

The fascinating story of a problem that perplexed mathematicians for nearly 400 years In 1611, Johannes Kepler proposed that the best way to pack spheres as densely as possible was to pile them up in the same way that grocers stack oranges or tomatoes. This proposition, known as Kepler's Conjecture, seemed obvious to everyone except mathematicians, who seldom take anyone's word for anything. In the tradition of Fermat's Enigma, George Szpiro shows...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471086010
• ISBN13: 9780471086017
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.1"