Gauss had been asked in to carry out a geodesic survey of the state of Hanover to link up with the existing Danish grid. Gauss was pleased to accept and took personal charge of the survey, making measurements during the day and reducing them at night, using his extraordinary mental capacity for calculations.
He regularly wrote to Schumacher, Olbers and Bessel , reporting on his progress and discussing problems. Because of the survey, Gauss invented the heliotrope which worked by reflecting the Sun's rays using a design of mirrors and a small telescope. However, inaccurate base lines were used for the survey and an unsatisfactory network of triangles. Gauss often wondered if he would have been better advised to have pursued some other occupation but he published over 70 papers between and From the early s Gauss had an interest in the question of the possible existence of a non-Euclidean geometry.
He discussed this topic at length with Farkas Bolyai and in his correspondence with Gerling and Schumacher. In a book review in he discussed proofs which deduced the axiom of parallels from the other Euclidean axioms, suggesting that he believed in the existence of non-Euclidean geometry, although he was rather vague. Gauss confided in Schumacher, telling him that he believed his reputation would suffer if he admitted in public that he believed in the existence of such a geometry.
Gauss replied to praise it would mean to praise myself. Again, a decade later, when he was informed of Lobachevsky 's work on the subject, he praised its "genuinely geometric" character, while in a letter to Schumacher in , states that he had the same convictions for 54 years indicating that he had known of the existence of a non-Euclidean geometry since he was 15 years of age this seems unlikely.
Gauss had a major interest in differential geometry , and published many papers on the subject. In fact, this paper rose from his geodesic interests, but it contained such geometrical ideas as Gaussian curvature. The period - was a particularly distressing time for Gauss. He took in his sick mother in , who stayed until her death in , while he was arguing with his wife and her family about whether they should go to Berlin.
He had been offered a position at Berlin University and Minna and her family were keen to move there. In Gauss's second wife died after a long illness.
Gauss had known Weber since and supported his appointment. These papers were based on Gauss's potential theory, which proved of great importance in his work on physics. He later came to believe his potential theory and his method of least squares provided vital links between science and nature.
In , Gauss and Weber began investigating the theory of terrestrial magnetism after Alexander von Humboldt attempted to obtain Gauss's assistance in making a grid of magnetic observation points around the Earth. These papers all dealt with the current theories on terrestrial magnetism, including Poisson 's ideas, absolute measure for magnetic force and an empirical definition of terrestrial magnetism.
Dirichlet 's principle was mentioned without proof. Gauss used the Laplace equation to aid him with his calculations, and ended up specifying a location for the magnetic South pole. Humboldt had devised a calendar for observations of magnetic declination. However, once Gauss's new magnetic observatory completed in - free of all magnetic metals had been built, he proceeded to alter many of Humboldt's procedures, not pleasing Humboldt greatly.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Art History U. History World History. Greatest Contributions to Mathematics In , when he was only 24, Carl Gauss published the monumental work entitled Disquisitiones Arithmeticae , which laid the foundation for the systemized study of number theory as a distinct discipline.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. In it Gauss recounted the work of his mathematical predecessors, but also corrected all errors and shortcomings he found and included his own new contributions to the subject. The treatise served as a foundational text in number theory throughout most of the 19th century. In , the asteroid Ceres had been discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, an astronomer from Italy. The discovery sparked the interest of the scientific community, but Ceres moved behind the sun before anyone was able to calculate its orbit very accurately.
As a result, no one knew where to look for the asteroid when it reemerged, though numerous scientists tried. Gauss was the first to succeed in the task, which required his use of the least squares method of approximation and an improved estimate of orbit shape.
When Gauss published his finding, he gained wide recognition and became sought after for his skills in astronomy. He turned down several offers to direct foreign observatories due to his loyalty to his German patron.
His research there led to the writing of a number of other works relating to astronomy. Gauss often directed his attention to projects he considered important for society, in addition to those that simply aroused his scientific interest. One such project was a thorough geodesic survey of the city of Hanover. The complex and tedious endeavor began in and was not completed until Published On 30 Apr This is his story: Prodigy Gauss was born in in Brunswick to poor, working-class parents.
His father was a gardener and regarded as an upright, honest man. However, he was known for being harsh and discouraging his son from attending school. By the age of 15, his reputation had reached the Duke of Brunswick, and in he granted him financial assistance to continue his education. More from News. Qatar has no plan to normalise ties with Syria: Foreign minister.
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