Euclidean geometry and physical space

DOI10.1007/BF02987157MaRDI QIDQ1002123zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors David E. Rowe

Publication date 24 February 2009

Published in The Mathematical Intelligencer (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02987157

zbMATH Keywords

Euclidean geometryGauss' intrinsic geometry of surfacesHilbert's foundations of geometryNewton's ``Principianon-Euclidean geometryphysical spaceRiemann's foundations of geometryspherical geometry

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to history and biography (01-01) History of mathematics in the 20th century (01A60) History of geometry (51-03) History of differential geometry (53-03) History of mathematics education (97-03)

Review text

The first sentence of the essay reads: ``It takes a good deal of historical imagination to picture the kinds of debates that accompanied the slow process which ultimately led to the acceptance of non-Euclidean geometry a little more than a century ago. In the introduction, among others, the correspondence between Gottlieb Frege and David Hilbert (from the beginning of the 20th century) about foundations of geometry is reported. The titles of the subsequent sections are: Gauss, Measurement and the Pythagorean Theorem; Euclidean Traditions and ``anschauliche Geometrie; What about Spherical Geometry? On the Shoulders of Ancient Giants; Gauss and the Intrinsic Geometry of Surfaces; Slow Acceptance of the Non-Euclidean Geometry. In particular, in the second section (``Euclidean Traditions \dots), the book by D. Hilbert and S. Cohn-Vossen [``Geometry and Imagination, Chelsea, New York, (1965)] is reminded as well as the drama by L. Carroll (Ch. Dodgson) [``Euclid and His Modern Rivals, Macmillan, London, 1885; repr. Dover, New York, (1972)]. In the last section ``Slow Acceptance \dots there is pointed out the significance of the Bernhard Riemann's lecture on the foundations of geometry, delivered in Göttingen in 1853, cf. B. Riemann [Abhandlungen der Kgl. Gesselschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen 13, 133-152 (1867)]. The concluding sentence of the essay reads: ``Still [after publication of the Riemann's paper (quoted above)] ``it would take several more years before non-Euclidean geometry found widespread acceptance among mathematicians, many of them remained convinced that Euclid still reigned supreme.

Recommendations

• Thinking the unthinkable. The reception of non-Euclidean geometry in the German-speaking countries (1860--1900)
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Cites work

• David Hilbert and the axiomatization of physics (1898--1918). From Grundlagen der Geometrie to Grundlagen der Physik.
• Gauss
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• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3074559 (Why is no real title available?)
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Cited in

(4)

• Thinking the unthinkable. The reception of non-Euclidean geometry in the German-speaking countries (1860--1900)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1087326 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2135345 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2191814 (Why is no real title available?)

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