67 research outputs found
How Ordinary Elimination Became Gaussian Elimination
Newton, in notes that he would rather not have seen published, described a
process for solving simultaneous equations that later authors applied
specifically to linear equations. This method that Euler did not recommend,
that Legendre called "ordinary," and that Gauss called "common" - is now named
after Gauss: "Gaussian" elimination. Gauss's name became associated with
elimination through the adoption, by professional computers, of a specialized
notation that Gauss devised for his own least squares calculations. The
notation allowed elimination to be viewed as a sequence of arithmetic
operations that were repeatedly optimized for hand computing and eventually
were described by matrices.Comment: 56 pages, 21 figures, 1 tabl
The Edinburgh Mathematical Laboratory and Edmund Taylor Whittaker's role in the early development of numerical analysis in Britain
In 1912, Edmund Taylor Whittaker (1873-1956) was appointed to the Chair of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. The following year he opened the Edinburgh Mathematical Laboratory. The purpose of the Laboratory was practical instruction in topics which are now classed together as numerical analysis.
In this article I explore the inspiration, purpose, and impact of the Laboratory in the context of early 20th century British applied mathematics
- …