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  • © 2016

The Universe of Conics

From the ancient Greeks to 21st century developments

  • Clarifies different approaches to conics
  • Enriches understanding of a classical subject with a strong visual component
  • Maximizes readers' insight into differential and projective geometry and into kinematics
  • Broadens your understanding of geometry as a whole
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introduction

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 1-10
  3. Euclidean plane

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 11-60
  4. Differential Geometry

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 61-126
  5. Euclidean 3-space

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 127-176
  6. Projective Geometry

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 177-216
  7. Projective conics

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 217-258
  8. Polarities and pencils

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 259-350
  9. Affine Geometry

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 351-374
  10. Special problems

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 375-434
  11. Other geometries

    • Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal
    Pages 435-479
  12. Back Matter

    Pages 480-488

About this book

This text presents the classical theory of conics in a modern form. It includes many novel results that are not easily accessible elsewhere. The approach combines synthetic and analytic methods to derive projective, affine and metrical properties, covering both Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries.

With more than two thousand years of history, conic sections play a fundamental role in numerous fields of mathematics and physics, with applications to mechanical engineering, architecture, astronomy, design and computer graphics.

This text will be invaluable to undergraduate mathematics students, those in adjacent fields of study, and anyone with an interest in classical geometry.

Augmented with more than three hundred fifty figures and photographs, this innovative text will enhance your understanding of projective geometry, linear algebra, mechanics, and differential geometry, with careful exposition and many illustrative exercises.

Reviews

“The hundreds of meticulously crafted and beautifully rendered figures … form the most attractive component of the book. … ‘The book has been written for people who love geometry and it is mainly based on figures and synthetic conclusions rather than on pure analytic calculations. In many proofs, illustrations help to explain ideas and to support the argumentation, and in a few cases, the picture can display a theorem at a glance together with its proof.’” (Tushar Das, MAA Reviews, maa.org, March, 2017)

“The main purpose of the book under review is to present definitions, main properties and applications of conics from different complementary viewpoints. … It is written primarily for a general–undergraduate–public … . the figures deserve a special mention: on one hand they help to explain the proofs and on the other they show the beautyof geometry and the elegance of mathematics.” (Roberto Muñoz, Mathematical Reviews, January, 2017)

“‘The universe of conics’ covers the most important properties of conics in an attempt to preserve at least parts of the knowledge that was accumulated over the last two millenia. … ‘The universe of conics’ is a must read for all who still speak geometry as well as for those who would like to learn this ancient language.” (Franz Lemmermeyer, zbMATH 1354.51001, 2017)


“This book is an innovative, masterful presentation of conic sections in both Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries. It is beautifully illustrated with more than 360 full-color figures and photographs. … The text will interest both beginning students and readers with a strong mathematical background. The book concludes with a list of 70 references. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers and faculty; professionals and practitioners.” (D. P. Turner, Choice, Vol. 54 (3), November, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Geometry, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Georg Glaeser, Boris Odehnal

  • Inst. of Disc. Mathematics and Geometry, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Hellmuth Stachel

About the authors

Hellmuth Stachel, born 1942, got his PhD and habilitation in geometry in Graz. 1978 full professor at the Mining University Leoben, 1980-2011 full professor of geometry at the Vienna University of Technology.

Coauthor of several books on mathematics and computational geometry and of more than 120 articles on geometry.

Georg Glaeser, born 1955, got his PhD and habilitation in geometry at the Vienna University of Technology. Since 1998 full professor of geometry at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Author and coauthor of more than a dozen books on geometry, mathematics, computational geometry, computer graphics, and photography.

Boris Odehnal, born 1973, got his PhD and habilitation in geometry at the Vienna University of Technology. 2011-2012 professor at the Dresden University of Technology, since 2012 lecturer of geometry at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Author of several dozens of publications on geometry.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Universe of Conics

  • Book Subtitle: From the ancient Greeks to 21st century developments

  • Authors: Georg Glaeser, Hellmuth Stachel, Boris Odehnal

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45450-3

  • Publisher: Springer Spektrum Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-662-45449-7Published: 01 April 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-662-56881-1Published: 25 April 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-662-45450-3Published: 22 March 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 488

  • Number of Illustrations: 350 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Geometry, Applications of Mathematics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access