TrigonometryTrigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and ratios of lengths. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. The Greeks focused on the calculation of chords, while mathematicians in India created the earliest-known tables of values for trigonometric ratios (also called trigonometric functions) such as sine. Throughout history, trigonometry has been applied in areas such as geodesy, surveying, celestial mechanics, and navigation.
Approximations of πApproximations for the mathematical constant pi (pi) in the history of mathematics reached an accuracy within 0.04% of the true value before the beginning of the Common Era. In Chinese mathematics, this was improved to approximations correct to what corresponds to about seven decimal digits by the 5th century. Further progress was not made until the 15th century (through the efforts of Jamshīd al-Kāshī).
Adriaan van RoomenAdriaan van Roomen (29 September 1561 – 4 May 1615), also known as Adrianus Romanus, was a mathematician, professor of medicine and medical astronomer from the Duchy of Brabant in the Habsburg Netherlands who was active throughout Central Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. As a mathematician he worked in algebra, trigonometry and geometry; and on the decimal expansion of π. He solved the Problem of Apollonius using a new method that involved intersecting hyperbolas. He also wrote on the Gregorian calendar reform.
Scientific RevolutionThe Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transformed the views of society about nature. The Scientific Revolution took place in Europe in the second half of the Renaissance period, with the 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus publication De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) often cited as its beginning.
RegiomontanusJohannes Müller von Königsberg (6 June 1436 – 6 July 1476), better known as Regiomontanus (ˌriːdʒioʊmɒnˈteɪnəs), was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance, active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrumental in the development of Copernican heliocentrism in the decades following his death. Regiomontanus wrote under the Latinized name of Ioannes de Monteregio (or Monte Regio; Regio Monte); the toponym Regiomontanus was first used by Philipp Melanchthon in 1534.
CoefficientIn mathematics, a coefficient is a multiplicative factor involved in some term of a polynomial, a series, or an expression. It may be a number (dimensionless), in which case it is known as a numerical factor. It may also be a constant with units of measurement, in which it is known as a constant multiplier. In general, coefficients may be any expression (including variables such as a, b and c). When the combination of variables and constants is not necessarily involved in a product, it may be called a parameter.