Mathematical models: from sundials to number engines – for iPod/iPhone
by The Open University
March 26, 2010 4:03 pm
Since the dawn of civilisation, humans have used everyday materials to create mathematical models of the world around them. This album explores the ancient Greeks’ astrolabe as a model of the skies; the sundial, to tell the time; Babylonian clay tablets to record wages and trading of sheep; wooden tallies for bulk-buying beer, the Incas’ use of knots and string, and the sophisticated number-engine invented by Charles Babbage. This material forms part of The Open University course MST121 Using mathematics.
Recent Episodes
Mathematical models: from sundials to number engines
15 years agoTranscript -- Mathematical models: from sundials to number engines
15 years agoThe sundial as a mathematical model
15 years agoTranscript -- The sundial as a mathematical model
15 years agoReading the sky with the astrolabe
15 years agoTranscript -- Reading the sky with the astrolabe
15 years agoRecording sales in clay tablets
15 years agoTranscript -- Recording sales in clay tablets
15 years agoIncas and their knots
15 years agoTranscript -- Incas and their knots
15 years ago