Mathematical Contributions of Blaise Pascal :: Biography Biographies Essays

Mathematical Contributions of Blaise PascalIntroduction Blaise Pascal was innate(p) on June 19, 1623 in Clermont Ferrand. Hisnationality was french. He died in 1662. He was credited for his chimerical and subtle work in geometry and other branches of mathematics.His work influenced later generations of theologians and philosophers, share make mathematics what it is today. Blaise Pascal is considered partof the foundation of the very exertion of mathematics. History At epoch 12 he mastered Euclids Elements. In 1645, he invented andsold the first adding machine. His instruction of hydrostatics led to theinvention of the spray and hydraulic press. At age 16, he cultivateulated thebasic theorems of projective geometry. These theorems became cognize asPascals theorem. He proved that the level of mercury column in abarometer is determined by the increase or decrease in the surroundingatmospheric pressure. This discovery verified the hypothesis of the Italianphysicist Evangelista Torricelli, concerning the effect of atmosphericpressure on the equilibrium of liquids. After publishing hear pour les coniques (Essay on conic sections),Pascal temporarily abandoned the study of mathematics due to poor health.He lived in Paris for a while in a frivolous manner as a break. Hisinterest in probability theory of the odds in fun games lead him todiscover the Theory of probability in conjunction with capital of South Dakota de Fermat.This theory dealt with the actuarial, mathematical, social statistics, andcalculations used in todays modern theoretical physics. At the end of1654, after several months of depression, Pascal had a life reparationreligious experience. He entered the Jansenist monastery in Port Royal.Here, he never published his own name again in his mathematical studies. Hewrote a pseudonym to help in the struggle against the Jesuits for thedefense of the Jansenist, Antoine Arnauld. In 1658, he broke with theJanse nists, and left the monastery. Pascal died on August 19, 1662 fromcancer, at age 39. In his life, his most renowned work was perhaps Pensees(thoughts). This was a wad of deeply personal meditations in a somewhatfragmented form on human suffering and faith in God. Another famous workof his was called Pascals Wager. This expressed the conviction thatbelief in God is sharp-witted If God does not exist, one stands to lose