The Library
Square root approximations in Old Babylonian mathematics: YBC 7289 in context
Tools
Tools
Tools
UNSPECIFIED (1998) Square root approximations in Old Babylonian mathematics: YBC 7289 in context. HISTORIA MATHEMATICA, 25 (4). pp. 366-378. ISSN 0315-0860
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
We consider several aspects of the role and evaluation of the four-sexagesimal-place approximation to root 2 on the well-known Old Babylonian tablet YBC 7289. By referring to what is known about OB school texts, we show that this text is most probably a school exercise by a trainee scribe who got the approximation from a coefficient list. These coefficient lists are briefly described, with their use in geometrical problems. We consider other texts involving square roots and derive an algorithm for evaluating them, which complies with all known OB examples, from a simple geometrical construction of the type that seems to underlie many other OB procedures. (C) Academic Press.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science Q Science > QA Mathematics |
| Journal or Publication Title: | HISTORIA MATHEMATICA |
| Publisher: | ACADEMIC PRESS INC |
| ISSN: | 0315-0860 |
| Date: | November 1998 |
| Volume: | 25 |
| Number: | 4 |
| Number of Pages: | 13 |
| Page Range: | pp. 366-378 |
| Publication Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/15003 |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
