The Poincar茅 Conjecture
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Poincar茅 Conjecture, a puzzle that may explain the shape of the universe.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Poincar茅 Conjecture. The great French mathematician Henri Poincar茅 declared: 鈥淭he scientist does not study mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing and life would not be worth living. And it is because simplicity, because grandeur, is beautiful that we preferably seek simple facts, sublime facts, and that we delight now to follow the majestic course of the stars.鈥 Poincar茅鈥檚 ground-breaking work in the 19th and early 20th century has indeed led us to the stars and the consideration of the shape of the universe itself. He is known as the father of topology 鈥 the study of the properties of shapes and how they can be deformed. His famous Conjecture in this field has been causing mathematicians sleepless nights ever since. He is also credited as the Father of Chaos Theory.So how did this great polymath change the way we understand the world and indeed the universe? Why did his conjecture remain unproved for almost a century? And has it finally been cracked?With June Barrow-Green, Lecturer in the History of Mathematics at the Open University; Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick; Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 2 Nov 2006 09:00成人快手 Radio 4
- Thu 2 Nov 2006 21:30成人快手 Radio 4
Featured in...
20th Century—In Our Time
Browse the 20th Century era within the In Our Time archive.
19th Century—In Our Time
Browse the 19th Century era within the In Our Time archive.
Science—In Our Time
Scientific principles, theory, and the role of key figures in the advancement of science.
In Our Time podcasts
Download programmes from the huge In Our Time archive.
The In Our Time Listeners' Top 10
If you鈥檙e new to In Our Time, this is a good place to start.
Arts and Ideas podcast
Download the best of Radio 3's Free Thinking programme.
Podcast
-
In Our Time
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.