MATHEMATICS

Sabtu, 22 Januari 2011

Relation between Phi and Pi

$$\phi = \frac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}= 2\cos {\frac{ \pi}{5} }$$
$$\pi = 5 \arccos \frac{\phi}{2}$$
( Who can improve on Euler's identity by adding $\phi$ to it in an elegant fashion? )

I watched the BBC Horizon documentary "What is Reality?" The constants in physics seem nothing more than carpets to stash away the dust, i.e. stuff we don't understand  yet. It looks as though there are no beautiful equations in physics: physicists make them look beautiful by creating all sorts of constants. - Forgive my ignorance, my knowledge of physics is limited. But when I heard the lead scientist of Fermilab explaining that they don't know -what mass is- I was flabbergasted. They "need to find the Higgs-boson particle" first. Then he talked about the pure ecstasy and euphoria he experienced when they found the last quark. They are completely obsessed by a particle that may not exist, they look and live like heroin-addicts, caring about one thing only: Higgs-boson. - ( Forgive me, I am jealous! )

Back to mathematics. What are the fundamental constants in mathematics? I am not sure. I suppose Euler's Identity is an excellent start with 1, 0, i, $e$ and $\pi$. Given a URM, then $e$ and $\pi$ become 'computable' to any decimal precision. So in that sense one might argue that $e$ and $\pi$ are not fundamental constants. 0 and 1 are, of course. Because they are part of the definition of a URM, think of the zero and successor instructions. But what about geometry? In geometry $\pi$ is a constant: the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

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