Leonhard Euler

Leonhard Euler was a renowned Swiss mathematician who lived in the 18th century. He made significant contributions to various fields of mathematics, such as algebra, calculus, geometry, and number theory. One of his most famous contributions was Euler's polyhedron formula, which relates the number of vertices, edges, and faces of a polyhedron.

Euler also introduced the concept of mathematical functions and notation that is still used today. He developed the Euler's identity, which involves complex numbers and the five most important mathematical constants: 0, 1, π, e, and i.

Euler's identity can be written as:

$$ \huge{e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0} $$

This beautifully compact equation links the five most important constants in mathematics:

• \( e \):   the base of natural logarithms,
• \( i \):   the imaginary unit (\(i^2 = -1\)),
• \( \pi \):   the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter,
• \( 1 \):   the multiplicative identity,
• \( 0 \):   the additive identity.

In addition, Euler worked on graph theory, inventing the concepts of Eulerian and Hamiltonian paths. These concepts are often explained in school mathematics as paths that visit each edge (Eulerian) or vertex (Hamiltonian) of a graph exactly once. His work laid the foundation for modern graph theory and its applications in computer science and various other fields.

Overall, Leonhard Euler is considered one of the greatest mathematicians in history, and his discoveries continue to influence mathematical thinking and research to this day.

Appreciate the work of Leonhard Euler by trying some of the maths that this mathematician is known for.

There is an activity called Faces, Edges and Vertices that you could try right now. Calculate the number of faces, edges and vertices on 3D Shapes.

So there's no better time than the present to learn some mathematics from the past: let's Go!

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