Nicomedes (mathematician)
Nicomedes ( Greek : Νικομήδης; * around 280 BC; † around 210 BC) was a Greek mathematician who lived around the turn of the 3rd to the 2nd century BC.
Nicomedes introduced the so-called conchoid of Nicomedes (shell curve) , with the help of which he could solve geometric problems of antiquity . Nicomedes also dealt with squaring the circle .
No precise sources are available for the life data of Nicomedes. Nicomedes, however, refers in his writings to the work of Eratosthenes (~ 276/273 BC – 194 BC), according to which he must have lived around the same time as Eratosthenes or a little later. The designation of certain curves as conchoid-like in the traditions of Apollonios of Perge (~ 262 BC - 190 BC) can also be interpreted as a reference to Nicomedes work, from which it is derived that Apollonios around the same time like Nicomedes or something later must have lived.
Web links
- John J. O'Connor, Edmund F. Robertson : Nicomedes. In: MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nicomedes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek mathematician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 280 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 210 BC Chr. |