Nicomedes (mathematician)
Nicomedes (/ˌnɪkəˈmiːdiːz/; Greek: Νικομήδης; c. 280 – c. 210 BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician.
Life and work
Almost nothing is known about Nicomedes' life apart from references in his works. Studies have stated that Nicomedes was born in about 280 BC and died in about 210 BC. It is known that he lived around the time of Eratosthenes or after, because he criticized Eratosthenes' method of doubling the cube. It is also known that Apollonius of Perga called a curve of his creation a "sister of the conchoid", suggesting that he was naming it after Nicomedes' already famous curve. Consequently, it is believed that Nicomedes lived after Eratosthenes and before Apollonius of Perga.
Like many geometers of the time, Nicomedes was engaged in trying to solve the problems of doubling the cube and
Nicomedes also used the
Citations and footnotes
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 826–827.
- ^ a b c Heath (1921)
References
- T. L. Heath, A History of Greek Mathematics (2 Vols.) (Oxford, 1921).
- G. J. Toomer, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York 1970–1990).