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Book Cover
E-book
Author Thompson, Anthony C., 1937-

Title Minkowski geometry / A.C. Thompson
Published Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1996

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Description 1 online resource (xvi, 346 pages) : illustrations
Series Encyclopedia of mathematics and its applications ; v. 63
Encyclopedia of mathematics and its applications ; v. 63.
Contents The algebraic properties of linear spaces and convex sets -- 1. Norms and norm topologies -- 2. Convex bodies -- 3. Comparisons and contrasts with Euclidean space -- 4. Two-dimensional Minkowski spaces -- 5. The concept of area and content -- 6. Special properties of the Holmes-Thompson definition -- 7. Special properties of the Busemann definition -- 8. Trigonometry -- 9. Various numerical parameters -- 10. Fifty problems
Summary Minkowski geometry is a non-Euclidean geometry in a finite number of dimensions that is different from elliptic and hyperbolic geometry (and from the Minkowskian geometry of spacetime). Here the linear structure is the same as the Euclidean one but distance is not "uniform" in all directions. Instead of the usual sphere in Euclidean space, the unit ball is a general symmetric convex set. Therefore, although the parallel axiom is valid, Pythagoras' theorem is not
This book begins by presenting the topological properties of Minkowski spaces, including the existence and essential uniqueness of Haar measure, followed by the fundamental metric properties - the group of isometries, the existence of certain bases and the existence of the Lowner ellipsoid. This is followed by characterizations of Euclidean space among normed spaces and a full treatment of two-dimensional spaces. The three central chapters present the theory of area and volume in normed spaces. The author describes the fascinating geometric interplay among the isoperimetrix (the convex body which solves the isoperimetric problem), the unit ball and their duals, and the ways in which various roles of the ball in Euclidean space are divided among them. The next chapter deals with trigonometry in Minkowski spaces and the last one takes a brief look at a number of numerical parameters associated with a normed space, including J.J
Schaffer's ideas on the intrinsic geometry of the unit sphere. Each chapter ends with a section of historical notes and the book ends with a list of 50 unsolved problems
. Minkowski Geometry will appeal to students and researchers interested in geometry, convexity theory and functional analysis
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-330) and indexes
Notes Print version record
Subject Minkowski geometry.
MATHEMATICS -- Geometry -- Analytic.
Minkowski geometry
Geometrie
Minkowski-Raum
Minkowski-ruimte.
Minkowski, Géométrie de.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781107088269
1107088267
9781107325845
1107325846