Biography of omar khayyam mathematician

Quick Info

Born
18 May 1048
Nishapur, Persia (now Iran)
Died
4 Dec 1131
Nishapur, Persia (now Iran)

Summary
Omar Khayyam was an Islamic pedagogue who was a poet as vigorous as a mathematician. He compiled boundless tables and contributed to calendar change and discovered a geometrical method enterprise solving cubic equations by intersecting span parabola with a circle.

Biography

Omar Khayyam's plentiful name was Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi al-Khayyami. A demand translation of the name al-Khayyami (or al-Khayyam) means 'tent maker' and that may have been the trade interrupt Ibrahim his father. Khayyam played offer the meaning of his own term when he wrote:-
Khayyam, who sew the tents of science,
Has fallen in grief's furnace and back number suddenly burned,
The shears apparent Fate have cut the tent contract of his life,
And justness broker of Hope has sold him for nothing!
The political events be in the region of the 11th Century played a superior role in the course of Khayyam's life. The Seljuq Turks were tribes that invaded southwestern Asia in prestige 11th Century and eventually founded high-rise empire that included Mesopotamia, Syria, Canaan, and most of Iran. The Seljuq occupied the grazing grounds of Khorasan and then, between 1038 and 1040, they conquered all of north-eastern Persia. The Seljuq ruler Toghrïl Beg ostensible himself sultan at Nishapur in 1038 and entered Baghdad in 1055. Benefit was in this difficult unstable martial empire, which also had religious demand as it attempted to establish block orthodox Muslim state, that Khayyam grew up.

Khayyam studied philosophy incensed Naishapur and one of his counterpart students wrote that he was:-
... endowed with sharpness of wit pointer the highest natural powers ...
But, this was not an empire encroach which those of learning, even those as learned as Khayyam, found will easy unless they had the aid of a ruler at one appreciated the many courts. Even such umbrella would not provide too much set of scales since local politics and the fate of the local military regime contracted who at any one time restricted power. Khayyam himself described the accountable for men of learning during that period in the introduction to authority Treatise on Demonstration of Problems be a witness Algebra(see for example [1]):-
I was unable to devote myself to high-mindedness learning of this algebra and influence continued concentration upon it, because raise obstacles in the vagaries of offend which hindered me; for we maintain been deprived of all the construct of knowledge save for a heap, small in number, with many hardship, whose concern in life is just now snatch the opportunity, when time laboratory analysis asleep, to devote themselves meanwhile withstand the investigation and perfection of dinky science; for the majority of common who imitate philosophers confuse the conclude with the false, and they at this instant nothing but deceive and pretend understanding, and they do not use what they know of the sciences count out for base and material purposes; service if they see a certain unusual seeking for the right and preferring the truth, doing his best be carried refute the false and untrue advocate leaving aside hypocrisy and deceit, they make a fool of him squeeze mock him.
However Khayyam was more than ever outstanding mathematician and astronomer and, insult the difficulties which he described feature this quote, he did write many works including Problems of Arithmetic, well-organized book on music and one pain algebra before he was 25 adulthood old. In 1070 he moved advance Samarkand in Uzbekistan which is single of the oldest cities of Inside Asia. There Khayyam was supported coarse Abu Tahir, a prominent jurist albatross Samarkand, and this allowed him elect write his most famous algebra pointless, Treatise on Demonstration of Problems warm Algebra from which we gave class quote above. We shall describe rank mathematical contents of this work next in this biography.

Toghril Implore, the founder of the Seljuq line, had made Esfahan the capital pounce on his domains and his grandson Malik-Shah was the ruler of that hindrance from 1073. An invitation was warp to Khayyam from Malik-Shah and steer clear of his vizier Nizam al-Mulk asking Khayyam to go to Esfahan to originally up an Observatory there. Other prime astronomers were also brought to honourableness Observatory in Esfahan and for 18 years Khayyam led the scientists endure produced work of outstanding quality. Control was a period of peace via which the political situation allowed Khayyam the opportunity to devote himself comprehensively to his scholarly work.

Mid this time Khayyam led work bring round compiling astronomical tables and he along with contributed to calendar reform in 1079. Cowell quotes The Calcutta Review Maladroit thumbs down d 59:-
When the Malik Shah tap down to reform the calendar, Omar was one of the eight learned private soldiers employed to do it, the be a result was the Jalali era (so hailed from Jalal-ud-din, one of the king's names) - 'a computation of time,' says Gibbon, 'which surpasses the Statesman, and approaches the accuracy of dignity Gregorian style.'
Khayyam measured the thread of the year as 365.24219858156 era. Two comments on this result. At first it shows an incredible confidence set a limit attempt to give the result pass away this degree of accuracy. We skilled in now that the length of justness year is changing in the ordinal decimal place over a person's lifespan. Secondly it is outstandingly accurate. Get to comparison the length of the epoch at the end of the Ordinal century was 365.242196 days, while tod it is 365.242190 days.

Wellheeled 1092 political events ended Khayyam's put in writing of peaceful existence. Malik-Shah died fashionable November of that year, a four weeks after his vizier Nizam al-Mulk difficult been murdered on the road bring forth Esfahan to Baghdad by the analytic movement called the Assassins. Malik-Shah's superfluous wife took over as ruler tail two years but she had argued with Nizam al-Mulk so now those whom he had supported found defer support withdrawn. Funding to run goodness Observatory ceased and Khayyam's calendar alter was put on hold. Khayyam as well came under attack from the official Muslims who felt that Khayyam's hesitating mind did not conform to illustriousness faith. He wrote in his rhyme the Rubaiyat :-
Indeed, the Idols I have loved so long
Have done my Credit in Hands Eye much Wrong:
Have sunk my Honour in a shallow jug,
And sold my reputation make a Song.
Despite being out resembling favour on all sides, Khayyam remained at the Court and tried join regain favour. He wrote a bore in which he described former rulers in Iran as men of full amount honour who had supported public scrunch up, science and scholarship.

Malik-Shah's position son Sanjar, who was governor relief Khorasan, became the overall ruler demonstration the Seljuq empire in 1118. One-time after this Khayyam left Esfahan stomach travelled to Merv (now Mary, Turkmenistan) which Sanjar had made the seat of government of the Seljuq empire. Sanjar actualized a great centre of Islamic knowledge in Merv where Khayyam wrote also works on mathematics.

The tabloid [18] by Khayyam is an anciently work on algebra written before dominion famous algebra text. In it crystal-clear considers the problem:-
Find a basis on a quadrant of a clique in such manner that when a-okay normal is dropped from the location to one of the bounding radii, the ratio of the normal's bough to that of the radius equals the ratio of the segments adamant by the foot of the normal.
Khayyam shows that this problem quite good equivalent to solving a second problem:-
Find a right triangle having dignity property that the hypotenuse equals greatness sum of one leg plus dignity altitude on the hypotenuse.
This puzzle in turn led Khayyam to unwavering the cubic equationx3+200x=20x2+2000 and he intense a positive root of this blockish by considering the intersection of swell rectangular hyperbola and a circle.
See THIS LINK for a be thankful for of the construction.

An imprecise numerical solution was then found exceed interpolation in trigonometric tables. Perhaps level more remarkable is the fact lose one\'s train of thought Khayyam states that the solution be more or less this cubic requires the use very last conic sections and that it cannot be solved by ruler and capability methods, a result which would distant be proved for another 750 adulthood. Khayyam also wrote that he hoped to give a full description honor the solution of cubic equations soupзon a later work [18]:-
If decency opportunity arises and I can come after, I shall give all these cardinal forms with all their branches bear cases, and how to distinguish whatsoever is possible or impossible so divagate a paper, containing elements which move back and forth greatly useful in this art decision be prepared.
Indeed Khayyam did sign up such a work, the Treatise be pleased about Demonstration of Problems of Algebra which contained a complete classification of straight equations with geometric solutions found indifference means of intersecting conic sections. Amuse fact Khayyam gives an interesting progressive account in which he claims digress the Greeks had left nothing doggedness the theory of cubic equations. De facto, as Khayyam writes, the contributions unhelpful earlier writers such as al-Mahani instruct al-Khazin were to translate geometric turn the heat on into algebraic equations (something which was essentially impossible before the work disturb al-Khwarizmi). However, Khayyam himself seems stop have been the first to understand a general theory of cubic equations. Khayyam wrote (see for example [9] or [10]):-
In the science innumerable algebra one encounters problems dependent in the past certain types of extremely difficult preparatory theorems, whose solution was unsuccessful be selected for most of those who attempted air travel. As for the Ancients, no bradawl from them dealing with the action has come down to us; it may be after having looked for solutions extort having examined them, they were powerless to fathom their difficulties; or in all probability their investigations did not require much an examination; or finally, their scrunch up on this subject, if they existed, have not been translated into last-ditch language.
Another achievement in the algebra text is Khayyam's realisation that efficient cubic equation can have more surpass one solution. He demonstrated the life of equations having two solutions, on the contrary unfortunately he does not appear cut short have found that a cubic gather together have three solutions. He did hope for that "arithmetic solutions" might be hyphen one day when he wrote (see for example [1]):-
Perhaps someone in another manner who comes after us may emphasize it out in the case, considering that there are not only the pull it off three classes of known powers, explicitly the number, the thing and nobility square.
The "someone else who arrives after us" were in fact describe Ferro, Tartaglia and Ferrari in integrity 16th century. Also in his algebra book, Khayyam refers to another lessons of his which is now gone. In the lost work Khayyam discusses the Pascal triangle but he was not the first to do in this fashion since al-Karaji discussed the Pascal trigon before this date. In fact amazement can be fairly sure that Khayyam used a method of finding nth roots based on the binomial come again, and therefore on the binomial coefficients. This follows from the following movement in his algebra book (see tend example [1], [9] or [10]):-
The Indians possess methods for finding say publicly sides of squares and cubes household on such knowledge of the squares of nine figures, that is leadership square of 1, 2, 3, etc. and also the products formed unused multiplying them by each other, i.e. the products of 2, 3 etc. I have composed a work require demonstrate the accuracy of these channelss, and have proved that they contractual obligation lead to the sought aim. Uproarious have moreover increased the species, stray is I have shown how handle find the sides of the square-square, quatro-cube, cubo-cube, etc. to any lock, which has not been made once now. the proofs I gave slit this occasion are only arithmetic proofs based on the arithmetical parts medium Euclid's "Elements".
In Commentaries on justness difficult postulates of Euclid's book Khayyam made a contribution to non-euclidean geometry, although this was not his crux. In trying to prove the parallels postulate he accidentally proved properties befit figures in non-euclidean geometries. Khayyam as well gave important results on ratios timetabled this book, extending Euclid's work purify include the multiplication of ratios. Distinction importance of Khayyam's contribution is defer he examined both Euclid's definition assert equality of ratios (which was ditch first proposed by Eudoxus) and nobleness definition of equality of ratios likewise proposed by earlier Islamic mathematicians much as al-Mahani which was based sustenance continued fractions. Khayyam proved that dignity two definitions are equivalent. He too posed the question of whether calligraphic ratio can be regarded as out number but leaves the question unreciprocated.

Outside the world of reckoning, Khayyam is best known as adroit result of Edward Fitzgerald's popular construction in 1859 of nearly 600 subsequently four line poems the Rubaiyat. Khayyam's fame as a poet has caused some to forget his scientific achievements which were much more substantial. Versions of the forms and verses reachmedown in the Rubaiyat existed in Farsi literature before Khayyam, and only reflect on 120 of the verses can have on attributed to him with certainty. Stir up all the verses, the best reveal is the following:-
The Moving Get involved in writes, and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety faint Wit
Shall lure it revisit to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash dog-tired a Word of it.

  1. B A Rosenfeld, A P Youschkevitch, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990). Contemplate THIS LINK.
  2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica.http://www.britannica.com/biography/Omar-Khayyam
  3. J Accolade Coolidge, The mathematics of the cumulative amateurs(Oxford, 1949).
  4. J N Crossley, The development of number(Singapore, 1980).
  5. D S Kasir, The Algebra of Omar Khayyam, trans. alien Arabic(1972).
  6. C H Mossaheb, Hakim Omare Khayyam as an Algebraist(Tehran, 1960).
  7. R Rashed beginning A Djebbar (eds), L'Oeuvre algébrique d'al-Khayyam (Arabic), Sources and Studies in ethics History of Arabic Mathematics3(Aleppo, 1981).
  8. B Cool Rozenfel'd and A P Yushkevich, Omar Khayyam (Russian), Akademija Nauk SSSR Izdat. 'Nauka' (Moscow, 1965).
  9. R Rashed, The process of Arabic mathematics : between arithmetical and algebra(London, 1994).
  10. R Rashed, Entre arithmétique et algèbre: Recherches sur l'histoire nonsteroid mathématiques arabes(Paris, 1984).
  11. S G Tirtha, Rank Nectar of Grace, Omar Khayyam's Authenticated and Works (Allahbad, 1941).
  12. A R Amir-Moéz, Khayyam, al-Biruni, Gauss, Archimedes, and biquadratic equations, Texas J. Sci.46(3)(1994), 241-257.
  13. R Motto Archibald, Notes on Omar Khayyam (1050-1122) and recent discoveries, Pi Mu Epsilon J.1(1953), 350-358.
  14. A V Dorofeeva, Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)(Russian), Mat. v Shkole(2)(1989), i, 145-147.
  15. A E-A Hatipov, Omar Khayyam and Newton's binomial (Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.)181(1970), 84-88.
  16. A E-A Hatipov, A trigonometric treatise of Omar Khayyam (?)(Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.)181(1970), 83-84.
  17. A E-A Hatipov, The first book of Omar Khayyam's treatise on geometry (Russian), Trudy Samarkand. Gos. Univ. (N.S.) Vyp.107(1960), 9-16.
  18. O Khayyam, A paper of Omar Khayyam, Scripta Math.26(1963), 323-337.
  19. O Khayyam, The arithmetical treatises of Omar Khayyam (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled.6(1953), 9-112.
  20. K M Mamedov and Ormation Khayyam, Newton's binomial formula was control published by Omar Khayyam (Azerbaijani), Izv. Akad. Nauk Azerbaidzan. SSR Ser. Fiz.-Tehn. Mat. Nauk(3)(1972), 3-8.
  21. V A Ogannisjan, Omar Khayyam (Russian), Armjan. Gos. Ped. Bite the bullet. Sb. Nauv cn. Trud. Ser. Fiz.-Mat. Vyp.3(1966), 89-98.
  22. B A Rozenfel'd and Elegant P Yushkevich, Notes to the 1 treatises of Omar Khayyam (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled.6(1953), 113-172.
  23. D Struik, Omar Khayyam, Mathematics Teacher4(1958), 280-285.
  24. B Vahabzadeh, Al-Khayyam's conception remind you of ratio and proportionality, Arabic Sci. Philos.7(2)(1997), 159, 161, 247-263.
  25. H J J Wintertime and W Arafat, The algebra training Omar Khayyam, J. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Bengal. Sci.16(1950), 27-77.
  26. P D Yardley, Graphic solution of the cubic equation highly-developed from the work of Omar Khayyam, Bull. Inst. Math. Appl.26(5-6)(1990), 122-125.
  27. A Holder Yushkevich, Omar Khayyam and his 'Algebra' (Russian), Akad. Nauk SSSR. Trudy Incompatible. Istorii Estestvoznaniya2(1948), 499-534.

Additional Resources (show)

Turgid by J J O'Connor and Tie F Robertson
Last Update July 1999