Ceva, Giovanni

Ceva, Giovanni

▪ Italian mathematician and engineer
born 1647/1648, Milan [Italy]
died 1734, Mantua [Italy]

      Italian mathematician, physicist, and hydraulic engineer best known for the geometric theorem bearing his name concerning straight lines that intersect at a common point when drawn through the vertices of a triangle.

      The details of Ceva's early life are known only through his correspondence and the prefaces to some of his works. He was educated in a Jesuit college in Milan and then at the University of Pisa, where the work of Galileo Galilei (Galileo) (1564–1642) and his followers on geometry and mechanics exerted a great influence on his education and research interests. He may have taught in Pisa during the time when he produced his first major work, De lineis rectis (1678; “Concerning Straight Lines”). In this work Ceva proved many geometrical propositions using the properties of the figures' centres of gravity (gravity, centre of). This work also contains his rediscovery of a version of a theorem of Menelaus of Alexandria (c. AD 70–130): Given any triangle ABC, with points R, S, T on sides AB, BC, and AC, respectively, the line segments CR, AS, and BT intersect in a single point if and only if

(AR/RB)(BS/SC)(AT/TC) = 1.
During this period he also wrote the four-volume Opuscula mathematica (1682; “Mathematical Essays”), an investigation of forces (including the resultant of many different forces and the parallelogram of forces), pendulum motion, and the behaviour of bodies in flowing water.

      By 1684 Ceva was appointed mathematician and superintendent of the waters of the Duchy of Mantua. (Although Mantua was annexed by Austria in 1707, Ceva retained this post for the rest of his life.) Having obtained a secure appointment, Ceva soon married, and a daughter was born to him in October 1685.

      Among the works Ceva produced after moving to Mantua are Geometria motus (1692; “The Geometry of Motion”), in which he applied geometry to the study of motion; De re nummaria (1711; “Concerning Money Matters”), one of the first works in mathematical economics to examine the conditions for equilibrium in a monetary system; and Opus hydrostaticum (1728; “Hydrostatics”), on hydraulics.

Clara Silvia Roero
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Giovanni Ceva — (December 7, 1647 ndash;June 15, 1734) was an Italian mathematician widely known for proving Ceva s theorem in elementary geometry. His brother, Tommaso Ceva was also a well known poet and mathematician.Ceva received his education at a Jesuit… …   Wikipedia

  • Giovanni Ceva — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Ceva (homonymie). Giovanni Ceva (Milan 7 décembre 1647 – Mantoue 15 juin 1734) était un mathématicien italien. Il est réputé pour l important théorème de géométrie du triangle qu il a redécouvert et qui porte son …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ceva, Tommaso — ▪ Italian mathematician and poet born December 20, 1648, Milan [Italy] died February 3, 1737, Milan       Jesuit mathematician and poet, who was the younger brother of Giovanni Ceva (Ceva, Giovanni).       In 1663 Tommaso Ceva entered the Society …   Universalium

  • Giovanni Ceva — (* 7. Dezember 1647 in Mailand; † 15. Juni 1734 in Mantua) war ein italienischer Mathematiker. Nach dem Besuch der jesuitischen Hochschule in Mailand und einem Studium der Mathematik an der Universität Pisa arbeitete er ab 1686 in Mantua als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ceva (disambiguation) — Ceva may refer to: People: Giovanni Ceva, an Italian mathematician Tommaso Ceva, a Jesuit mathematician, Giovanni s brother Francesco Adriano Ceva, a Cardinal from Savoy Other: Ceva, a town in Piedmont, Italy Ceva s theorem, a popular theorem in… …   Wikipedia

  • Giovanni Ceva — (Milán, 7 de diciembre de 1648 Mantua, 15 de junio de 1734) fue un matemático italiano. Es conocido por el importante teorema de geometría del triángulo que descubrió y que lleva su nombre, el teorema de Ceva. Su hermano, Tommaso Ceva, era un… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ceva (Begriffsklärung) — Ceva bezeichnet: Ceva , eine Gemeinde in der italienischen Region Piemont Giovanni Ceva (1647 1734), italienischer Mathematiker Satz von Ceva, eine von diesem bewiesene geometrische Aussage über Dreieckstransversalen Tommaso Ceva (1648 1736),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri — Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri (* 5. September 1667 in San Remo, Genua (heute: Italien), † 25. Oktober 1733 in Mailand, Italien) war Jesuit, Philosoph, Theologe und Mathematiker. Biografie Saccheri trat 1685 in den Jesuitenorden ein. Ab 1690… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ceva (Homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Patronymie Giovanni Ceva (7 décembre 1647 – 15 juin 1734) était un mathématicien italien. Tommaso Ceva (20 décembre 1648 – 3 février 1737) était un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ceva — Vorlage:Infobox Gemeinde in Italien/Wartung/Wappen fehlt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”