Thousands of years of tablets reveal that trigonometry has been discovered by Greeks ( Photo/Video)
(9 years ago)The 3,700 - year - old clay tablet had been used by the ancient Babylonians to calculate how to build palaces, temples, and canals. Mathematicians now believe that this artifact, also known as Plympton 322, testifies that the Babylonian kingdom defeated Greeks in the matter of trigonometry ʹ the study of triangles and angles [...]
Mathematicians now believe that this artifact, also known as Plympton 322, testifies that the Babylonian kingdom defeated Greeks in the matter of trigonometry, the study of triangles and angles of at least 1,000 years.
It seems that Babylon's impressive civilisation also invented their unique approach to probels that can still be useful today in areas like surveillance and computer graphics, the Sun” reported, broadcast Periscopi.
This plaque was discovered in the early 1900s in what is today southern Iraq by archaeologist, diplomat and antique merchant Edgar Banks, the person on whom the imaginary character Indiana Jones was based.
The banks were hunting for the blessed Ark of the Testament, thought to be brought to Jerusalem by King David in about 1,000 Bs but disappeared when the city was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC, causing many theories about its fate.
For decades mathematicians have tried to decipher four columns and 15 lines of numbers written according to the type of cuneiform writing on this particular tablet.
They now believe that the tablets show the oldest and most accurate trigonometric table in the world.
Dr. Daniel Mansfield, from the University of South Wales School of Mathematics and Statistics, said: Our “Hulum reveals that Plypton 322 describes the formats of the right triangle using a new type of trigonometry based on proportion, not in angles or around”.
The “is an interesting mathematical work that demonstrates the unequivocal genius”, Mansfield said.
Greek Astronomus Hippoparchus, who lived about 120 BC, has long been considered the father of trigonometry.
His “Tabela of the accords” in a circle is considered to be the oldest trigonometric table, but plaque “Plypton 322” has dropped it in terms of size.
“With Plympton 322 we see a simpler and more precise trigonometry that has clear advantages over ours”, said study co-author Dr. Norman Wildberger.
The ancient Greek hippo has been called “the father of the trigonometry” and is widely believed to have created the first trigonometric table, but with the deciphering of this tablet, the primat of its creativity is down. /Periscope.
