Five Numbers

Synopsis

A series of 15-minute programmes in which Simon Singh investigates the history of some of the most special numbers in mathematics - zero, Pi, the golden ratio, the imaginary number and infinity.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2005

Year of production

2002

Notes

Broadcast on Radio 4 in 5 daily parts from 11 - 15 March 2002.
Additional numbers are explored in the two subsequent series ANOTHER FIVE NUMBERS and FIVE FURTHER NUMBERS

Subjects

Mathematics

Keywords

Fibonacci numbers; history of mathematics; infinity; mathematicians; pi; mathematical concepts; zero; imaginary numbers

Online availability

URI

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/5numbers.shtml

Price

free

Delivery

Streamed

Sections

Title

Zero

Synopsis

Programme 1 traces the concept of zero from the Babylonians in 400 BC, via Ptolemy’s attempt in 130 AD to adding "O" (Omicron) to the Roman number system, to the birth to zero as a number in its own right in India around 800 AD.

Duration

15 mins

Title

Pi

Synopsis

At its simplest, Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. At its most complex, it is an irrational number that cannot be expressed as the ratio of two whole numbers and has an apparently random decimal string of infinite length. This programme looks at the ideas relating to Pi proposed to the Indiana State Legislature in 1897 by Edwin J. Goodwin, based on the squaring of a circle, and how it related to the work 15 years earlier of Ferdinand Lindemann, also the role played by Professor C.A. Waldo of Purdue University who pointed out the problems with this.

Duration

15 mins

Title

Golden Ratio, The

Synopsis

This programme looks at the applications in nature of the the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden ratio.

Duration

15 mins

Title

Imaginary ‘i’, The

Synopsis

This programme covers the development of the imaginary number in the 16th century by the Italian Rafaello Bombelli - the imaginary number is the square root of -1 and is known as ‘i’. Imaginary numbers are real numbers multiplied by i. The implications of the imaginary dimension in relation to time and the origin of the universe are discussed.

Duration

15 mins

Title

Infinity

Synopsis

The work of Georg Canto in the 1860s, at the time controversial, which led to the evolution of Set Theory and his involvement with the until-then taboo subject of infinity.

Duration

15 mins

Production Company

Name

BBC Radio 4

Web

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 External site opens in new window