Timeline for What physical problems required the invention of the derivative?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
4 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2023 at 9:58 | comment | added | Fred | It also has applications in find when the maxima and minima of equations. | |
| May 16, 2023 at 13:51 | comment | added | Frank | The derivative is also useful to find approximate roots of equations (Newton-Raphson). | |
| May 16, 2023 at 6:27 | comment | added | Conifold | Why do you think it was either one or the other? Tangent and optimization problems were known since antiquity. Some were linked to applications, although of a toy sort (burning mirrors, Dido's problem), tangents also appeared in auxiliary constructions. Ancients did not have a general method, so developing it, first algebraic (Descartes) then analytic (Fermat, Newton, Leibniz), was of interest. Once it was elaborated somewhat, more involved applications to mechanics (e.g. by Newton to projectile and planetary motions) became feasible and stimulated further explosive development. | |
| May 16, 2023 at 6:00 | history | asked | Addem | CC BY-SA 4.0 |