Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about terms, definitions and related concepts used in science and mathematics.
354
questions
1
vote
1
answer
152
views
Conventional orientation of axes in scientific plots
In an answer to a programming question, I included the following:
The default behavior of [library function in question that displays an image] is to put the origin of the coordinate system in the ...
- 155
1
vote
1
answer
204
views
Who invented the term "Kuhn loss"?
This term has been discussed on this forum, e.g. under Examples of Kuhn loss?, and has been attributed to Kuhn himself. The term refers to the loss of explanations and predictions of the prior ...
- 39
1
vote
1
answer
147
views
Coordinate axis - Why the name "axis"?
In "natural life" "axis" is often used in terms of an axis of rotation. But in the mathematical sense, it's more used like a ruler. One could say an axis in "natural life" sense has something to do ...
- 199
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
What was the system for naming scientific ideas / inventions?
I'm interested in tracing the history of the word "Optical Illusion." See these two questions History of optics
and https://english.stackexchange.com/q/260495/129806
It seems Greek and Latin words ...
- 153
1
vote
2
answers
202
views
Why energy rate did not replace power = Force times velocity?
After reading the history of horse power (and power), the physical definitions for them and after testing the theory in rally races, I'm curious what were the reasons for selecting this word (power) ...
- 113
1
vote
1
answer
186
views
Why did Sylvester Gates choose the name Adinkra?
Sylvester James Gates was one of the co-discoverers of Adinkras. These are graphical representations of susy (supersymmetry) algebras.
They are named after a West African people — the Akan of Ghana ...
- 3,613
1
vote
1
answer
265
views
What is a spacetime continuum?
A very common expression I see in pop science is "the spacetime continuum". This expression isn't commonly used in modern discussions of general relativity, but looking at some older papers on the ...
- 773
1
vote
1
answer
416
views
Was the value of the mole invented or discovered in chemistry?
For example, $\pi$ is not an invention, it is a discovery which was natural, that is ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. But when we define a meter it is not a natural value it is ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
First use of the term/name "curved exponential family"?
Question: What was the first recorded use of someone calling exponential families (in probability/statistics) for which the dimension of the natural parameter space is strictly less than the dimension ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
77
views
Who came up with the Darwinian demon?
I know of Maxwell's, Descartes' and Laplace's demons but I recently found out that there is Darwinian one. I do not think that this demon appears in the works of Charles Darwin. Do you know who may ...
- 2,688
1
vote
0
answers
49
views
Dissemination of Calculus in China
Much has already been written about the dissemination of Euclidean geometry into China: https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasure-euclid-in-china, https://academic.oup....
- 253
1
vote
0
answers
40
views
Origin of $V_a$ (median) notation
My question about median of a triangle.
The English equivalent of the Turkish word "kenarortay" is "median". In English-language geometry sources (like books or web pages), the ...
- 183
1
vote
0
answers
57
views
Poisson's laws for adiabatic processes
I've been reading about Thermodynamics lately. The set of equations satisfied in an adiabatic process (and also more generally in polytropic ones) is:
$$p_1V_1^\gamma = p_2V_2^\gamma$$
$$T_1V_1^{\...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
207
views
Katz's symbol 兄 for Gauss-Manin connections
In his famous 1970 paper [1], Nicholas Katz used the character 兄 for the Gauss-Manin connection. I have always been curious about the history behind this symbol.
Question: What motivated Katz to use ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
94
views
Why is 'total angular momentum' denoted by the letter $J$ in quantum mechanics?
In quantum mechanics, we say $J$ ('total angular momentum') = $L$ ('orbital angular momentum') + $S$ ('spin angular momentum').
Apparently $S$ is from 'Spin', but why $J$ for the total angular ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
93
views
Who coined the term "sulphuretted hydrogen"?
Hydrogen sulfide was previously named "sulphuretted hydrogen" but I can't find the person who named/coined it. Although Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited to have discovered and isolated the ...
- 260
1
vote
0
answers
71
views
Usage of "sphere" as ball's surface vs as ball itself
In everyday English, "sphere" means a round object. People will think of the insides as part of the sphere.
In Mathematics it specifically means the surface of the ball.
How did the ...
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
96
views
First example of regularization
Background:
I like to think of L'Hospital as one of the earliest authors of least-squares regression.
L'Hospital, G. (1696). L'analyse des infiniment petits pour l'intelligence des lignes
courbes.
I'm ...
- 159
1
vote
0
answers
154
views
Classification of "Epitaph of Diophantus" problem
The well-known riddle of the Epitaph of Diophantus, attributed to Metrodorus, is one of the style of simple problem in algebra whose pattern when expressed in contemporary algebraic notation is:
$$x = ...
- 1,237
1
vote
0
answers
650
views
How has $\tan(x)$ become more popular than $\operatorname{tg}(x)$?
I know that some Eastern European and Middle Asian countries denote the tangent by $\operatorname{tg}$. For many years, I have used $\tan$ instead, but am currently thinking of changing that notation ...
1
vote
0
answers
94
views
Why are linear forms called "forms"?
My question is about linear forms, quadratic forms, n-linear forms, differential forms and so on. The first term of these names seem clear to me, but I cannot make a link between these mathematical ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
111
views
History: Direct Product became Tensor Product?
I'm reading a 1939 paper by the great and famous J. von Neumann, "On infinite direct products" (of vector spaces), available here http://www.numdam.org/item/?id=CM_1939__6__1_0, legally I ...
- 119
1
vote
0
answers
55
views
Is there a reason $⊑$ in CSP is analogous to $⊇$ (as opposed to $⊆$)?
The 'square' subset symbols are sometimes used to express analogous concepts to subsets, like prefixes or suffixes.
However their use in CSP seems to be counterintuitive to their shape: $⊑$ appears ...
- 400
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Dimension of the candela unit: What does J stand for?
The J symbol can represent the unit of energy but it's also the symbol for the dimension of the candela (or luminous intensity).
For the energy unit, it clearly comes from the family name of the ...
- 129
1
vote
0
answers
121
views
When did the term "order" come into use as the highest exponent in an expansion?
Answer(s) to the question What is a 3rd-order Fresnel lens? are disappointing to me, in that the term 3rd order does not refer to anything like a third-order series expansion.
But this leads me to a ...
- 2,143
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
When did the research field of Astrophysics begin?
I have this vague idea that Astrophysics morphed out of Astronomy as a field of study and research. I am curious if this is true and when did Astrophysics become separate from Astronomy as a field of ...
- 1,119
1
vote
0
answers
106
views
Is it a historical coincidence that relative atomic weights by chemical methods and mass spectrometry are very close?
The concept of relative atomic weight originated from measuring the combining weight of hydrogen with a certain element. In the simplification process H was taken as unity (18th, 19th and 20th century)...
- 3,959
1
vote
0
answers
78
views
Who came up with a number of the theoretical plates equation?
In chromatography, the signal is shaped like a Gaussian peak, and it is plotted against time vs. instrument's signal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatography#/media/File:Rt_5_12.png
(a) One of ...
- 3,959
1
vote
0
answers
67
views
Gentzen and computer science
This is a cross-post from mathstack:
https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2584003/gentzen-and-computer-science?noredirect=1#comment5333947_2584003
I would like to learn a bit about the ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
211
views
Timeline of mathematical foundation?
As it is globally known that set theory as a foundation of mathematics, although in the beginning we didn't call it "Set" rather group of elements. For example - set of [1(banana) + 2(apple)+1(cow)] =>...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
161
views
How did "one-to-one" come to be used to refer to injective functions?
I have always had a hard time explaining to my students the term one-to-one. After making sure my students understand "in", "sur" and "bi", the Bourbaki terms, injective, ...
- 438
0
votes
1
answer
117
views
How did the first astronomers define what a planet is?
What is the origin of the term "planet" and how did astronomers first define the term?
Anna Hamilton
0
votes
3
answers
213
views
When did the term 'scientist, physicist, science, physicist' come in use?
Down to the eighteenth century physics was called philosophia naturalis.
When were the terms Physics, Science and Scientist, introduced? By whom? When did they supplant the old ones?
- 703
0
votes
1
answer
123
views
Why some calculations noted as "sym^2" and "sym", while others noted as "symA" and "symB", where "symB" is the square root of "symA"?
Today I learnt that the standard deviation is calculated as square root of the mean of the squares of the deviations from the arithmetic mean of the distribution. The mean of the squares of the ...
0
votes
2
answers
157
views
The reason behind defining the direction of angular velocity towards the axis of rotation?
This is one of those questions which has confused a lot of students like me and I know similar questions have been asked on Physics Stack exchange but I literally want to know what was the reason ...
- 129
0
votes
1
answer
91
views
Theorem or equation self-named after the same person that published it? [duplicate]
In the history of science, has there ever been a theorem/equation/law that is named after a person and has been coined that name by the same person?
Example: let's say somebody named Trevor discovers ...
- 2,688
0
votes
2
answers
130
views
What motivated the choice of the word "model" in model theory?
Who chose the term "model" in model theory?
What was their reason for choosing the word "model" to mean what it means now in model theory?
The current meaning: "[interpretation] I is a model of [...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
279
views
Who used the symbol $S_n$ for "rotation reflection" as a symmetry operation?
I am looking for the origin of the symbol $S_n$ used by chemists to denote the symmetry operation consisting of a $\smash{\frac{2\pi}n}$ rotation ($C_n$) about an axis and a reflection in a plane ...
- 3,959
0
votes
1
answer
108
views
Who first introduced the term "necessary condition" in mathematical language?
I recently delved into a discussion about a statement attributed to the renowned mathematician and philosopher, Benjamin Peirce. In this statement, he refers to mathematics as "the science that ...
0
votes
1
answer
123
views
Is it known who coined the term Episteme?
I thought that such old terms wouldnt be known who "created" them, but terms of the same time like Natural Philosophy and Philosophy are said to be created by Aristotle, and believed to be ...
- 247
0
votes
1
answer
297
views
Why isn't the ${\gamma}^5$ matrix called ${\gamma}^4$?
This is not really a physical question, but it relates to notation in QED.
The ${\gamma}^5$ matrix is defined as
$${\gamma}^5=i{\gamma}^0 {\gamma}^1{\gamma}^2{\gamma}^3$$
Wouldn't it be more ...
0
votes
1
answer
113
views
on the classification of singular points
After reading this question and the answers to it, I am interested o know who were the first mathematicians who started classifying singular points of curves: i.e. different kind of nodes, of cusps ...
- 283
0
votes
0
answers
163
views
Why Serre need to develop the concept of "sheaf theory" in algebraic geometry? [duplicate]
I read Edward Frenkel's Love and Math. But reanding this book made me wonder about origin of the concept of the sheaf used in algebraic geometry. I think the conclusion that I came to in the process ...
- 177
0
votes
0
answers
62
views
Who was the first to use bijections?
I know that Bourbaki were the first who used the word 'bijection', but one-to one functions were for sure used before them. So do you aware of the earliest examples of one-to-one correspondences?
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
70
views
Formal logic as a synonym to syllogistic logic, or as a name for the study of logic?
On page 443, section 1.1 Expanding to Contradiction, in José Ferreirós' A Road To Modern Logic - An Interpretation, the following is written:
Philosophical conceptions of logic have been complex and ...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Terms for different types of clouds before 1770?
Using Google Books I couldn't find any reference to cumulus clouds before 1772. What terms were used for the different types of clouds before 1772, if there were specific terms?
- 143
0
votes
0
answers
108
views
History of PSL(2,Z)
I want to know the mathematician who named PSL(2,Z) as the modular group first. Also, I would be pleased if someone suggest to me some papers about the history of the modular group. Thanks a lot in ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Which one goes first - Secant or Newton - in Numerical root finding technique?
In Numerical root solving technique, which comes first in history - Newton or Secant - and each one is named after whom?
0
votes
0
answers
717
views
kinetic energy formula written as mv^2
I stumbled across the following quote and couldn't understand how one wouldn't use the factor of 1/2 without completely disrupting the work-energy principle. Though, informal, energy is defined as the ...
- 377
0
votes
0
answers
37
views
History of Path algebras
I want some references that point the inventor of Path algebras and history/evolution of these algebras from the first idea. If possible.
I tried to search in many different places, but all times, ...
