(Encyclopedia) associative law, in mathematics, law holding that for a given operation combining three quantities, two at a time, the initial pairing is arbitrary; e.g., using the operation of…
(Encyclopedia) opusopusōˈpəs [key] [Lat.,=work], in music, term used in cataloging a composer's works, designating either a single composition or a group published together or considered a unit. Opus…
(Encyclopedia) Kronecker, LeopoldKronecker, Leopoldlāˈōpôlt krōˈnĕkˌər [key], 1823–91, German mathematician. After making a fortune in business he devoted his attention to mathematics and became…
(Encyclopedia) dimension, in mathematics, number of parameters or coordinates required locally to describe points in a mathematical object (usually geometric in character). For example, the space we…
(Encyclopedia) scientific notation, means of expressing very large or very small numbers in a compact form that is easy to use in computations. In this notation, any number is expressed as a number…
(Encyclopedia) Moseley, Henry Gwyn JeffreysMoseley, Henry Gwyn Jeffreysmōzˈlē [key], 1887–1915, English physicist, grad. Trinity College, Oxford, 1910. He began his research under Ernest Rutherford…
(Encyclopedia) mean, in statistics, a type of average. The arithmetic mean of a group of numbers is found by dividing their sum by the number of members in the group; e.g., the sum of the seven…
(Encyclopedia) Cantor, GeorgCantor, Georggāˈôrkh känˈtôr [key], 1845–1918, German mathematician, b. St. Petersburg. He studied under Karl Weierstrass and taught (1869–1913) at the Univ. of Halle. He…
(Encyclopedia) quaternionquaternionkwətûrˈnēən [key], in mathematics, a type of higher complex number first suggested by Sir William R. Hamilton in 1843. A complex number is a number of the form a+bi…
(Encyclopedia) infinity, in mathematics, that which is not finite; it is often indicated by the symbol ∞. A sequence of numbers, a1, a2, a3, … , is said to “approach infinity” if the numbers…
