Ebook: Polyhedra

Polyhedra have cropped up in many different guises throughout recorded history. Ancient manuscripts from Egypt and China relate ideas concerning the calculation of the volumes of polyhedra, while the Greek tradition of geometry gave us the construction of the regular polyhedra or Platonic solids. In modern times, polyhedra and their symmetries have been cast in a new light by combinatorics and group theory. This book comprehensively documents the many and varied ways that polyhedra have come to the fore throughout the development of mathematics. The author strikes a balance between covering the historical development of the theory surrounding polyhedra, and presenting a rigorous treatment of the mathematics involved. It is attractively illustrated with dozens of diagrams to illustrate ideas that might otherwise prove difficult to grasp. Historians of mathematics as well as to those more interested in the mathematics itself, will find this unique book fascinating.