Honors Projects
Abstract
In this project, I unravel various mathematical milestones and relate them to the human experience. I show and explain the solution to the Tautochrone, a popular variation on the Brachistochrone, which details a major battle between Leibniz and Newton for the title of inventor of Calculus. One way to solve the Tautochrone is using Laplace Transforms; in this project I expound on common functions that get transformed and how those can be used to solve the Tautochrone. I then connect the solution of the Tautochrone to clock making. From this understanding of clocks, I examine mankind’s understanding of time and discuss the Longitude Problem and time unification. Finally, I venture into modern physics where our understanding of time and physics is again shifted. Overall, I bridge the gap between Classical Mechanics & Quantum Mechanics and our understanding of time.
Department
Mathematics and Statistics
Major
Mathematics
First Advisor
Dr. Steven Seubert
First Advisor Department
Mathematics and Statistics
Second Advisor
Dr. Marco Nardone
Second Advisor Department
Physics and Astronomy
Publication Date
Spring 4-30-2018
Repository Citation
Gulas, Michael, "The Pope's Rhinoceros and Quantum Mechanics" (2018). Honors Projects. 343.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects/343
Included in
Mathematics Commons, Ordinary Differential Equations and Applied Dynamics Commons, Other Applied Mathematics Commons, Partial Differential Equations Commons, Physics Commons