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Christoffer Andersson: 2000 år av parallella linjer. En överblick av parallellpostulatets historia.

Tid: Ti 2019-01-29 kl 11.00 - 12.00

Plats: Room 22, House 5, Kräftriket, Department of Mathematics, Stockholm University

Respondent: Christoffer Andersson

Handledare: Rikard Bögvad

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Abstract: In 300 B.C. Euclid defines his five mathematical axioms for geometry, called postulates, in his work the Elements. Quickly after the release of the Elements, mathematicians in the Ancient Mediterranean start to speculate whether the fifth postulate, known as the Parallel Postulate, is a theorem derivable from the other four postulates. For the following 2000 years, mathematicians from across the world attempts to prove this without success. With the discovery of hyperbolic geometry, mathematicians eventually realize that the parallel postulate is a postulate for one of many different geometries. The aim of this paper is to give a brief summary of the history of parallel postulate, the different works done and attempts to prove it as a theorem up until the discovery of hyperbolic geometry.