Analytic Animations: Number Theory 2 or 2

692 views · Published 31 January 2011 · 47:22 · Indexed 18 October 2026

Channel: Doug Sweetser · 2011 · Science & Technology

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Day 3 of the Animating New Physics project, an Independent Activities Period at MIT event done independently by The Stand-Up Physicist Doug Sweetser, class of '84.
 
When number theory is animated, things look different.  A norm

René Descartes gave us analytic geometry, the ability to transform an algebraic expression into a static graph. Modernize this old power tool to make animations from the same algebraic expressions. When animated, triangles and squares are fleeting but of interest to physicists. Polar coordinates gain new meaning when connected to events in spacetime and velocity.  A vast new way of thinking visually about time's relationships with space is opening up.

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