埃及法老时期的分数及其应用

The Egyptian Fraction and its Usage in the Times of the pharaohs

埃及法老时期用所谓单位分数。本文主要依据莫斯科数学草纸和莱茵数学草纸,具体分析了古埃及数学家进行分数运算的方法,说明他们为克服算法方面遇到的困难作出了卓越的努力,指出为把算术和代数提高到更高的水平,用除法定义分数是必然的途径。

In Egypt, so called unit fraction was in use in the times of the pharaohs. Mainly on the basis of Moscow mathematical papyrus and Rhine mathematical papyrus, in this paper, their method of operating fraction was studied in detail, shouing that they had made remarkable efforts to overcome the operational difficulties and pointing out that, to develop arithmetic and algebra into a higher standard, it is inevitable that fraction is be defined as division.