In this article we shall examine several different types of figurative numbers which have been studied extensively over the period of 2500 years, and currently scattered on hundreds of websites. We shall discuss their...In this article we shall examine several different types of figurative numbers which have been studied extensively over the period of 2500 years, and currently scattered on hundreds of websites. We shall discuss their computation through simple recurrence relations, patterns and properties, and mutual relationships which have led to curious results in the field of elementary number theory. Further, for each type of figurative numbers we shall show that the addition of first finite numbers and infinite addition of their inverses often require new/strange techniques. We sincerely hope that besides experts, students and teachers of mathematics will also be benefited with this article.展开更多
The problem of evaluating an infinite series whose successive terms are reciprocal squares of the natural numbers was posed without a solution being offered in the middle of the seventeenth century. In the modern era,...The problem of evaluating an infinite series whose successive terms are reciprocal squares of the natural numbers was posed without a solution being offered in the middle of the seventeenth century. In the modern era, it is part of the theory of the Riemann zeta-function, specifically ζ (2). Jakob Bernoulli attempted to solve it by considering other more tractable series which were superficially similar and which he hoped could be algebraically manipulated to yield a solution to the difficult series. This approach was eventually unsuccessful, however, Bernoulli did produce an early monograph on summation of series. It remained for Bernoulli’s student and countryman Leonhard Euler to ultimately determine the sum to be . We characterize a class of series based on generalizing Bernoulli’s original work by adding two additional parameters to the summations. We also develop a recursion formula that allows summation of any member of the class.展开更多
文摘In this article we shall examine several different types of figurative numbers which have been studied extensively over the period of 2500 years, and currently scattered on hundreds of websites. We shall discuss their computation through simple recurrence relations, patterns and properties, and mutual relationships which have led to curious results in the field of elementary number theory. Further, for each type of figurative numbers we shall show that the addition of first finite numbers and infinite addition of their inverses often require new/strange techniques. We sincerely hope that besides experts, students and teachers of mathematics will also be benefited with this article.
文摘The problem of evaluating an infinite series whose successive terms are reciprocal squares of the natural numbers was posed without a solution being offered in the middle of the seventeenth century. In the modern era, it is part of the theory of the Riemann zeta-function, specifically ζ (2). Jakob Bernoulli attempted to solve it by considering other more tractable series which were superficially similar and which he hoped could be algebraically manipulated to yield a solution to the difficult series. This approach was eventually unsuccessful, however, Bernoulli did produce an early monograph on summation of series. It remained for Bernoulli’s student and countryman Leonhard Euler to ultimately determine the sum to be . We characterize a class of series based on generalizing Bernoulli’s original work by adding two additional parameters to the summations. We also develop a recursion formula that allows summation of any member of the class.
