Through the ages there have been many contributors to mathematics and science with their many theories and laws popping up in our undergraduate degree. One such man is Leonhard Euler, the Swiss mathematician who lived between 1707 and 1783. Euler is considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time; a son of a pastor, with family friend of Johann Benoulli, (who’s son, Daniel found the Benoulli’s principle in his 1783 work Hydrodynamica) providing a perfect role model for the budding genius.
As one of the, if not the most prolific writer in mathematics his work is so unbelievable widespread I can only mention some of his phenomenal achievements. After a PhD in sound propagation he was recommended for a vacant position at the Imperial Russian Academy of Science in St. Petersberg by childhood friend Daniel Benoulli. Working in multiple areas of mathematics and physics Euler was the first man to write f(x), inventing the concept of the function we rely on so heavily today. Euler also introduced today’s trigonometry notation; e, Euler’s number, the base of Napierian (natural) logarithms and the use of i for imaginary numbers, along with Euler’s identity for equating complex numbers expressed exponentially and trigonometrically. Although not always totally correct Euler completed pioneering work in power series, notably expansions of e and inverse tan.
Calculus was another field Euler excelled in, working through indefinite integrals and creating the Euler equations, used in fluid mechanics to link pressure with convective and unsteady accelerations. Continuing in fluids mechanics Leonhard also set up the continuity equation and the Laplace velocity potential equation, yet another feature of our UG degree, as well as introducing integration factor for solving differential equations. In mechanics Euler buckling shows that there is a critical load for a slender strut, while his Theory of the Motions of Rigid Bodies of 1765 introduced many key analytical methods which would go on to form the foundations of mechanics.
Not without a sense of humour, upon losing sight in one eye he was quoted saying “Now I will have less distraction”. Married in 1734, Euler proved to be quite a man, fathering 13 children in total, although only 5 survived infancy. Like all great thinkers of the period Euler’s abilities reached beyond maths into astronomy, working on the interactions of the Sun, Moon and Earth, the resulting work in celestial mechanics won him multiple prizes. Furthermore Euler held a position in St Petersberg’s Academy geography section demonstrating the diversity of maths’ great man.
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