The Unattainable Attempt to Avoid the Casus Irreducibilis for Cubic Equations

Download or read book The Unattainable Attempt to Avoid the Casus Irreducibilis for Cubic Equations written by Sara Confalonieri and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-18 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sara Confalonieri presents an overview of Cardano’s mathematical treatises and, in particular, discusses the writings that deal with cubic equations. The author gives an insight into the latest of Cardano’s algebraic works, the De Regula Aliza (1570), which displays the attempts to overcome the difficulties entailed by the casus irreducibilis. Notably some of Cardano's strategies in this treatise are thoroughly analyzed. Far from offering an ultimate account of De Regula Aliza, by one of the most outstanding scholars of the 16th century, the present work is a first step towards a better understanding.