Mathematics
and Computer Science Speaker Series
California State University, Stanislaus
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m
Room: N-104
Speaker: John Huerta
Title: The Quaternions
Abstract: Come hear the thrilling tale of William Rowan
Hamilton's discovery of
the quaternions, a number system as intimately related to the geometry
of three
and four dimensions as the complex numbers are to two dimensions. Learn
how to
use a belt to study the properties of space, and how Hamilton's
quaternions can
be used to model electrons, which are able to tell the difference
between being
rotated 360 degrees and not at all.