Synopses & Reviews
Over a century old, knot theory is today one of the most active areas of modern mathematics. The study of knots has led to important applications in DNA research and the synthesis of new molecules, and has had a significant impact on statistical mechanics and quantum field theory.
Colin Adamss The Knot Book is the first book to make cutting-edge research in knot theory accessible to a non-specialist audience. Starting with the simplest knots, Adams guides readers through increasingly more intricate twists and turns of knot theory, exploring problems and theorems mathematicians can now solve, as well as those that remain open. He also explores how knot theory is providing important insights in biology, chemistry, physics, and other fields. The new paperback edition has been updated to include the latest research results, and includes hundreds of illustrations of knots, as well as worked examples, exercises and problems.
With a simple piece of string, an elementary mathematical background, and The Knot Book, anyone can start learning about some of the most advanced ideas in contemporary mathematics.
Colin Adams is Professor of Mathematics at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. He is one of the world's leading researchers of knot theory and has published widely on this and other mathematical topics. He is the co-author of How to Ace Calculus and winner of the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished Teaching Award.
Over a century old, knot theory is today one of the most active areas of modern mathematics. The study of knots has led to important applications in DNA research and the synthesis of new molecules. And it is having a significant impact on statistical mechanics and quantum field theory.
Many of the problems discussed in knot theory, including those treated here, can be understood with only a background of high school algebra and can be solved by the curious amateur. All you need to begin is a price of string, a little math, a little imagination, and Colin Adams's The Knot Bookthe first book to make cutting-edge research in knot theory accessible to a nonspecialist audience.
What are the different properties and classifications of knots? How do you determine whether a knot is actually knotted or can be untangled? What is the appropriate measure of the complexity of a knot? What does knot theory research offer to other sciences? In The Knot Book Colin Adams describes and illustrates the work being done to answer these questions. Starting with the simplest knot (the trivial knot or unknot), Adams guides readers through increasingly more intricate twists and turns of knot theory, exploring problems and theorems mathematicians now can solve, as well as those that remain open. He also looks at how knot theory is providing important insights in biology, chemistry, physics, and other fields. Included are hundreds of illustrations of knots (including a table at the end of the book displaying nearly 200 different knots) as well as worked examples, exercises, open problemseven a few knot jokes and pastimes.
Colin Adams explains knot theory with an enthusiasm and an informal style that makes this seemingly mysterious subject easy to approach. With The Knot Book and a mathematical background that includes no more than a familiarity with polynomials, you will be able to understand and work with some of the discipline's most modern and provocative ideas.
"Adams is an expert in knot theory, and this shows in the clarity and accuracy of his writing, and in the rich store of examples and problems . . . We are going to see much more of knot theory and its applications, and this book is an excellent place to start."Nature
Review
"Adams is an expert in knot theory, and this shows in the clarity and accuracy of his writing, and in the rich store of examples and problems . . . We are going to see much more of knot theory and its applications, and this book is an excellent place to start." —
Nature
Synopsis
Over a century old, knot theory is today one of the most active areas of modern mathematics. The study of knots has led to important applications in DNA research and the synthesis of new molecules, and has had a significant impact on statistical mechanics and quantum field theory.
Colin Adamss The Knot Book is the first book to make cutting-edge research in knot theory accessible to a non-specialist audience. Starting with the simplest knots, Adams guides readers through increasingly more intricate twists and turns of knot theory, exploring problems and theorems mathematicians can now solve, as well as those that remain open. He also explores how knot theory is providing important insights in biology, chemistry, physics, and other fields. The new paperback edition has been updated to include the latest research results, and includes hundreds of illustrations of knots, as well as worked examples, exercises and problems.
With a simple piece of string, an elementary mathematical background, and The Knot Book, anyone can start learning about some of the most advanced ideas in contemporary mathematics.
Synopsis
The Knot Book is the first book to make cutting-edge research in knot theory accessible to a non-specialist audience. Starting with the simplest knots, the author guides readers through increasingly more intricate twists and turns of knot theory, exploring problems and theorems mathematicians can now solve, as well as those that remain open.
About the Author
Colin Adams is Professor of Mathematics at Williams College. He is one of the worlds leading researchers of knot theory and has published widely on this and other mathematical topics. He is the co-author of
How to Ace Calculus and winner of the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished Teaching Award for 1998.