Carl Friedrich Gauss

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), German mathematician, noted for his wide-ranging contributions to physics, particularly the study of electromagnetism.

Born in Braunschweig on April 30, 1777, Gauss studied ancient languages in college, but at the age of 17 he became interested in mathematics and attempted a solution of the classical problem of constructing a regular heptagon, or seven-sided figure, with ruler and compass. He not only succeeded in proving this construction impossible, but went on to give methods of constructing figures with 17, 257, and 65,537 sides. In so doing he proved that the construction, with compass and ruler, of a regular polygon with an odd number of sides was possible only when the number of sides was a prime number of the series 3, 5, 17, 257, and 65,537 or was a multiple of two or more of these numbers. With this discovery he gave up his intention to study languages and turned to mathematics. He studied at the University of Göttingen from 1795 to 1798; for his doctoral thesis he submitted a proof that every algebraic equation has at least one root, or solution. This theorem, which had challenged mathematicians for centuries, is still called “the fundamental theorem of algebra” (see Algebra; Equations, Theory of). His volume on the theory of numbers, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (Inquiries into Arithmetic, 1801), is a classic work in the field of mathematics.

Gauss next turned his attention to astronomy. A faint planetoid, Ceres, had been discovered in 1801; and because astronomers thought it was a planet, they observed it with great interest until losing sight of it. From the early observations Gauss calculated its exact position, so that it was easily rediscovered. He also worked out a new method for calculating the orbits of heavenly bodies. In 1807 Gauss was appointed professor of mathematics and director of the observatory at Göttingen, holding both positions until his death there on February 23, 1855.

Although Gauss made valuable contributions to both theoretical and practical astronomy, his principal work was in mathematics and mathematical physics. In theory of numbers, he developed the important prime-number theorem (see e). He was the first to develop a non-Euclidean geometry (see Geometry), but Gauss failed to publish these important findings because he wished to avoid publicity. In probability theory, he developed the important method of least squares and the fundamental laws of probability distribution (see Probability; Statistics). The normal probability graph is still called the Gaussian curve. He made geodetic surveys, and applied mathematics to geodesy (see Geophysics). With the German physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber, Gauss did extensive research on magnetism. His applications of mathematics to both magnetism and electricity are among his most important works; the unit of intensity of magnetic fields is today called the gauss. He also carried out research in optics, particularly in systems of lenses. Scarcely a branch of mathematics or mathematical physics was untouched by Gauss.