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Mathematics in Kerala during 1350-1600 AD |
Did you know that Mathematics flourished in what is the present day Kerala, in India during this period and that great mathematicians lived in this area? Madhava (1340-1425), who belonged to the area of Cochin, knew the series now known as the Gregory series, discovered by the Scottish mathematician Gregory in 1667.
It is: arctan(x) =
x - x^3/3 + x^5/5 +.... for abs(x)
< 1.
He also knew the series expansion for sin(x).
He gave the value of pi correct to eleven decimal places!
Nilakantha Somayaji (c. 1444-1545) improved upon the series techniques of Madhava. He also proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system.