August Ferdinand Möbius

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August Möbius
August Ferdinand Möbius (1790-1868)
August Ferdinand Möbius (1790-1868)
Born November 17, 1790
Schulpforta, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Died September 26, 1868
Leipzig
Residence Flag of Germany Germany
Nationality Flag of Germany German
Fields Mathematician
Institutions University of Leipzig
Alma mater University of Leipzig
University of Göttingen
University of Halle
Doctoral advisor Johann Pfaff
Other academic advisors Carl Friedrich Gauss
Karl Mollweide
Doctoral students Otto Wilhelm Fiedler
Other notable students Hermann Hankel
Known for Möbius strip
Möbius transformations
Möbius transform
Möbius function
Möbius inversion formula
Möbius–Kantor graph

August Ferdinand Möbius (November 17, 1790 - September 26, 1868, (pronounced [ˈmøbiʊs]) was a German mathematician and theoretical astronomer. He was born in Schulpforta, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany and died in Leipzig.

He is best known for his discovery of the Möbius strip, a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. It was independently discovered by Johann Benedict Listing around the same time. Möbius was the first to introduce homogeneous coordinates into projective geometry. Möbius transformations, important in projective geometry, are not to be confused with the Möbius transform of number theory, which also bears his name. His interest was also in number theory, and the important Möbius function μ(n) and the Möbius inversion formula are named after him.

Möbius studied under Carl Friedrich Gauss and Johann Pfaff.

[edit] Collected works

[edit] Trivia

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Möbius was a descendant of Martin Luther by way of his mother.
  • The character of Johann Wilhelm Möbius—a particular scientist who tries to evade his own inventions by pretending to be insane—in Dürrenmatt's satiric drama The Physicists is named after him.
  • The asteroid 28516 Möbius is also named after him.
  • In StarCraft, the upgraded energy reactor of the Terran Ghost is called "Moebius Reactor"
  • There is a tribute to him in Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, in the form on the deathmatch map dm_mobius (which has since spawned various spin-offs such as in the Unreal Tournament series).
  • Möbius also plays a pivotal part in Brian Lumley's Necroscope book series.
  • A beautiful visualization of Möbius Transformations, created by mathematicians at the University of Minnesota is viewable at [1]

[edit] External links