What is Algebraic Topology?
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Description: Introductory essay by Joe Neisendorfer, University of Rochester.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY Algebraic topology is a twentieth century field of mathematics that can trace its origins and connections back to the ancient beginnings of mathematics. For example, if you want to determine the number of possible regular solids, you use something called the Euler characteristic which was originally invented to study a problem in graph theory called the Seven Bridges of Konigsberg. Can you cross the seven bridges without retracing your steps? No and the Euler characteristic tells you so. Later, Gauss defined the so-called linking number, a precise invariant which tells you whether two circles are linked. It is called an invariant because it remains the same even if we continuously deform the geometric object. Gauss also found a relationship between the total curvature of a surface and the Euler characteristic. All of these ideas are bound together by the central idea that continuous geometric phenomena can be understood by the use of discrete invariants.
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