Edward Kasner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Kasner
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Photograph of Kasner dated 1907.
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| Born | April 2, 1878 New York City, United States
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| Died | January 7, 1955 (aged 76) New York City, United States
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | City College of New York (BA) Columbia University (MA, PhD) |
| Known for | Kasner metric Kasner polygon "googol" |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Columbia University |
| Doctoral advisor | Felix Klein David Hilbert |
| Doctoral students | Rufus Isaacs Joseph Ritt Jesse Douglas Edna Kramer |
Edward Kasner (born April 2, 1878 – died January 7, 1955) was an American mathematician. He taught mathematics at Columbia University in New York City. Kasner was the first Jewish person to become a professor in the science department at Columbia. He started as a tutor, then became an adjunct professor in 1906, and a full professor in 1910.
His main area of study was Differential geometry, which is a branch of mathematics that uses calculus to study shapes and spaces. Edward Kasner is also famous for inventing the word "googol". He is also known for the Kasner metric and the Kasner polygon, which are important ideas in mathematics.
Contents
Kasner's Education and Early Work
Edward Kasner earned his PhD from Columbia University in 1899. His special paper for his PhD was about how shapes change when you flip them inside out, like looking at a reflection. This paper was published by the American Mathematical Society in 1900.
The Story of Googol and Googolplex
Edward Kasner is probably best remembered today for creating the word "googol." He wanted a fun way to talk about a very, very large number: a 1 followed by 100 zeros.
To come up with a name, Kasner asked his young nephews, Milton and Edwin Sirotta, for their ideas. They were walking in the New Jersey Palisades at the time. Nine-year-old Milton suggested the word "googol," and it stuck!
In 1940, Kasner wrote a book with James R. Newman called Mathematics and the Imagination. This book explained complex math ideas in a way that was easy for everyone to understand.
You might have heard of "Google" before! The popular internet search engine "Google" got its name from a misspelling of "googol." Also, the main office for the Google company, called the "Googleplex" in Mountain View, California, is named after an even bigger number called a "googolplex." A googolplex is a 1 followed by a googol of zeros – that's an incredibly huge number!
About Edward Kasner's Life
Edward Kasner was Jewish. His parents were immigrants from Austria who came to the United States.
Images for kids
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Photograph of Kasner dated 1907.
See also
In Spanish: Edward Kasner para niños
