The First Matrix Math

In december 2007 shlomo sternberg asked me when matrix multiplication had first appeared in history.

The first matrix math. A 1 2 0. Matrices are often represented by capital roman letters such as and and there are rules for adding subtracting and multiplying matrices. In this case that means multiplying 1 2 and 6 9. Move across the top row of the first matrix and down the first column of the second matrix.

Shlomo also mentioned a lecture of binet on november 30 1812 in which binet. Matrices is a rectangle of numbers arranged in rows and columns the rows are each left to right horizontal lines and the columns go top to bottom the top left cell is at row 1 column 1 see diagram at right. He told me about the work of jacques philippe marie binet born february 2 1786 in rennes and died mai 12 1856 in paris who seemed to be recognized as the first to derive the rule for multiplying matrices in 1812. Many standard results of elementary matrix theory first appeared long before matrices were the object of mathematical investigation.

Matrices have wide applications in engineering physics economics and statistics as well as in various branches of mathematics historically it was not the matrix but a certain number associated with a square array of numbers called the. Then take the sum of those values 2 54. Matrix a set of numbers arranged in rows and columns so as to form a rectangular array. For example the dimension of the matrix below is 2 3 read two by three because there are two rows and three columns.

The majority of babylonian mathematical work comes from two widely separated periods. I guess we could call the three movies combined the matrices. In mathematics a matrix plural. In mathematics a matrix plural matrices is a rectangular array or table of numbers symbols or expressions arranged in rows and columns.

4 10 1 a 3 3 1 2 0 2 5 1 4 10 1. For example de witt in elements of curves published as a part of the commentaries on the 1660 latin version of descartes géométrie showed how a transformation of the axes reduces a given equation for a conic to canonical form. Multiply each number from the top row of the first matrix by the number in the first column on the second matrix. Provided that they have the same size each matrix has the same number of rows and the same number of columns as the.

And it s actually the first of three. Babylonian mathematics refers to any mathematics of the peoples of mesopotamia modern iraq from the days of the early sumerians through the hellenistic period almost to the dawn of christianity. When multiplying two matrices the resulting matrix will have the same number of rows as the first matrix in this case a and the same number of columns as the second matrix b since a is 2 3 and b is 3 4 c will be a 2 4 matrix. The colors here can help determine first whether two matrices can be multiplied and second the dimensions of the resulting matrix.

Creating a matrix is as easy as making a vector using semicolons to separate the rows of a matrix.