Mathematics and physics have had a huge influence on each other for hundreds, even thousands of years. This website provides information about some of the ways they have affected eachother.

Introduction -general history/background -includes a comic strip!

Links -check out the YouTube videos!

Here are some examples of both physicists and mathematicians developing new mathematics later used by the other. Click on the links to see some history about things such as how they were first developed, how they were first applied (if developed as pure math), and for those developed for a specific application, a few uses that have been found besides what the math was first developed for.

Math leading the way

• Imaginary Numbers
• Tensors
• >3D Topology -before string theory

Physics leading the way

• Trigonometry (includes an animated applet!)
• Vectors
• Calculus
• >3D Topology -after string theory

After looking over some of the pages in the links above, try this activity:

1. Was it first developed as pure mathematics, or for use in a specific application?
2. What are a couple applications (if there are any) the mathematics is used for which are completely different from what it was originally used for (if developed for a specific application) or that seem completely different from eachother (if originally developed as pure math)?
3. How were new applications for the concept first discovered?