August Ferdinand Möbius

Infobox Scientist
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name = August Möbius


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caption = August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868)
birth_date = November 17, 1790
birth_place = Schulpforta, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
death_date = September 26, 1868
death_place = Leipzig
residence = Germany
citizenship =
nationality = German
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fields = Mathematician
workplaces = University of Leipzig
alma_mater = University of Leipzig
University of Göttingen
University of Halle
doctoral_advisor = Johann Pfaff
academic_advisors = Carl Friedrich Gauss
Karl Mollweide
doctoral_students = Otto Wilhelm Fiedler
notable_students = Hermann Hankel
known_for = Möbius strip
Möbius transformations
Möbius transform
Möbius function
Möbius inversion formula
Möbius–Kantor graph
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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. The Möbius configuration, formed by two mutually inscribed tetrahedra, is also named after him. 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.

Collected works

* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/notice?N=FRBNF37264645 Gesammelte werke Erster band (v. 1)] (Leipzig : S. Hirzel, 1885)
* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/notice?N=FRBNF37265486 Gesammelte werke Zweiter band (v. 2)] (Leipzig : S. Hirzel, 1885)
* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/notice?N=FRBNF37268072 Gesammelte werke Dritter band (v. 3)] (Leipzig : S. Hirzel, 1885)
* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/notice?N=FRBNF37268085 Gesammelte werke Vierter band (v. 4)] (Leipzig : S. Hirzel, 1885)

Trivia

*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 "", 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.

External links

*
* [http://www.genealogy.ams.org/id.php?id=35953 Möbius math genealogy]
*A beautiful visualization of Möbius Transformations, created by mathematicians at the University of Minnesota is viewable at [http://youtube.com/watch?v=JX3VmDgiFnY]