Sophie Germain
Sophie Germain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1 April 1776 Rue Saint-Denis, Paris, France |
| Died | 27 June 1831(aged 55) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Elasticity theoryandnumber theory(e.g.Sophie Germain primenumbers) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician,physicist,andphilosopher |
| Academic advisors | Carl Friedrich Gauss(epistolary correspondent) |
| Notes | |
Other name:Auguste Antoine Le Blanc | |
Marie-Sophie Germain(April 1, 1776 – June 27, 1831) was aFrenchmathematician,physicist,andphilosopherwho made important contributions todifferential geometryandnumber theory.She was born in 1776 in an era ofrevolution.In many ways Sophie embodied the spirit of revolution into which she was born. She was a middle-class female who went against the wishes of her family and thesocial prejudicesof the time to become a highly recognized mathematician. It took a long time for her to be recognized and appreciated for her contributions to the field of mathematics, but she did not give up. Even today, it is felt that she was never given as much credit as she was due for the contributions she made in number theory andmathematical physicsbecause she was a woman.
Early life
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Sophie Germain was born inParis.Her family was quitewealthy.Her father was amerchantand later became director of theBank of France.Sophie's interest in mathematics began during theFrench Revolutionwhen she was 13 years old and confined to her home due to the danger caused by revolts in Paris. She initially receivedoppositionfrom herparentsand also the difficulties presented by the society for females to study. However, she had the opportunity to learn from books in her father’slibrary,so she spent a great deal of time in there. She read important scientists and one day she ran across a book in which the legend ofArchimedes'death was recounted. Thislegendis that during the invasion of his city by the Romans Archimedes was soengrossedin the study of ageometric figurein the sand that he failed to respond to the questioning of a Roman soldier. As a result, he wasspearedto death. This sparked Sophie's interest. If someone could be so engrossed in a problem as to ignore a soldier and then die for it, the subject must be interesting.
Sophie began teaching herself mathematics and other topics using the books in her father's library. But her parents felt that her interest wasinappropriatefor a female (the common belief of the middle-class in the 19th century), and they did all they could to discourage her. She began studying at night to escape them, but they went to such measures as taking away her clothes once she was in bed and depriving her of heat and light to make her stay in her bed at night instead of studying. However, their efforts failed. She would wrap herself in quilts and use candles she had hidden in order to study at night. Finally they realized that Sophie's passion for mathematics was "incurable,"and they let her learn. Thus, Sophie spent the years of theReign of Terrorstudyingdifferential calculuswithout the aid of atutor.She wasself-taught.
Work, and correspondences
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In 1794, when Sophie was 18, theEcole Polytechniquewas founded in Paris. It was an academy to train mathematicians and scientists for the country, but women were not allowed to join. Sophie was able to get thelecture notesfor several of thecoursesand study from them. This gave her the opportunity to learn from many of the prominent mathematicians of those days. Sophie was particularly interested in the teachings ofJoseph Louis Lagrange.Under the pseudonym of M. LeBlanc (a former student of Lagrange's), shesubmitted a paperonanalysisto Lagrange at the end of theterm.He was quite impressed with the work and wanted to meet the student who had written it. He was amazed that the author of the work was actually a female; he recognized her abilities and became hermentor.With a male to introduce her, Sophie could enter the circle of scientists and mathematicians that she never before could. Up until this point not only had her gender been a hindrance to her, but her social status had been too, because she was not anaristocraticwoman but one of themiddle class.Lagrange certainly made his colleagues aware that Germain was a girl with mathematical talent and several of them wrote to her; for instance, Monge. But not everyone treated her with the respect she deserved. One case wasJérôme Lalande.She started to talk to him aboutLaplace's Exposition du système du monde. Lalande told her that she should not be reading such works, rather she should be reading the second edition of his book Astronomie des dames. This "astronomy for ladies" does not contain a single mathematical equation and Germain felt insulted by his suggestion. Lalande sent her a letter of apology but she never forgave him.
However, Germain’s most famous correspondence began in 1804 with the German mathematicianCarl Friedrich Gauss.She was intrigued with his work innumber theoryand sent him some of the results of her work. Again, she used herpseudonymto disguise her trueidentity;she feared being ignored because of being a woman. It was not until 1807 that Gauss found out who M. LeBlanc truly was. He was thrilled to find that his "pen pal"was a very gifted woman. He was not bothered but pleased.
At about this time, in 1808, the FrenchAcademy of Sciencesannounced a contest to explain the "underlying mathematical law" of a German physicist's study on thevibrationofelasticsurfaces. Sophie was fascinated and set out to explain the law underlyingChladni's study. The Academy set a two-year deadline, and in 1811 Sophie submitted the only entry in the contest. Her lack of formal education was evident in theanonymouspaper she submitted, and thus she was not awarded the prize. Lagrange corrected her errors and two years later she again entered the contest which had been extended. She received honorable mention this time. It was in 1816, when she entered for the third time and won with her paper Memoir on the Vibrations of Elastic Plates. After winning the contest, Sophie continued her work on the theory of elasticity publishing several more memoirs. Her work in the theory of elasticity would prove to be very important to the field.
Among her work done during these years is what would be her most important work in number theory. In 1820, Sophie made a statement about the divisibility of solutions toFermat’s equation,for an odd prime p. She proved that if x, y, and z areintegersand if x5+ y5= z5then either x, y, or z must be divisible by 5.
The prize from the Academy, however, was of immediate importance because it introduced her into the ranks of the prominent mathematicians of the time. She became the first woman who was not a wife of a member to attend the Academy of Sciences' sessions. She was also praised by theInstitut de Franceand was invited to attend their sessions. Sophie continued working with well-known male mathematicians in the 1820s as an "equal collaborator" to refine her proofs and work in number theory; and also continued to work in philosophy until her death, in 1831.
Later life
[change|change source]After a battle withbreast cancer,Sophie Germain died at the age of 55 on June 27, 1831 in Paris. Shortly before this Gauss, one of her earliest mentors, had convinced theUniversity of Gottingento give Sophie an honorary degree. She died before she could receive it.
Related pages
[change|change source]References
[change|change source]https:// britannica /biography/Sophie-Germain
https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Germain/
https://totallyhistory /sophie-germain/
Other websites
[change|change source]- Sophie Germainat theMathematics Genealogy Project
- O'Connor, John J.;Robertson, Edmund F.,"Sophie Germain",MacTutor History of Mathematics archive,University of St Andrews.
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