Blaise Pascal
The "Master" of Mathematics
Blaise Pascal's Life (1623 - 1662)
Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France on June 19th of 1623. In addition to his love of geometry, he also made an impact in calculus. He always was curious about math since his dad didn't teach him about it. He came up with many theorems, but his best one was probably his probability theorem.
After he gave up mathematics, Pascal devoted himself to religious preaching and helping the poor.
Like most scientists, he was also into hydrostatics, physics, and mechanics. He invented the hydraulic press as well as the syringe. His health was very poor, and he died at a tender age of 39.
After he gave up mathematics, Pascal devoted himself to religious preaching and helping the poor.
Like most scientists, he was also into hydrostatics, physics, and mechanics. He invented the hydraulic press as well as the syringe. His health was very poor, and he died at a tender age of 39.
Other Mathematitions during Pascal's Time
- Girard Desargues: French, an architect, made Desargues Theroem
- Gilles de Roberval: French, geometry and calculus, great math problem solver
- Pierre de Fermat: French, geometry and probability
- René Descartes: French, Cartesian coordinate plane
- Etienne Pascal: Blaise's father, famous mathematician, restricted Blaise from learning math as his "teacher" (Blaise was homeschooled)
Some of Pascal's Greatest Inventions
The Pascaline
This is a calculator made by Pascal that was mainly used for integer addition, but it can do subtraction, multiplication, and division. this was one of the earliest calculators ever! To use it, you would turn the dials on the machine until the number you want is displayed. Then you add or subtract the number by turning the dials the corresponding amount on the hundreds, tens, and ones, and vice versa. See the video for more info.
Pascal's Triangle
This is Pascal's most famous tribute. The Pascal Triangle goes on for infinity (∞) and shows you that if you pick any number on the triangle, the two numbers above it equal that number. Also, if you look hard, you can find other patterns like squares, 1's, evens and odds, etc.
Pascal's Theorem
This theorem states that if you draw a hexagon inside a conic section (the part where the curve intersects the plane) and extend the lines in the opposite direction, they will meet on 3 points on the same line.
Here Are Some Videos and Sites on Pascal
pascal triangle animation
the pascaline
Blaise Pascal Site
Learn all you need to know about Pascal here!