imagined1776 – 1831Franceimagined, 1896
Sophie Germain
How a thin plate rings like a bell, described in one equation.
A short story
She taught herself mathematics from her father's books, at a time when girls were not allowed to study at universities. To exchange ideas with other mathematicians she wrote her letters under a man's name. She solved a puzzle about how thin metal plates vibrate when you tap them, an equation that is a cousin of the heat equation.
In their own words
Algebra is but written geometry, and geometry is but figured algebra.
Attributed to Sophie Germain; quoted in 19th-century collections of her sayings.
The lab their idea turned into
Heat Lab
Place warmth on a grid. Watch it smooth out.
Open Heat Lab →