Abstract
Bezout’s theorem, that curves of degrees k and m meet in km points, forces geometers to allow complex points on a curve, but despite this incentive the step to admit complex algebraic curves was resisted until Riemann’s work in the 1850s. An important stimulus was the study of elliptic integrals, which are necessarily complex.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gray, J. (2011). Complex Curves. In: Worlds Out of Nothing. Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-060-1_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-060-1_17
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-85729-059-5
Online ISBN: 978-0-85729-060-1
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)