What do French, German, and Russian texts call the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality?

  • Thread starter Fredrik
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Cauchy
In summary, the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality has multiple names in different countries, including Cauchy's inequality in France, Schwarz's inequality in Germany, and Bunyakovsky's inequality in Russia and other former Soviet countries. It has also been referred to as Cauchy-Bunyakovsky-Schwarz and the Stone-Cech compactification has variations in its name as well.
  • #1
Fredrik
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
10,877
422
I was once told that the inequality that most books in English seem to call "the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality" is called "Cauchy's inequality" in France, "Schwarz's inequality" in Germany (or Austria or whatever...I'm too lazy to find out where he's from), and "Bunyakovsky's inequality" in Russia and other countries that used to be part of the Soviet union. I'm just curious if this is true. Have you encountered the inequality in a text written in French/German/Russian? What was it called?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Fredrik said:
I was once told that the inequality that most books in English seem to call "the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality" is called "Cauchy's inequality" in France, "Schwarz's inequality" in Germany (or Austria or whatever...I'm too lazy to find out where he's from), and "Bunyakovsky's inequality" in Russia and other countries that used to be part of the Soviet union. I'm just curious if this is true. Have you encountered the inequality in a text written in French/German/Russian? What was it called?

I have Apostle's Linear Algebra book and he calls it Cauchy-Schwarz. I have Bartle's Real Analysis book and he calls it Cauchy. Both are English. So, I haven't read a French or German or Russian book, but it is interesting that some things have so many different names.
 
  • #3
Sounds like intellectual patriotism, but I myself haven't seen the inequality labeled anything other than Cauchy-Schwarz.
 
  • #4
Cauchy-Bunyakovsky-Schwarz. Chronologically.
 
Last edited:
  • #5
I had a german professor, and he always called it the inequality of Schwarz. So there could be some truth to the story :biggrin:

I always call it the inequality of Cauchy-Bunyakovsky-Schwarz though...It's the same with the Cech-Stone compactification. In america it's called the Stone-Cech compactification. In eastern europe they reverse the order...
 

Related to What do French, German, and Russian texts call the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality?

What is the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality?

The Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality is a mathematical inequality that states that for any two real or complex vectors, the dot product of the vectors is less than or equal to the product of the norms of the vectors. In other words, it shows that the angle between two vectors is never greater than 90 degrees.

Who were Cauchy, Schwarz, and Bunyakovsky?

Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Hermann Schwarz, and Viktor Bunyakovsky were all prominent mathematicians who made significant contributions to the field of mathematics. Cauchy was a French mathematician known for his work in analysis and the foundations of calculus. Schwarz was a German mathematician who worked in the field of complex analysis. Bunyakovsky was a Russian mathematician who made contributions to number theory and analysis.

How is the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality used in mathematics?

The Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality has many applications in mathematics, including in the study of vectors, geometry, and functional analysis. It is also used in various mathematical proofs and inequalities, and has applications in fields such as physics and economics.

Is the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality always true?

Yes, the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality is always true. This is because it is a mathematical theorem that has been proven to be true for any two real or complex vectors. It is considered one of the fundamental inequalities in mathematics.

Can the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality be extended to more than two vectors?

Yes, the Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality can be extended to more than two vectors. This is known as the generalized Cauchy-Schwarz-Bunyakovsky inequality, and it states that for any set of n vectors, the dot product of any two vectors is less than or equal to the product of the norms of all the vectors. This inequality has important applications in linear algebra and optimization problems.

Similar threads

  • Linear and Abstract Algebra
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • General Discussion
7
Replies
235
Views
20K
  • Math Proof Training and Practice
2
Replies
67
Views
11K
Replies
15
Views
3K
Replies
39
Views
5K
  • General Discussion
Replies
1
Views
8K
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
25
Views
7K
Replies
6
Views
3K
Back
Top