David Hestenes

Garret Sobczyk

Matrix algebra has been called "the arithmetic of higher mathematics" [Be]. We think the basis for a better arithmetic has long been available, but its versatility has hardly been appreciated, and it has not yet been integrated into the mainstream of mathematics. We refer to the system commonly called 'Clifford Algebra', though we prefer the name 'Geometric Algebra' suggested by Clifford himself. Many distinct algebraic systems have been adapted or developed to express geometric relations and describe geometric structures. Especially notable are those algebras which have been used for this purpose in physics, in particular, the system of complex numbers, the quaternions, matrix algebra, vector, tensor and spinor algebras and the algebra of differential forms. Each of these geometric algebras has some significant advantage over the others in certain applications, so no one of them provides an adequate algebraic structure for all purposes of geometry and physics. At the same time, the algebras overlap considerably, so they provide several different mathematical representations for individual geometrical or physical ideas.

A Unified Language for Mathematics and Physics

Clifford Algebra to Geometric Calculus

This small book started a profound revolution in the development of mathematical physics, one which has reached many working physicists already, and which stands poised to bring about far-reaching change in the future. At its heart is the use of Clifford algebra to unify otherwise disparate mathematical languages, particularly those of spinors, quaternions, tensors and differential forms. It provides a unified approach covering all these areas and thus leads to a very efficient ‘toolkit’ for use in physical problems including quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, electromagnetism and relativity (both special and general) – only one mathematical system needs to be learned and understood, and one can use it at levels which extend right through to current research topics in each of these areas. These same techniques, in the form of the ‘Geometric Algebra’, can be applied in many areas of engineering, robotics and computer science, with no changes necessary – it is the same underlying mathematics, and enables physicists to understand topics in engineering, and engineers to understand topics in physics (including aspects in frontier areas), in a way which no other single mathematical system could hope to make possible. There is another aspect to Geometric Algebra, which is less tangible, and goes beyond questions of mathematical power and range. This is the remarkable insight it gives to physical problems, and the way it constantly suggests new features of the physics itself, not just the mathematics. Examples of this are peppered throughout ‘Space-Time Algebra’, despite its short length, and some of them are effectively still research topics for the future. From the Foreward by Anthony Lasenby

David Hestenes

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