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MathWorld is an online mathematics
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
 reference work, created and largely written by Eric W. Weisstein
Eric W. Weisstein

Eric W. Weisstein is an encyclopedist who created and maintains MathWorld and Eric Weisstein's World of Science . He currently works for Wolfram Research, Inc....
. It is sponsored by Wolfram Research Inc. and was partially funded by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering....
's National Science Digital Library
National Science Digital Library

The United States' National Science Digital Library is a free online library for education and research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics....
 grant to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public university research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
.

History
Eric W. Weisstein, the creator of the site, was a physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
 and astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
 student who got into the habit of writing notes on his mathematical readings. In 1995 he put his notes online and called it "Eric's Treasure Trove of Mathematics".






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Encyclopedia


MathWorld is an online mathematics
Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, change, and related topics of pattern and form. Mathematicians seek out patterns whether found in numbers, space, natural science, computers, imaginary abstractions, or elsewhere....
 reference work, created and largely written by Eric W. Weisstein
Eric W. Weisstein

Eric W. Weisstein is an encyclopedist who created and maintains MathWorld and Eric Weisstein's World of Science . He currently works for Wolfram Research, Inc....
. It is sponsored by Wolfram Research Inc. and was partially funded by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering....
's National Science Digital Library
National Science Digital Library

The United States' National Science Digital Library is a free online library for education and research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics....
 grant to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public university research university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Illinois system....
.

History


Eric W. Weisstein, the creator of the site, was a physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
 and astronomy
Astronomy

Astronomy is the science of Astronomical object and Phenomenon that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere . It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the physical cosmology....
 student who got into the habit of writing notes on his mathematical readings. In 1995 he put his notes online and called it "Eric's Treasure Trove of Mathematics". It contained hundreds of pages/articles, covering a wide range of mathematical topics. The site became popular as an extensive single resource on mathematics on the web. Weisstein continuously improved the notes and accepted corrections and comments from online readers. In 1998, he made a contract with CRC Press
CRC Press

The CRC Press, LLC is a publishing group which specializes in producing technical books in a wide range of subjects. While many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics, their scope also includes books on business and information technology....
 and the contents of the site were published in print and CD-ROM, titled "CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics". The free online version became only partially accessible to the public. In 1999 Weisstein went to work for Wolfram Research, Inc. (WRI), and WRI renamed the Math Treasure Trove to MathWorld at http://mathworld.wolfram.com and hosted it on the company's website without access restrictions.

CRC lawsuit

In 2000, CRC Press
CRC Press

The CRC Press, LLC is a publishing group which specializes in producing technical books in a wide range of subjects. While many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics, their scope also includes books on business and information technology....
 sued WRI, WRI president Stephen Wolfram
Stephen Wolfram

Stephen Wolfram is a British physicist, mathematician and businessman known for his work in theoretical particle physics, cosmology, cellular automaton, complexity theory, and computer algebra....
, and author Eric Weisstein, due to what they considered a breach of contract: that the MathWorld content was to remain in print only. The site was taken down by a court injunction. The case was later settled out of court, with WRI paying an unspecified amount and complying with other stipulations. Among these stipulations is the inclusion of a copyright notice at the bottom of the website and broad rights for the CRC Press to produce MathWorld in printed book form. The site then became once again available free to the public.

This case made a wave of headlines in online publishing circles. The PlanetMath
PlanetMath

PlanetMath is a free content, collaborative, online mathematics encyclopedia. The emphasis is on peer review, rigour, openness, pedagogy, real-time content, interlinked content, and community....
 project was a result of MathWorld being unavailable.

See also

  • PlanetMath
    PlanetMath

    PlanetMath is a free content, collaborative, online mathematics encyclopedia. The emphasis is on peer review, rigour, openness, pedagogy, real-time content, interlinked content, and community....
  • List of online encyclopedias
    List of online encyclopedias

    This is a list of online encyclopedias, which are accessible on the World Wide Web....


External links