Beschreibung:
The solitaire game "The Tower of Hanoi" was invented in the 19th century by the French number theorist Édouard Lucas. The book presents its mathematical theory and offers a survey of the historical development from predecessors up to recent research. In addition to long-standing myths, it provides a detailed overview of the essential mathematical facts with complete proofs, and also includes unpublished material, e.g., on some captivating integer sequences. The main objects of research today are the so-called Hanoi graphs and the related Sierpinski graphs. Acknowledging the great popularity of the topic in computer science, algorithms, together with their correctness proofs, form an essential part of the book. In view of the most important practical applications, namely in physics, network theory and cognitive (neuro)psychology, the book also addresses other structures related to the Tower of Hanoi and its variants.
The Beginning of the World.- The Chinese Rings.- The Classical Tower of Hanoi.- Lucas's Second Problem.- Sierpinski Graphs.- The Tower of Hanoi with More Pegs.- Variations of the Puzzle.- The Tower of London.- Tower of Hanoi Variants with Restricted Disc Moves.- Hints, Solutions and Supplements to Exercises.- The End of the World