Word.ws English Dictionary

Basel problem

Basel problem proper noun: the question as to the value of ∑ₙ₌₁ ᪲1/(n²), the sum of the reciprocals of the squares of the positive integers.

Proper noun

Basel problem

  1. The question as to the value of ∑ₙ₌₁ ᪲1/(n²), the sum of the reciprocals of the squares of the positive integers.
    • As noted, some of Euler's contemporaries, while accepting his answer to the Basel Problem, wondered about the validity of the argument that got him there.1999, William Dunham, Euler: The Master of Us All, Mathematical Association of America, →ISBN, page 55
    • Solving the Basel problem was one of the early triumphs of L. Euler (1707–1783)... .2005, Rajendra Bhatia, Fourier Series, Mathematical Association of America, →ISBN, section 3.10, page 75

Origin of Basel problem

Named after Basel, the home town of Euler and of the Bernoulli family who unsuccessfully attacked the problem.

Questions about Basel problem

What does Basel problem mean?
Basel problem means the question as to the value of ∑ₙ₌₁ ᪲1/(n²), the sum of the reciprocals of the squares of the positive integers.
What part of speech is Basel problem?
Basel problem is a proper noun.

Words near Basel problem in the dictionary

  1. basehead
  2. baseheads
  3. basehearted
  4. baseis
  5. Basel
  6. Basel problem
  7. Basel-City
  8. Basel-Country
  9. Basel-Landschaft
  10. Basel-Stadt
  11. baselard

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Basel problem (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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