The Problem of the Earth's Shape from Newton to Clairaut: The Rise of Mathematical Science in Eighteenth-Century Paris and the Fall of 'Normal' ScienceCambridge University Press, 28 de jul. 1995 - 781 pàgines This book investigates, through the problem of the earth's shape, part of the development of post-Newtonian mechanics by the Parisian scientific community during the first half of the eighteenth century. In the Principia Newton first raised the question of the earth's shape. John Greenberg shows how continental scholars outside France influenced efforts in Paris to solve the problem, and he also demonstrates that Parisian scholars, including Bouguer and Fontaine, did work that Alexis-Claude Clairaut used in developing his mature theory of the earth's shape. The evolution of Parisian mechanics proved not to be the replacement of a Cartesian paradigm by a Newtonian one, a replacement that might be expected from Thomas Kuhn's formulations about scientific revolutions, but a complex process instead involving many areas of research and contributions of different kinds from the entire scientific world. Greenberg both explores the myriad of technical problems that underlie the historical development of part of post-Newtonian mechanics, which have only been rarely analyzed by Western scholars, and embeds his technical discussion in a framework that involves social and institutional history politics, and biography. Instead of focusing exclusively on the historiographical problem, Greenberg shows as well that international scientific communication was as much a vital part of the scientific progress of individual nations during the first half of the eighteenth century as it is today. |
Continguts
The revival of geodesy in Paris 17331735 | 79 |
equilibrium 1734 | 89 |
On the theory of the earths shape 1734 | 107 |
AlexisClaude Clairauts first theories of the earths shape | 132 |
Integral calculus 16901741 | 225 |
The Paris Academys contest on the tides 1740 | 400 |
Altres edicions - Mostra-ho tot
The Problem of the Earth's Shape from Newton to Clairaut: The Rise of ... John L. Greenberg Previsualització no disponible - 2010 |
Frases i termes més freqüents
attraction at points attracts according attracts in accordance axes axis of symmetry balance or weigh balanced columns Bouguer center of force centrifugal force Chapter Clairaut closed plane Daniel Bernoulli density differential calculus effective gravity ellipsoid of revolution ellipticity is infinitesimal elongated figure Euler figure of equilibrium figure of revolution filled with fluid filled with homogeneous first-order ordinary differential flattened ellipsoid Fontaine Fontaine's force per unit homogeneous figure shaped homogeneous fluid figure homogeneous fluid mass homogeneous function individually homogeneous integral calculus Johann I Bernoulli latitude law of attraction MacLaurin magnitude Mairan mathematicians mathematics Maupertuis Newton Paris Academy mémoire perpendicular plane curves plane or skew plumb line holds polar radius poles which attracts Principia principle of equilibrium problem result revolution flattened revolution which attracts revolution which revolves skew channels spherical figure strata stratified figure shaped stratified fluid figure tautochrones theory total effort produced unit of mass universal inverse-square law
Referències a aquest llibre
For Good Measure: The Making of Australia's Measurement System Jan Todd Previsualització no disponible - 2004 |