John L. Greenberg, Greenberg John L.

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' Scienc

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This book investigates the spread of Newtonian physics in the French scientific community during the eighteenth century.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 800
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. Dezember 2009
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 234mm x 156mm x 42mm
• Gewicht: 1191g
• ISBN-13: 9780521130998
• ISBN-10: 0521130999
• Artikelnr.: 28517481

Inhaltsangabe

Preface
1. Isaac Newton's theory of a flattened Earth
2. The state of the problem of the Earth's shape in the 1720s: stalemate
3. The revival of geodesy in Paris (1733-1735)
4. Pierre Bouguer and the theory of homogeneous figures of equilibrium (1734)
5. Maupertuis: on the theory of the Earth's shape (1734)
6. Alexis-Claude Clairaut's first theories of the Earth's shape
7. Interlude I: integral calculus (1690-1741)
8. Interlude II: the Paris academy contest on the tides (1740)
9. Clairaut's mature theory of the Earth's shape (1741-1743): first substantial connections between the revival of mathematics in Paris and progress in mechanics there
10. Epilogue: Fontaine's and Clairaut's advances in the partial differential calculus revisited, or the virtues of interrelated developments in mathematics and science, and the fall of 'normal' science
Notes to chapters
Biography.