Euler as Physicist

Euler as Physicist
Author: Dieter Suisky
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2008-12-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540748652

The subject of the book is the development of physics in the 18th century centered upon the fundamental contributions of Leonhard Euler to physics and mathematics. This is the first book devoted to Euler as a physicist. Classical mechanics are reconstructed in terms of the program initiated by Euler in 1736 and its completion over the following decades until 1760. The book examines how Euler coordinated his progress in mathematics with his progress in physics.

A History of Mathematical Notations

A History of Mathematical Notations
Author: Florian Cajori
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 865
Release: 2013-09-26
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0486161161

This classic study notes the origin of a mathematical symbol, the competition it encountered, its spread among writers in different countries, its rise to popularity, and its eventual decline or ultimate survival. 1929 edition.

Ruggiero Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy

Ruggiero Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy
Author: Luca Guzzardi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2020-08-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030520935

Drawing on published works, correspondence and manuscripts, this book offers the most comprehensive reconstruction of Boscovich’s theory within its historical context. It explains the genesis and theoretical as well as epistemological underpinnings in light of the Jesuit tradition to which Boscovich belonged, and contrasts his ideas with those of Newton, Leibniz, and their legacy. Finally, it debates crucial issues in early-modern physical science such as the concept of force, the particle-like structure of matter, the idea of material points and the notion of continuity, and shares novel insights on Boscovich’s alleged influence on later developments in physics. With its attempt to reduce all natural forces to one single law, Boscovich’s Theory of Natural Philosophy, published in 1758, left a lasting impression on scientists and philosophers of every age regarding the fundamental unity of physical phenomena. The theory argues that every pair of material points is subject to one mutual force — and always the same force — which is their propensity to be mutually attracted or repelled, depending on their distance from one another. Furthermore, the action of this unique force is visualized through a famous diagram that fascinated generations of scientists. But his understanding of key terms of the theory — such as the notion of force involved and the very idea of a material point — is only ostensibly similar to our current conceptual framework. Indeed, it needs to be clarified within the plurality of contexts in which it has emerged rather than being considered in view of later developments. The book is recommended for scholars and students interested in the ideas of the early modern period, especially historians and philosophers of science, mathematicians and physicists with an interest in the history of the discipline, and experts on Jesuit science and philosophy.

Die Werke von Daniel Bernoulli

Die Werke von Daniel Bernoulli
Author: Daniel Bernoulli
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 540
Release: 1996-10-28
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9783764352721

The works from Daniel Bernoulli's youth contained in this first volume of his Collected Works bear witness above all of his versatility; they deal with subjects as different as physiology, formal logic, mathematical analysis, hydrodynamics and positional astronomy. Daniel Bernoulli's contacts with Italian scientists gave rise to several controversies. The present volume documents both sides in each of these debates, which culminated with the publication of Bernoulli's first book Exercitationes mathe- maticae in 1724. The discussions with the renowned mathematician Jacopo Riccati on second-order differential equations and on the Newtonian theory of the out-flow of fluids from vessels deserve particular interest. A third group of texts goes back to the time Bernoulli spent at the newly- founded Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, where he had been appointed in 1725. There he worked out two more contributions to physiological research - on muscle movement and on the blind spot in the human eye - as well as his only paper in positional astronomy. This last work - suggested by a prize question of the Paris Académie des Sciences - became the occasion for a vehement conflict; the present volume documents these "Zänkereien" (squabbles) and also reproduces three competing treatises. To complete the documentation of Daniel Bernoulli's work on physiology, the volume also includes his academic ceremonial speech De Vita of 1737, where he sketches for the first time the circulation of the work done by the human heart, and its elaboration by Bernoulli's student Daniel Passavant.

Conflicts Between Generalization, Rigor, and Intuition

Conflicts Between Generalization, Rigor, and Intuition
Author: Gert Schubring
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 689
Release: 2006-06-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0387282734

This volume is, as may be readily apparent, the fruit of many years’ labor in archives and libraries, unearthing rare books, researching Nachlässe, and above all, systematic comparative analysis of fecund sources. The work not only demanded much time in preparation, but was also interrupted by other duties, such as time spent as a guest professor at universities abroad, which of course provided welcome opportunities to present and discuss the work, and in particular, the organizing of the 1994 International Graßmann Conference and the subsequent editing of its proceedings. If it is not possible to be precise about the amount of time spent on this work, it is possible to be precise about the date of its inception. In 1984, during research in the archive of the École polytechnique, my attention was drawn to the way in which the massive rupture that took place in 1811—precipitating the change back to the synthetic method and replacing the limit method by the method of the quantités infiniment petites—significantly altered the teaching of analysis at this first modern institution of higher education, an institution originally founded as a citadel of the analytic method.

Leibniz

Leibniz
Author: C. D Broad
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1975-06-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521206914

This book, first published in 1975, provides critical and comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of Leibniz. C.D. Broad was Knightsbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge from 1933 to 1953 and this book is based on his undergraduate lectures on Leibniz. Broad died in 1971 and Dr Lewy has since edited the book for publication. Leibniz is, of course, recognized as a major figure in all courses in the history of philosophy, but he has perhaps been less well served by textbook writers than most other philosophers. Broad has provided here a characteristically shrewd and sympathetic survey which further confirms his known virtues as an historian and expositor. It is a very clear, detailed and orderly guide to what is notoriously a most difficult (and sometimes disorderly) philosophical system; it provides a masterful introduction to the subject.

Spinoza to the Letter

Spinoza to the Letter
Author: F. Akkerman
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2005-12-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9047416368

This is the first collection of Spinoza studies that deals exclusively with the language, style, and the transmission and editing of his texts. It includes investigations into the authorship of some minor texts, Spinoza’s Latinity, the Hebrew passages in the Tractatus theologico-politicus, his way of handling quotations and his use of the first person singular. It contains a full concordance of the Tractatus de intellectus emendatione, an inventory of the copies of Spinoza’s Posthumous Works in the Netherlands and an account of the editions produced in the nineteenth century. In addition, there are essays on the life and thought of Spinoza’s publisher Jan Rieuwertsz, on the question of who printed his books, and on principles and choices in editing. Contributors include: Fokke Akkerman, Wout Jac. van Bekkum, Michelle Beyssade, Eugenio Canone, Johan Gerritsen, Iiro Kajanto, Jelle Kingma, Jacqueline Lagrée, J.H. Leopold, Clasina G. Manusov-Verhage, Filippo Mignini, Pierre-François Moreau, H.J.M. Nellen, Michael John Petry, Esmée Schilte, Hans Gerhard Senger, Piet Steenbakkers, Pina Totaro, and J.J.V.M. de Vet.