Bode’s Law and the Discovery of Juno

Bode’s Law and the Discovery of Juno
Author: Clifford J. Cunningham
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2017-06-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319328751

Johann Bode developed a so-called law of planetary distances best known as Bode’s Law. The story of the discovery of Juno in 1804 by Karl Harding tells how Juno fit into that scheme and is examined as it relates to the philosopher Georg Hegel’s 1801 thesis that there could be no planets between Mars and Jupiter. By 1804 that gap was not only filled but had three residents: Ceres, Pallas and Juno! When Juno was discovered no one could have imagined its study would call into question Newton’s law of gravity, or be the impetus for developing the mathematics of the fast Fourier transform by Carl Gauss. Clifford Cunningham, a dedicated scholar, opens to scrutiny this critical moment of astronomical discovery, continuing the story of asteroid begun in earlier volumes of this series. The fascinating issues raised by the discovery of Juno take us on an extraordinary journey. The revelation of the existence of this new class of celestial bodies transformed our understanding of the Solar System, the implications of which are thoroughly discussed in terms of Romantic Era science, philosophy, poetry, mathematics and astronomy. The account given here is based on both English and foreign correspondence and scientific papers, most of which are translated for the first time.

Colonialism and Communalism

Colonialism and Communalism
Author: M. Christhu Doss
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2024-04-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1040019994

Christhu Doss examines how the colonial construct of communalism through the fault lines of the supposed religious neutrality, the hunger for the bread of life, the establishment of exclusive village settlements for the proselytes, the rhetoric of Victorian morality, the booby-traps of modernity, and the subversion of Indian cultural heritage resulted in a radical reorientation of religious allegiance that eventually created a perpetual detachment between proselytes and the “others.” Exploring the trajectories of communalism, Doss demonstrates how the multicultural Indian society, known widely for its composite culture, and secular convictions were categorized, compartmentalized, and communalized by the racialized religious pretensions. A vital read for historians, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, and all those who are interested in religions, cultures, identity politics, and decolonization in modern India.

The Travels of Robert Lyall, 1789–1831

The Travels of Robert Lyall, 1789–1831
Author: Gwyn Campbell
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2021-01-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030516482

This book explores the life of Robert Lyall, surgeon, botanist, voyager, British Agent to the court of Madagascar. Born the year of the French Revolution, Lyall grew up in politically radical Paisley, Scotland, before studying medicine, in Edinburgh, Manchester, and subsequently St. Petersburg, Russia. His criticism of the Tsar and Russian aristocracy led to an abrupt departure for London where Lyall became the voice of liberalism and calls for political reform, before appointed British Resident Agent in Madagascar in 1827, representing the interests of the Tory establishment that he had hitherto so roundly castigated. However, Lyall discovered that the Malagasy crown had turned against the British alliance of 1820, his scientific pursuits alienated the local elite, and his efforts to re-establish British influence antagonized the queen, Ranavalona I, who accused Lyall of sorcery and forced him and his burgeoning family to leave for Mauritius where he died an untimely death, of malaria, in 1831.

Liberating Medicine, 1720–1835

Liberating Medicine, 1720–1835
Author: Tristanne Connolly
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317316126

During the 18th century medicine became an autonomous discipline and practice. Surgeons justified themselves as skilled practitioners and set themselves apart from the unspecialized, hack barber-surgeons of early modernity. This title presents 17 essays on the relationship between medicine and literature during the Enlightenment.

Pointed Encounters

Pointed Encounters
Author: Anne McKee Stapleton
Publisher: Rodopi
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2014-08-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9401211116

Pointed Encounters establishes the literary significance of representations of dance in poetry, song, dance manuals, and fiction written between 1750 and 1830. Presenting original readings of canonical texts and fresh readings of neglected but significant literary works, this book traces the complicated role of social dancing in Scottish culture and identifies the hitherto unexplored motif of dance as an outwardly conforming, yet covertly subversive, expression of Scottish identity during the period. The volume draws upon diverse yet mutually revealing texts, from traditional dance and music to Sir Walter Scott and contemporary Scottish women novelists, to offer students and scholars of Scottish and English literature a fresh insight into the socio-cultural context of the British state after 1746.