Author: Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Book Description
Under the Newton's Shadow
Author: Under Newton's Shadow, Astronomical Practices in the Seventeenth Century
Author: Lesley MurdinPublisher: CRC Press
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Book Description
The influence of Newton and the Royal Society during the 17th century has always overshadowed the activities of other contemporary figures in astronomy. This book demonstrates the extent and significance of their particular contributions to observational astronomy, and to show how social, educational and economic factors affected their work. This survey of the characters and personal lives of British astronomers of the period - Edmond Halley, Robert Hooke, John Flamsteed and other less well known figures - will interest historians, astronomers, historians of science and astronomy, amateur astronomers, and the general reader.
Compendium of Practical Astronomy
Author: Günter D. RothPublisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364245688X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 557
Book Description
It is a pleasure to present this work, which has been well received in German-speaking countries through four editions, to the English-speaking reader. We feel that this is a unique publication in that it contains valuable material that cannot easily-if at all-be found elsewhere. We are grateful to the authors for reading through the English version of the text, and for responding promptly (for the most part) to our queries. Several authors have supplied us, on their own initiative or at our suggestion, with revised and updated manuscripts and with supplementary English references. We have striven to achieve a translation of Handbuch for Sternfreunde which accurately presents the qualitative and quantitative scientific principles con tained within each chapter while maintaining the flavor of the original Ger man text. Where appropriate, we have inserted footnotes to clarify material which may have a different meaning and/or application in English-speaking countries from that in Germany. When the first English edition of this work, Astronomy: A Handbook (translated by the late A. Beer), appeared in 1975, it contained 21 chapters. This new edition is over twice the length and contains 28 authored chap ters in three volumes. At Springer's request, we have devised a new title, Compendium of Practical Astronomy, to more accurately reflect the broad spectrum of topics and the vast body of information contained within these pages.
Science and the Shape of Orthodoxy
Author: Michael HunterPublisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 9780851155944
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372
Book Description
In his introduction Michael Hunter draws on these studies to propound a new theory of intellectual change in this key period. Traditionally it has been seen in terms of simple polarisations - modernity against obfuscation, orthodoxy against subversion. Here, it is argued that such polarisations represent influential but idealised extremes, to which thinkers individually responded; scholars must in future have due regard to the balance between ideal types and individual complexities thus revealed.
Literature 1985, Part 1
Author: S. BöhmePublisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662123525
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1157
Book Description
Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts aims to present a comprehensive documen tation of the literature concerning all aspects of astronomy, astrophysics, and their border fields. It is devoted to the recording, summarizing, and indexing of the relevant publications throughout the world. Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts is prepared by a special department of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union. Volume 39 records literature published in 1985 and received before August 15, 1985. Some older documents which we received late and which are not surveyed in earlier volumes are included too. We acknowledge with thanks contributions of our colleagues all over the world. We also express our gratitude to all organiza tions, observatories, and publishers which provide us with complimentary copies of their publications. On account of the introduction of an object index the scope of index information will be considerably enlarged beginning with this volume. In connection with the subject index an additional source to satisfy the needs of retrieval is opened up. Starting with Volume 33, all the recording, correction, and data processing work was done by means of computers. The recording was done by our technical staff members Ms. Helga Ballmann, Ms. Mona El-Choura, Ms. Monika Kohl, Ms. Sylvia Matyssek. Ms. Karin Burkhardt, Ms. Susanne Schlotelburg, and Mr. Stefan Wagner supported our task by careful proofreading. It is a pleasure to thank them all for their encouragement. Heidelberg, September 1985 The Editors Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Nature of the Book
Author: Adrian JohnsPublisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226401235
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 779
Book Description
In The Nature of the Book, a tour de force of cultural history, Adrian Johns constructs an entirely original and vivid picture of print culture and its many arenas—commercial, intellectual, political, and individual. "A compelling exposition of how authors, printers, booksellers and readers competed for power over the printed page. . . . The richness of Mr. Johns's book lies in the splendid detail he has collected to describe the world of books in the first two centuries after the printing press arrived in England."—Alberto Manguel, Washington Times "[A] mammoth and stimulating account of the place of print in the history of knowledge. . . . Johns has written a tremendously learned primer."—D. Graham Burnett, New Republic "A detailed, engrossing, and genuinely eye-opening account of the formative stages of the print culture. . . . This is scholarship at its best."—Merle Rubin, Christian Science Monitor "The most lucid and persuasive account of the new kind of knowledge produced by print. . . . A work to rank alongside McLuhan."—John Sutherland, The Independent "Entertainingly written. . . . The most comprehensive account available . . . well documented and engaging."—Ian Maclean, Times Literary Supplement
The Scientific Revolution
Author: Steven ShapinPublisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022639848X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
This scholarly and accessible study presents “a provocative new reading” of the late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century advances in scientific inquiry (Kirkus Reviews). In The Scientific Revolution, historian Steven Shapin challenges the very idea that any such a “revolution” ever took place. Rejecting the narrative that a new and unifying paradigm suddenly took hold, he demonstrates how the conduct of science emerged from a wide array of early modern philosophical agendas, political commitments, and religious beliefs. In this analysis, early modern science is shown not as a set of disembodied ideas, but as historically situated ways of knowing and doing. Shapin shows that every principle identified as the modernizing essence of science—whether it’s experimentalism, mathematical methodology, or a mechanical conception of nature—was in fact contested by sixteenth- and seventeenth-century practitioners with equal claims to modernity. Shapin argues that this contested legacy is nevertheless rightly understood as the origin of modern science, its problems as well as its acknowledged achievements. This updated edition includes a new bibliographic essay featuring the latest scholarship. “An excellent book.” —Anthony Gottlieb, New York Times Book Review
Oxford Figures
Author: John FauvelPublisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198523093
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 334
Book Description
This is the story of the intellectual and social life of a community, and of its interactions with the wider world. For 800 years mathematics has been researched and studied at Oxford, and the subject and its teaching have undergone profound changes during that time. This highly readable and beautifully illustrated book reveals the richness and influence of Oxford's mathematical tradition and the fascinating characters who helped to shape it. The story begins with the founding of the university of Oxford and the establishing of the medieval curriculum, in which mathematics had an important role. The Black Death, the advent of printing, the founding of the university of Cambridge, and the Newtonian revolution all had a great influence on the later development of mathematics at Oxford. So too did many well-known figures: Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren, Edmond Halley, Benjamin Jowett, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, G. H. Hardy, to name but a few. Later chapters bring us to the twentieth century, and the book ends with some entertaining reminiscences by Sir Michael Atiyah of the thirty years he spent as an Oxford mathematician.
Isaac Newton
Author: James GleickPublisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307426432
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
Isaac Newton was born in a stone farmhouse in 1642, fatherless and unwanted by his mother. When he died in London in 1727 he was so renowned he was given a state funeral—an unheard-of honor for a subject whose achievements were in the realm of the intellect. During the years he was an irascible presence at Trinity College, Cambridge, Newton imagined properties of nature and gave them names—mass, gravity, velocity—things our science now takes for granted. Inspired by Aristotle, spurred on by Galileo’s discoveries and the philosophy of Descartes, Newton grasped the intangible and dared to take its measure, a leap of the mind unparalleled in his generation. James Gleick, the author of Chaos and Genius, and one of the most acclaimed science writers of his generation, brings the reader into Newton’s reclusive life and provides startlingly clear explanations of the concepts that changed forever our perception of bodies, rest, and motion—ideas so basic to the twenty-first century, it can truly be said: We are all Newtonians.
The History of Celestial Navigation
Author: P. Kenneth SeidelmannPublisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030436314
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
This edited volume charts the history of celestial navigation over the course of five centuries. Written by a group of historians and scientists, it analyzes how competing navigation systems, technologies, and institutions emerged and developed, with a focus on the major players in the US and the UK. The history covers the founding of the Royal Observatory; the first printing of a Nautical Almanac; the founding of the US and UK Nautical Almanac Offices; the creation of international standards for reference systems and astronomical constants; and the impact of 20th century technology on the field, among other topics. Additionally, the volume analyzes the present role and status of celestial navigation, particularly with respect to modern radio and satellite navigation systems. With its diverse authorship and nontechnical language, this book will appeal to any reader interested in the history of science, technology, astronomy, and navigation over the ages.