Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction / Edition 2

by Olaf Pedersen

Overview

The book is an introductory exposition of the development of the physical and astronomical notions of the universe. It covers the period from Greek antiquity to the Copernican revolution and the Renaissance, half of the text being devoted to medieval science within both the Aristotelian and the Archimedean traditions. The book is intended for a general audience interested in intellectual and scientific developments, but should also be useful as a guide to further studies. Thus it has an extensive bibliography classifying much of the secondary literature on the subject, and also a sixty page 'dictionary' of all the scientists and philosophers mentioned in the text. This contains references to printed editions of the sources and to a selection of books and periodicals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521408998
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/11/1993
Edition description:	Rev. ed
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Science before the Greeks; 2. The new concept of nature; 3. Plato and Greek mathematics; 4. Aristotle and the knowledge of Nature; 5. Practical astronomy; 6. Early Greek cosmology; 7. Mathematical astronomy; 8. The foundation of statics; 9. Dynamics in antiquity; 10. The conception of light and sound; 11. The structure of material substances; 12. Properties of matter and chemical change; 13. The transmission of Greek science; 14. Experimental physics in the Middle Ages; 15. The development of statics; 16. The establishment of kinematics; 17. Force and motion in the Middle Ages; 18. Mediaeval astronomy; 19. The change called Renaissance; 20. The reform of astronomy; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'This is an exceptional book, written with a clarity of style which not only reveals the broad ebb and flow of scientific ideas throughout the ages, but also illuminates them by closely focussed images of specific individuals and the inspired ideas which brought about the emerging understanding of the physical world. Olaf Pedersen has presented us with an epitome of classical and scientific scholarship, and for that we should be grateful indeed.' Webb Society Quarterly Journal

' ... recommend to anyone interested in the history of science...' Journal of the British Astronomical Society

From the Publisher