Seduced by Logic: Émilie Du Châtelet, Mary Somerville and the Newtonian Revolution

by Robyn Arianrhod

Overview

Newton's explanation of the natural law of universal gravity shattered the way mankind perceived the universe, and hence it was not immediately embraced. After all, how can anyone warm to a force that cannot be seen or touched? But for two women, separated by time and space but joined in their passion for Newtonian physics, the intellectual power of that force drove them to great achievements. Brilliant, determined, and almost entirely self-taught, they dedicated their lives to explaining and disseminating Newton's discoveries.

Robyn Arianrhod's Seduced by Logic tells the story of Emilie du Chatelet and Mary Somerville, who, despite living a century apart, were connected by their love for mathematics and their places at the heart of the most advanced scientific society of their age. When Newton published his revolutionary theory of gravity, in his monumental Principia of 1687, most of his Continental peers rejected it for its reliance on physical observation and mathematical insight instead of religious or metaphysical hypotheses. But the brilliant French aristocrat and intellectual Emilie du Chatelet and some of her early eighteenth-century Enlightenment colleagues—including her lover, Voltaire—realized the Principia had changed everything, marking the beginning of theoretical science as a predictive, quantitative, and secular discipline. Emilie devoted herself to furthering Newton's ideas in France, and her translation of the Principia is still the accepted French version of this groundbreaking work. Almost a century later, in Scotland, Mary Somerville taught herself mathematics and rose from genteel poverty to become a world authority on Newtonian physics. She was fêted by the famous French Newtonian, Pierre Simon Laplace, whose six-volume Celestial Mechanics was considered the greatest intellectual achievement since the Principia. Laplace's work was the basis of Mary's first book, Mechanism of the Heavens; it is a bittersweet irony that this book, written by a woman denied entry to university because of her gender, remained an advanced university astronomy text for the next century.

Combining biography, history, and popular science, Seduced by Logic not only reveals the fascinating story of two incredibly talented women, but also brings to life a period of dramatic political and scientific change. With lucidity and skill, Arianrhod explains the science behind the story, and explores - through the lives of her protagonists - the intimate links between the unfolding Newtonian revolution and the development of intellectual and political liberty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199931613
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2012
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Robyn Arianrhod is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University. She is the author of Einstein's Heroes.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Madame Newton du Châtelet 6

2 Creating the theory of gravity: the Newtonian controversy 12

3 Learning mathematics and fighting for freedom 20

4 Émilie and Voltaire's Academy of Free Thought 37

5 Testing Newton: the 'New Argonauts' 56

6 The danger in Newton: life, love and politics 67

7 The nature of light: Émilie takes on Newton 80

8 Searching for 'energy': Émilie discovers Leibniz 97

9 Mathematics and free will 114

10 The re-emergence of Madame Newton du Châtelet 132

11 Love letters to Saint-Lambert 147

12 Mourning Émilie 155

13 Mary Fairfax Somerville 161

14 The long road to fame 175

15 Mechanism of the Heavens 197

16 Mary's second book: popular science in the nineteenth century 214

17 Finding light waves: the 'Newtonian Revolution' comes of age 227

18 Mary Somerville: a fortunate life 244

Epilogue: Declaring a point of view 252

Appendix 258

Notes and Sources 286

Bibliography 318

Acknowledgments 328

Index 329

Editorial Reviews

"...timely reminder of how little things have changed since the 19th century and how much women of science can accomplish." — Wall Street Journal

"Anyone who enjoys the history of science, especially from the underrepresented feminist perspective, should appreciate this well-crafted narrative. Recommended." — Library Journal

"Here is a skillfully written tapestry of the science, history and portrayal of two of the most charismatic women of mathematical science. Robyn Arianrhod has produced a captivating masterpiece that lures us readers into the intrigues and treasures of eighteenth-century scientific life." — Joseph Mazur, author of Euclid in the Rainforest and What's Luck Got to Do with It?

"An elegant and inspiring history of how scientific revolutions make their way." — Edward Dolnick, The Clockwork Universe

"For lovers of mathematics, this is the story of two delightful women whose translations and popularizations helped transform Newton's controversial theory of gravitation into [an accepted] natural law." — Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, author of The Theory that Would Not Die and Prometheans in the Lab

"It is impossible not to be caught up in Arianrhod's enthusiasm for her subject and [be] gripped from the first page." — Weekend Australian

"An impressively far-reaching book... Arianrhod takes the wide scope of her book as an opportunity to discuss Newtonian mathematics, the history of the Enlightenment, and women's education, to name just a few of her subjects. And no matter what the topic, her prose is natural, graceful and lucid."— Readings

PRAISE FOR ROBYN ARIANRHOD'S EINSTEIN'S HEROES:

"Robyn Arianrhod's passion for mathematics is so infectious, you'll scream 'Eureka' when you read her book." — Herald-Sun

"I read this exhilarating book as I would a novel. Arianrhod combines a passion for her subject with an erudition that is rate for a storyteller." — Robyn Williams, ABC'S The Science Show

From the Publisher

As Arianrhod (honorary research associate, Sch. of Mathematical Sciences, Monash Univ., Melbourne; Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the World through the Language of Mathematics) tells it, women throughout history have found ways around patriarchal society's limitations in order to pursue knowledge, and several have made notable contributions to science in the process. Among these are 18th-century Frenchwoman Émilie du Châtelet and 19th-century Scot Mary Somerville, whose writings (notably du Châtelet's French translation of Isaac Newton's Principia and Somerville's English translation of Pierre-Simon Laplace's Mécanique Céleste, both with commentary) advanced the general understanding of Newtonian science. Their stories have largely been subsumed by those of their male counterparts (e.g., Johann Bernoulli, Leonhard Euler, Michael Faraday), so this account serves as a refreshing reminder that women in science are not a recent phenomenon. Arianrhod presents their stories from youth through death in the context of the scientific, political, and social atmospheres of their respective times. Each of these remarkable women was famous in contemporary scientific circles and deserves to be so again. VERDICT Anyone who enjoys the history of science, especially from the underrepresented feminist perspective, should appreciate this well-crafted narrative. Recommended.—Marcia R. Franklin, St. Paul

Library Journal