The Fabric of the Heavens: The Development of Astronomy and DynamicsConceived as three companion volumes that form an introduction to the central ideas of the modern natural sciences, these books—intelligent, informative, and accessible—are an excellent source for those who have no technical knowledge of the subject. Praise for The Fabric of the Heavens: "I cannot remember when I last went through a book, any book, with such all-devouring zest. What is more, even the most complex technicalities are reduced to a positively crystalline clarity: If I can understand them, anyone can. The Fabric of the Heavens is, in every sense of the word, an eye-opener."—Peter Green, The Yorkshire Post "Not until the last chapter of the book is [the reader] allowed to think again wholly as a modern man has become accustomed, by common sense, to think. The discipline is admirably suited to the authors' task, and cunningly devised for the reader's edification—and, indeed, for his delight."—Physics Today Praise for The Architecture of Matter: "The Architecture of Matter is to be warmly recommended. It is that rare achievement, a lively book which at the same time takes the fullest possible advantage of scholarly knowledge."—Charles C. Gillespie, New York Times Book Review "One is impressed by the felicity of the examples and by the lively clarity with which significant experiments and ideas are explained. . . . No other history of science is so consistently challenging."—Scientific American Praise for The Discovery of Time: "A subject of absorbing interest . . . is presented not as a history of science, but as a chapter in the history of ideas from the ancient Greeks to our own time."—Times Literary Supplement |
Contents
Acknowledgements | 7 |
Authors Foreword | 11 |
COSMOLOGY | 15 |
THE SOURCES OF THE OLD ORDER | 23 |
The Sources | 24 |
The Problems | 26 |
The Background of the Problems | 30 |
The Solution to the Problems | 34 |
Ptolemys Mathematical Astronomy | 137 |
The Wider Revolt against Philosophy | 145 |
Archimedes and the Circle | 149 |
THE NEW PERSPECTIVE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES | 153 |
The Mediaeval Revival | 158 |
His Aim and his Theory | 161 |
Mediaeval Arguments about the Moving Earth | 165 |
His Aim and his Theory | 169 |
The Wider Issues | 41 |
How the Babylonians Computed Conjunctions | 48 |
The Invention of Theory | 52 |
The Background | 54 |
The Character of Greek Theory | 58 |
The First Theories | 64 |
From Ingredients to Axioms | 69 |
Platos Geometrical Astronomy | 79 |
THE PREMATURE SYNTHESIS | 90 |
Aristotles Programme | 91 |
Motion and Change | 93 |
The Celestial Mechanism | 105 |
The Size of the Earths Sphere | 112 |
DOUBTERS AND HERETICS | 115 |
Patching up the Dynamics | 117 |
Amending the Astronomy | 119 |
Aristarchos Heliocentric Theory | 122 |
PHYSICS LOSES MOMENTUM | 128 |
Four Questions | 129 |
The Political Background to Late Greek Astronomy | 131 |
The Retreat from Physics | 133 |
An Acquisition | 136 |
His Achievement | 175 |
PREPARING GROUND | 182 |
The Work of Tycho Brahe | 184 |
Galilieos Telescopic Discoveries | 189 |
Johann Keplers Astronomical Physics | 198 |
THE CREATION OF MECHANICS | 210 |
The Change from Aristotle to Newton | 211 |
Treating Motion Mathematically | 213 |
Motion and Force | 221 |
StraightLine Motion | 225 |
THE NEW PICTURES TAKES SHAPE | 228 |
The Man and his Task | 229 |
Newtons Argument | 232 |
The Character of Newtons Achievement | 238 |
The Unity of Craft and Theory | 245 |
THE WIDENING HORIZON | 250 |
2 The Mechanism of Gravity | 256 |
The LargerScale Picture | 261 |
The Wider Influences of Newton | 264 |
Certainty and Scientific Theory | 268 |
273 | |
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Common terms and phrases
acceleration Almagest Anaxagoras Anaximander appear Arabic Archimedes argued arguments Aristarchos Aristotle Aristotle's arithmetical astronomy Babylonian body moving calculation celestial centre century A.D. circle circular motion comets Copernican Copernicus cosmology cycle Descartes discoveries distance Divine doctrine dynamics Earth eclipses epicycle Eudoxos explain F. M. Cornford fact fixed stars force further Galileo geometrical gravitation Greek astronomy heavenly bodies Heavens heliocentric Hipparchos ideal ideas instance intellectual Jupiter Kepler later laws light look lunar Marduk Mars mathematical matter mechanics mediaeval methods month Moon movement natural natural philosophers Newton observation orbit Oresme original Philoponos philosophers physics picture planetary system planets Plate Plato position principles problems projectile proportion Ptolemy Ptolemy's Pythagoreans questions rational religious result retrograde retrograde motion rotation round scholars scientific solar speculation speed sphere STEPHEN TOULMIN Sun's suppose telescope terrestrial theoretical theory things thought tion tradition Tycho universe velocity visible whole
References to this book
Being and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Metaphysics Frederick Ferre,Frederick Ferré Limited preview - 1996 |
Being and Value: Toward a Constructive Postmodern Metaphysics Frederick Ferre No preview available - 1996 |