The Fabric of the Heavens: The Development of Astronomy and Dynamics

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, 1999 - History - 285 pages
Conceived 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

From inside the book

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
Index
273
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information