Force and Geometry in Newton's Principia

François De Gandt, Curtis Wilson

$99.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Princeton University Press
23 September 2014

Geometry; Topology; Classical mechanics

Series: Princeton Legacy Library

In this book Francois De Gandt introduces us to the reading of Newton's Principia in its own terms. The path of access that De Gandt proposes leads through the study of the geometrization of force. The result is a highly original meditation on the sources and meaning of Newton's magnum opus. In Chapter I De Gandt presents a translation of and detailed commentary on an earlier and simpler version of what in 1687 became Book I of the Principia; here in clearer and starker outline than in the final version, the basic principles of Newton's dynamics show forth. Chapter II places this dynamics in the intellectual context of earlier efforts--the first seeds of celestial dynamics in Kepler, Galileo's theory of accelerated motion, and Huygens's quantification of centrifugal force--and evaluates Newton's debt to these thinkers. Chapter III is a study of the mathematical tools used by Newton and their intellectual antecedents in the works of Galileo, Torricelli, Barrow, and other seventeenth-century mathematicians. The conclusion discusses the new status of force and cause in the science that emerges from Newton's Principia. Originally published in 1995.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

By: François De Gandt
Translated by: Curtis Wilson
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 312
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 425g
ISBN: 9780691602516
ISBN 10: 0691602514
Series: Princeton Legacy Library
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 23 September 2014
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Translator's IntroductionPrefaceConventions and AbbreviationsPreamble3Ch. IThe De motu of 168410The Elements of Newton's Solution10Ch. IIAspects of Force before the Principia58The Diffusion of the Solar Virtue: Kepler and the Calculation of Forces63Weight and Acceleration: Force and Time in the Galilean Tradition85Gravity and Centrifugal Force: The Analysis of Effort in the Cartesian Tradition117Newton and Circular Motion before the Principia139Ch. IIIThe Mathematical Methods159Indivisibles or Ultimate Ratios?159The Methods of Indivisibles168Motion in Geometry: The Kinematics of Curves and the Method of Fluxions202The Methods of the Principia (1): Ultimate Ratios and Finite Witnesses221The Methods of the Principia (2): The Inverse Problem and the Emergence of a New Style244Conclusions265Notes273Bibliography287Index295

Reviews for Force and Geometry in Newton's Principia

A major contribution to Newtonian studies. --Choice De Gandt's book ... is a lucid and historically grounded essay devoted to Newton's mathematization of central forces. --Centaurus