Maclaurin's Physical Dissertations |
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Author:
| Tweddle, Ian |
Series title: | Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physic Ser. |
ISBN: | 978-1-280-80446-5 |
Publication Date: | Jan 2007 |
Publisher: | Springer London, Limited
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Book Format: | Ebook |
List Price: | USD $109.00 |
Book Description:
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The Scottish mathematician Colin MacLaurin (1698-1746) is best known for developing and extending Newton s work in calculus, geometry and gravitation; his 2-volume work 'Treatise of Fluxions' (1742) was the first systematic exposition of Newton s methods. It is well known that MacLaurin was awarded prizes by the Royal Academy of Sciences, Paris, for his earlier work on the collision of bodies (1724) and the tides (1740); however, the contents of these essays are less familiar and the...
More DescriptionThe Scottish mathematician Colin MacLaurin (1698-1746) is best known for developing and extending Newton s work in calculus, geometry and gravitation; his 2-volume work 'Treatise of Fluxions' (1742) was the first systematic exposition of Newton s methods. It is well known that MacLaurin was awarded prizes by the Royal Academy of Sciences, Paris, for his earlier work on the collision of bodies (1724) and the tides (1740); however, the contents of these essays are less familiar and the essays themselves often hard to obtain. This book presents these important works in translation for the first time, preceded by a translation of MacLaurin s MA dissertation on gravity (Glasgow, 1713). A general introduction puts the works in context and gives an outline of MacLaurin's career. Each translation is then accompanied by an introduction and a series of notes and appendices in which individual results are analysed, both in modern terms and from a historical point of view. Background material is also provided."