Readings in the History of Science

About this event

The history of science meetup group has opened a new chapter. We've now discussed scientific developments up to and including Newton at some length. The focus going forward will be post-Newton. The 19th century was a golden age for analytical work in mathematics. Correspondingly analytical mechanics and thermodynamics also developed and, not surprisingly, these met the needs of the burgeoning industrial revolution. New concepts of work and energy were developed. These and related issues will be the focus of our new chapter. • • The history of science meetup will meet on November 12 from 6pm to 8pm (Pacific time). We will finish Craig Fraser’s ‘J L Lagrange’s early contributions to the principles and methods of mechanics’ . In the November 12 meeting we will cover from page 215 to the end of the article. The focus of the meeting will be d’Aembert’s ideas of least action and virtual displacements and on Lagrange’s prize-winning work on libration of the moon. Why is this important? If virtual displacements are appropriately chosen, constraint forces and internal forces are eliminated and the dynamics is dramatically simplified. If you wish to join us you can get a pdf of the article by requesting it from [email protected]. • *