| Planetary Motions: A Historical Perspective Contributor(s): Hetherington, Norriss (Author) |
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ISBN: 031333241X ISBN-13: 9780313332418 Publisher: Greenwood OUR PRICE: $78.21 Product Type: Hardcover Published: July 2006 Annotation: Students in an introductory physics class learn a variety of different, and seemingly unconnected, concepts. Gravity, the laws of motion, forces and fields, the mathematical nature of the science - all of these are ideas that play a central role in understanding physics. And one thing that connects all of these physical concepts is the impetus the great scientists of the past had to develop them - the desire to understand the motion of the planets of the solar system. This desire led to the revolutionary work of Copernicus and Galileo, Kepler and Newton. And their work forever altered how science is practiced and understood. Planetary Motions: A Historical Perspective enables students to understand how the discoveries of the luminaries of the Scientific Revolution impact the way physics is practiced today. BLNicolas Copernicus - his revolutionary work On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres that placed the sun, rather than the earth, at the center of the universe forever altered how people would see our place in the cosmos BLGalileo - his work did not prove Copernicus correct, but did destroy the ancient physics of Aristotle BLJohannes Kepler - his painstaking work eventually led to his laws regarding how the planets revolve around the sun BLIsaac Newton -his work remains the center of classical physics as studied in classrooms today Jargon and mathematics is kept to a minimum, and the volume includes a timeline and an annotated bibliography of useful print and online works for further research. Planetary Motions is an ideal introduction for students studying physics and astronomy and who need to understand the history and nature of the scientific enterprise. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | History - Science | Physics - Astrophysics |
| Dewey: 520.9 |
| LCCN: 2006005043 |
| Series: Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science |
| Physical Information: 0.86" H x 7.37" W x 10.5" (1.51 lbs) 248 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Students in an introductory physics class learn a variety of different, and seemingly unconnected, concepts. Gravity, the laws of motion, forces and fields, the mathematical nature of the science - all of these are ideas that play a central role in understanding physics. And one thing that connects all of these physical concepts is the impetus the great scientists of the past had to develop them - the desire to understand the motion of the planets of the solar system. This desire led to the revolutionary work of Copernicus and Galileo, Kepler and Newton. And their work forever altered how science is practiced and understood. |