This book presents new insights into Leibniz's research on planetary theory and his system of pre-established harmony. Although some aspects of this theory have been explored in the literature, others are less well known. In particular, the book offers new contributions on the connection between the planetary theory and the theory of gravitation. It also provides an in-depth discussion of Kepler's influence on Leibniz's planetary theory and more generally, on Leibniz's concept of pre-established harmony. Three initial chapters presenting the mathematical and physical details of Leibniz's...

This monograph presents a groundbreaking scholarly treatment of the German mathematician Jost Burgi's original work on logarithms, Arithmetische und Geometrische Progre Tabulen. It provides the first-ever English translation of Burgi's text and illuminates his role in the development of the conception of logarithms, for which John Napier is traditionally given priority. High-resolution scans of each page of the his handwritten text are reproduced for the reader and as a means of preserving an important work for which there are very few surviving copies.

The book begins with a brief...

The main focus of this book is on the interconnection of two unorthodox scientific ideas, the varying-gravity hypothesis and the expanding-earth hypothesis. As such, it provides a fascinating insight into a nearly forgotten chapter in both the history of cosmology and the history of the earth sciences.

The hypothesis that the force of gravity decreases over cosmic time was first proposed by Paul Dirac in 1937. In this book the author examines in detail the historical development of Dirac's hypothesis and its consequences for the structure and history of the earth, the most important...

This monograph is an annotated translation of what is considered to be the world's first calculus textbook, originally published in French in 1696. That anonymously published textbook on differential calculus was based on lectures given to the Marquis de l'Hopital in 1691-2 by the great Swiss mathematician, Johann Bernoulli. In the 1920s, a copy of Bernoulli's lecture notes was discovered in a library in Basel, which presented the opportunity to compare Bernoulli's notes, in Latin, to l'Hopital's text in French. The similarities are remarkable, but there is also much in l'Hopital's book...

The tremendous success of indivisibles methods in geometry in the seventeenth century, responds to a vast project: installation of infinity in mathematics. The pathways by the authors are very diverse, as are the characterizations of indivisibles, but there are significant factors of unity between the various doctrines of indivisible; the permanence of the language used by all authors is the strongest sign.

These efforts do not lead to the stabilization of a mathematical theory (with principles or axioms, theorems respecting these first statements, followed by applications to a set...

This second volume of Gyllenbok's encyclopedia of historical metrology comprises the first part of the compendium of measurement systems and currencies of all sovereign states of the modern world (A-I).

Units of measurement are of vital importance in every civilization through history. Since the early ages, man has through necessity devised various measures to assist him in everyday life. They have enabled and continue to enable us to trade in commonly and equitably understood amounts, and to investigate, understand, and control the chemical, physical, and biological processes of the...

Volume 3 of Gyllenbok's encyclopedia of historical metrology continues the second book, comprising J-Z of the compendium of measurement systems and currencies of all sovereign states of the modern world and the complete list of references.

Units of measurement are of vital importance in every civilization through history. Since the early ages, man has through necessity devised various measures to assist him in everyday life. They have enabled and continue to enable us to trade in commonly and equitably understood amounts, and to investigate, understand, and control the chemical,...