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Galileo and the Equations of Motion

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Dino Boccaletti

    1. Matematica, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy

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  • Explains when and why certain laws have been credited to Galileo
  • Discusses Galileo's dependence on his forerunners
  • Contextualizes Galileo's texts and explains his kinematic terms in the light of present concepts
  • Allows the modern reader to read directly from Galileo's texts
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
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  2. The Problem of Motion Before Galileo

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. The Theories on the Motion of Bodies in the Classical Antiquity

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 3-23

    3. The Theories of Motion in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 25-60

  3. Galileo and the Motion

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-62
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    2. The Young Galileo and the de Motu

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 63-91

    3. The Inertia Principle

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 93-116

    4. The Motion of Heavy Bodies and the Trajectory of Projectiles

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 117-162

    5. Galileo and the Principle of Relativity

      • Dino Boccaletti
      Pages 163-167

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 169-175
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Keywords

About this book

This book is intended as a historical and critical study on the origin of the equations of motion as established in Newton's Principia. The central question that it aims to answer is whether it is indeed correct to ascribe to Galileo the inertia principle and the law of falling bodies. In order to accomplish this task, the study begins by considering theories on the motion of bodies from classical antiquity, and especially those of Aristotle. The theories developed during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are then reviewed, with careful analysis of the contributions of, for example, the Merton and Parisian Schools and Galileo’s immediate predecessors, Tartaglia and Benedetti. Finally, Galileo’s work is examined in detail, starting from the early writings. Excerpts from individual works are presented, to allow the texts to speak for themselves, and then commented upon. The book provides historical evidence both for Galileo's dependence on his forerunners and for the major breakthroughs that he achieved. It will satisfy the curiosity of all who wish to know when and why certain laws have been credited to Galileo.

Reviews

“The purpose of this book is to explain how Galileo gradually transformed from a believer in the Archimedian approach to eventually arrive at the new insights of these laws of motion. Boccaletti carefully analyses the available texts to understand this transformation. This is a study mainly addressing the professional historian.” (Adhemar Bultheel, EMS European Mathematical Society, eruo-math-soc.eu, November, 2015)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Matematica, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy

    Dino Boccaletti

About the author

Dino Boccaletti was Professor of Celestial Mechanics at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” from 1987 until his retirement, and was previously Professor in the Institution of Mathematics at the university. In addition to his teaching and supervisory responsibilities, Prof. Boccaletti conducted research in the fields of Physics of Elementary Particles, Theoretical Astrophysics, Theory of Gravitational Waves, Stellar Dynamics, Celestial Mechanics, and Mathematical Physics. He has published a number of papers in leading journals, including Nature, Physical Review D, and Astronomy & Astrophysics, and has acted as reviewer for various scientific journals. He is co-author, with G. Pucacco, of the two-volume Springer book Theory of Orbits, which is used for advanced courses in Celestial Mechanics and Stellar Dynamics at universities across the world.

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