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  • Book
  • © 1980

Sophie Germain

An Essay in the History of the Theory of Elasticity

Authors:

  1. Louis L. Bucciarelli

    1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Nancy Dworsky

    1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Part of the book series: Studies in the History of Modern Science (SHMS, volume 6)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 1-8

  3. Sophie Germain

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 9-19

  4. Respectfully Yours, Gauss

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 20-29

  5. Setting the Prize

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 30-39

  6. The One Entry

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 40-64

  7. The Molecular Mentality

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 65-76

  8. An Award with Reservations

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 77-84

  9. Publication

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 85-97

  10. Emergence of a Theory

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 98-111

  11. Final Years

    • Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky
    Pages 112-122

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 123-149
    PDF
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About this book

Why should the story of a woman's role in the development of a scientific theory be written? Is it to celebrate, as some have done, the heroism of a woman's struggle in a man's world? Or is it, rather~to demonstrate that gender is irrelevant to the march of scientific ideas? This book hopes to do neither. Rather, it intends to do justice both to the professional life of a woman in science and to the development of the theory with which she was engaged. Technically, this essay centers on Sophie Germain's analysis of the modes of vibration of elastic surfaces, work which won a competition set by the French Academy of Sciences in 1809. It also evaluates related work on the mathematical theory of elasticity done by men of the Academy. Biographically, it is about a woman who believed in the greatness of science and strove, with some measure of success, to participate in that noble, but wholly male-dominated, enterprise. It explores her failures, analyzes her success, and describes how the members of the Parisian scientific community dealt with her offerings, contributions and demands.
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Keywords

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Authors and Affiliations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA

    Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky

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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Sophie Germain

  • Book Subtitle: An Essay in the History of the Theory of Elasticity

  • Authors: Louis L. Bucciarelli, Nancy Dworsky

  • Series Title: Studies in the History of Modern Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9051-7

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland 1980

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-90-277-1134-2Published: 31 October 1980

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-90-277-1135-9Published: 31 October 1980

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-009-9051-7Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 149

  • Topics: History, general, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics

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Buy it now

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

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