Kepler’s Physical Astronomy (Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, 13) - Hardcover

Stephenson, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387965416 ISBN 13: 9780387965413

Publisher: Springer, 1987

Synopsis

Kepler's Physical Astronomy is an account of Kepler's reformulation of astronomy as a physical science, and of his successful use of (incorrect) physics as a guide in his astronomical discoveries. It presents the only reliable account of the internal logic of Kepler's so-called first and second laws, showing how and to what extent Kepler thought he had derived them from his physical principles. It explains for the first time Kepler's attempt to use an obscure discovery of Tycho Brahe to unify and confirm all of his own physical theories. It also describes the intricate (and neglected) theory which Kepler developed to account for the additional anomalies needed for the theory of the moon.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce Stephenson is a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago.

Review:

"'To explore and explain the development of Kepler's planetary theory, and of the physical hypotheses integral to that theory, more faithfully than has yet been done'--is [Stephenson's] expressed aim in this book. He has achieved it in a way unlikely to be surpassed; a more lucid and thorough account is scarcely imaginable. A good deal that was previously murky is here made clear. For an understanding of Keplerian endeavor 'from the inside,' Stephenson's book is undoubtedly the best guide now available."--Curtis Wilson, Centaurus

"A landmark contribution to Keplerian studies and one that must not be missed by any historian or astronomer who seeks an understanding of the genesis of Kepler's laws."--Owen Gingerich, Isis

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0387965416
• ISBN 13: 9780387965413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 226