Modern Instruments and Methods of Calculation: A Handbook of the Napier Tercentenary Exhibition (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

E. M. Horsburg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0484725556 ISBN 13: 9780484725552

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2017

Synopsis

Napier and the birth of modern calculation: a clear, illustrated window into the invention of logarithms and the tools that shaped science.

This handbook surveys the Napier Tercentenary Exhibition and traces how Napier’s logarithms transformed astronomical and mathematical work. It places Napier in his Scottish setting, showing why his achievement marked an epoch in science and influenced figures like Newton and Kepler. The volume blends a concise biography with exhibit descriptions, historical context, and insights into early calculating devices and tables.

Readers will encounter sections on Napier’s life and works, the development of mathematical tables, and the evolution of calculating machines, slide rules, and related instruments. The text connects personal history to broader scientific advances, offering a grounded look at how counting, computation, and measurement evolved.

• Overview of Napier’s invention of the logarithm and its impact on science.
• Historical context of mathematics in Scotland and its influence on later thinkers.
• Descriptions of early calculating tools, including slide rules and related apparatus.
• Photographs, letters, and other archival materials that illuminate the period.

Ideal for readers of the history of science and mathematics, exhibitions and collectors interested in the origins of modern calculation, and those seeking a compact, accessible introduction to Napier’s lasting legacy.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0484725556
• ISBN 13: 9780484725552
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 388