... WF Bynum is at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College Lo... more ... WF Bynum is at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, 24 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1AD, UK. ... despite his provision of the data on which modern astronomy was to be built, nor that of his countryman Hans Christian Oersted (1851 ...
... de la vapeur pour les meetings et les echanges internationaux. Ce phenomene, qui plus que tou... more ... de la vapeur pour les meetings et les echanges internationaux. Ce phenomene, qui plus que tout autre a contribue a l'internationalisation de la science, est apparu des les dernieres decennies du 19e siecle. Elisabeth Crawford, John L. Heilbron, John G. May, Rebecca Ullrich ...
Press, 2011. xviii ϩ 681 pp. (double columns), 85 b&w illustrations, 7 tables, index-presents a n... more Press, 2011. xviii ϩ 681 pp. (double columns), 85 b&w illustrations, 7 tables, index-presents a novel thesis and a wealth of material. It is certain to raise questions that go beyond the Copernican. Therefore the Editors are pleased to be able to offer reviews by two people familiar with the documents to which the book refers. The ªrst of these, by Noel Swerdlow, examines the evidence for the book's central thesis: concern for the defense and improvement of astrology caused Copernicus to build his system. The other review, by John Heilbron, considers the workmanship behind the book and related matters, particularly as manifested in its extensive treatment of Galileo.-The editors.
F IFTY YEARS AGO, on the tenth of August, 1915, a young physicist named Henry Moseley died at Gal... more F IFTY YEARS AGO, on the tenth of August, 1915, a young physicist named Henry Moseley died at Gallipoli, shot through the head by a Turkish bullet. He was twenty-seven, brilliant, energetic, and personable; belligerents on both sides paused to observe his passing, " ein schwerer Verlust fur die Naturwissenschaften," " a matter of great regret," " une mort glorieuse." 1 His contemporaries could only describe him in superlatives. Rutherford esteemed him the best of the " young people " he had ever had; the late C. G. Darwin thought him " without exception or exaggeration the most brilliant man" he had ever met.2 Though Moseley is known primarily as an adept experimentalist, these evaluations refer to his grasp of physics as a whole. Bohr specifically commended his " penetrating theoretical understanding" and Rutherford his " accurate knowledge of the problems of modern physics." 3 During his short life Moseley published only eight papers, of which one was an account of his first research, closely supervised by Rutherford, and four were collaborative. His posthumous fame rests entirely on his last two publications, which contain his celebrated discovery, the simple formulas governing the " high-frequency " spectra of the elements. The work that culminated in the formulas was done between early summer of 1913 and May of the following year a remarkably short time, which might have been briefer still had Moseley not moved from Manchester to Oxford in the middle of his investigation. Of course, he did not progress so rapidly simply because of his native ability. The research was admirably suited to his training; he knew exactly what to look for, and generally what to expect.
answer Kepler's letter. Anticipating resentment, therefore, when he later needed Kepler's... more answer Kepler's letter. Anticipating resentment, therefore, when he later needed Kepler's help, he approached him indirectly. Such caution was unnecessary, however, because Kepler, suppressing his resentment, ungrudgingly gave Galileo the authoritative support he could find nowhere else. Galileo in turn gratefully acknowledged the unique value of Kepler's endorsement. The foregoing account of the first two Galileo-Kepler contacts will, I trust, redress the disequilibrium resulting from any one-sided view.
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 1993
... materialset out in my contributions to The quantifying spirit in the 18th century, edited by ... more ... materialset out in my contributions to The quantifying spirit in the 18th century, edited by Tore ... I am indebted to my colleagues Tore Fr?ngsmyr (Uppsala) and Giuliano Pancaldi (Bologna), co-organizersof ... The earliest success came by analyzing the phenomena of electricity and ...
The British Journal for the History of Science, 2007
... Can they be ignorant of the work of Pierre Duhem, Annaliese Maier, Alistair Crombie, Marshall... more ... Can they be ignorant of the work of Pierre Duhem, Annaliese Maier, Alistair Crombie, Marshall Clagett and William Wallace, who, long before 'recently', argued forcefully, knowledgeably and sometimes persuas-ively that modern ideas ... JOHN L. HEILBRON University of Oxford ...
... WF Bynum is at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College Lo... more ... WF Bynum is at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, 24 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1AD, UK. ... despite his provision of the data on which modern astronomy was to be built, nor that of his countryman Hans Christian Oersted (1851 ...
... de la vapeur pour les meetings et les echanges internationaux. Ce phenomene, qui plus que tou... more ... de la vapeur pour les meetings et les echanges internationaux. Ce phenomene, qui plus que tout autre a contribue a l'internationalisation de la science, est apparu des les dernieres decennies du 19e siecle. Elisabeth Crawford, John L. Heilbron, John G. May, Rebecca Ullrich ...
Press, 2011. xviii ϩ 681 pp. (double columns), 85 b&w illustrations, 7 tables, index-presents a n... more Press, 2011. xviii ϩ 681 pp. (double columns), 85 b&w illustrations, 7 tables, index-presents a novel thesis and a wealth of material. It is certain to raise questions that go beyond the Copernican. Therefore the Editors are pleased to be able to offer reviews by two people familiar with the documents to which the book refers. The ªrst of these, by Noel Swerdlow, examines the evidence for the book's central thesis: concern for the defense and improvement of astrology caused Copernicus to build his system. The other review, by John Heilbron, considers the workmanship behind the book and related matters, particularly as manifested in its extensive treatment of Galileo.-The editors.
F IFTY YEARS AGO, on the tenth of August, 1915, a young physicist named Henry Moseley died at Gal... more F IFTY YEARS AGO, on the tenth of August, 1915, a young physicist named Henry Moseley died at Gallipoli, shot through the head by a Turkish bullet. He was twenty-seven, brilliant, energetic, and personable; belligerents on both sides paused to observe his passing, " ein schwerer Verlust fur die Naturwissenschaften," " a matter of great regret," " une mort glorieuse." 1 His contemporaries could only describe him in superlatives. Rutherford esteemed him the best of the " young people " he had ever had; the late C. G. Darwin thought him " without exception or exaggeration the most brilliant man" he had ever met.2 Though Moseley is known primarily as an adept experimentalist, these evaluations refer to his grasp of physics as a whole. Bohr specifically commended his " penetrating theoretical understanding" and Rutherford his " accurate knowledge of the problems of modern physics." 3 During his short life Moseley published only eight papers, of which one was an account of his first research, closely supervised by Rutherford, and four were collaborative. His posthumous fame rests entirely on his last two publications, which contain his celebrated discovery, the simple formulas governing the " high-frequency " spectra of the elements. The work that culminated in the formulas was done between early summer of 1913 and May of the following year a remarkably short time, which might have been briefer still had Moseley not moved from Manchester to Oxford in the middle of his investigation. Of course, he did not progress so rapidly simply because of his native ability. The research was admirably suited to his training; he knew exactly what to look for, and generally what to expect.
answer Kepler's letter. Anticipating resentment, therefore, when he later needed Kepler's... more answer Kepler's letter. Anticipating resentment, therefore, when he later needed Kepler's help, he approached him indirectly. Such caution was unnecessary, however, because Kepler, suppressing his resentment, ungrudgingly gave Galileo the authoritative support he could find nowhere else. Galileo in turn gratefully acknowledged the unique value of Kepler's endorsement. The foregoing account of the first two Galileo-Kepler contacts will, I trust, redress the disequilibrium resulting from any one-sided view.
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 1993
... materialset out in my contributions to The quantifying spirit in the 18th century, edited by ... more ... materialset out in my contributions to The quantifying spirit in the 18th century, edited by Tore ... I am indebted to my colleagues Tore Fr?ngsmyr (Uppsala) and Giuliano Pancaldi (Bologna), co-organizersof ... The earliest success came by analyzing the phenomena of electricity and ...
The British Journal for the History of Science, 2007
... Can they be ignorant of the work of Pierre Duhem, Annaliese Maier, Alistair Crombie, Marshall... more ... Can they be ignorant of the work of Pierre Duhem, Annaliese Maier, Alistair Crombie, Marshall Clagett and William Wallace, who, long before 'recently', argued forcefully, knowledgeably and sometimes persuas-ively that modern ideas ... JOHN L. HEILBRON University of Oxford ...
Uploads
Papers by John Heilbron