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The Laws of Mechanics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

M. D. Dampier
M. D. Dampier*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, The University, Leicester LE1 7RH
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Extract

The two great monuments of Western science are Euclid’s Elements and Newton’s Principia. Both are severely mathematical works; both set forth cosmological theories; in their day both were considered daring and speculative; both achieved unprecedented accuracy in application, so much so that at one time they were thought to be based upon a priori truths of reason, and even today are preferred to experiment over a wide range of phenomena. These two theories remain indispensable as elements of modern scientific thought despite the fact that they were simultaneously superseded in 1915 when Einstein published his theory of gravitation, a theory even more mathematical and boldly speculative than its predecessors. (One must, of course, remember that the nineteenth century discovery of non-euclidean geometry, whilst destroying the belief that Euclid’s geometry was true a priori, did not shake the belief that it was true as a matter of fact.)

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 63 , Issue 423 , March 1979 , pp. 19 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1979

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