Newton's Principia paints a picture of the earth as a spinning, gravitating ball. However, the earth is not completely rigid and the interplay of forces will modify its shape in subtle ways. Newton predicted a flattening at the poles, yet others disagreed. Plenty of books have described the expeditions which sought to measure the shape of the earth, but very little has appeared on the mathematics of a problem which remains of enduring interest even in an age of satellites. Published in 1874, this two-volume work by Isaac Todhunter (1820-84), perhaps the greatest Victorian historian of mathematics, takes the mathematical story from Newton, through the expeditions which settled the matter in Newton's favour, to the investigations of Laplace which opened a new era in mathematical physics. Volume 1 traces developments from Newton up to 1780, including coverage of the work of Maupertuis, Clairaut and d'Alembert.
- ISBN10 111526656X
- ISBN13 9781115266567
- Publish Date 1 September 2009
- Publish Status Unknown
- Out of Print 17 June 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint BiblioLife
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 424
- Language English