Early Physics and Astronomy A Historical Introduction

The book is an introductory exposition of the development of the physical and astronomical notions of the universe. It covers the period from Greek antiquity to the Copernican revolution and the Renaissance, half of the text being devoted to medieval science within both the Aristotelian and the Archimedean traditions. The book is intended for a general audience interested in intellectual and scientific developments, but should also be useful as a guide to further studies. Thus it has an extensive bibliography classifying much of the secondary literature on the subject, and also a sixty page 'dictionary' of all the scientists and philosophers mentioned in the text. This contains references to printed editions of the sources and to a selection of books and periodicals.

Preface; 1. Science before the Greeks; 2. The new concept of nature; 3. Plato and Greek mathematics; 4. Aristotle and the knowledge of Nature; 5. Practical astronomy; 6. Early Greek cosmology; 7. Mathematical astronomy; 8. The foundation of statics; 9. Dynamics in antiquity; 10. The conception of light and sound; 11. The structure of material substances; 12. Properties of matter and chemical change; 13. The transmission of Greek science; 14. Experimental physics in the Middle Ages; 15. The development of statics; 16. The establishment of kinematics; 17. Force and motion in the Middle Ages; 18. Mediaeval astronomy; 19. The change called Renaissance; 20. The reform of astronomy; Bibliography; Index.

A concise exposition of the development of the scientific ideas of the universe from the ancient Greeks until Copernicus paved the way for the modern era in science. The many references to the literature on the subject make it possible to use the book as a guide to a more detailed study.