The Project Gutenberg eBook ofPioneers of ScienceThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Pioneers of ScienceAuthor: Sir Oliver LodgeRelease date: April 26, 2009 [eBook #28613]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF SCIENCE ***
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Pioneers of ScienceAuthor: Sir Oliver LodgeRelease date: April 26, 2009 [eBook #28613]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Title: Pioneers of Science
Author: Sir Oliver Lodge
Author: Sir Oliver Lodge
Release date: April 26, 2009 [eBook #28613]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Greg Bergquist and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF SCIENCE ***
Transcriber’s NoteThe punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.This text contains a few phrases in Greek, with English transliterations given as mouse hover pop-ups:φενόμεναYour browser should be set to read the UTF-8 character set.
Transcriber’s Note
The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
This text contains a few phrases in Greek, with English transliterations given as mouse hover pop-ups:φενόμεναYour browser should be set to read the UTF-8 character set.
NEWTONNEWTONFrom the picture by Kneller, 1689, now at Cambridge
BYOLIVER LODGE, F.R.S.PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN VICTORIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOLWITH PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
London
MACMILLAN AND CO.AND NEW YORK1893
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,LONDON AND BUNGAY.
Thisbook takes its origin in a course of lectures on the history and progress of Astronomy arranged for me in the year 1887 by three of my colleagues (A.C.B., J.M., G.H.R.), one of whom gave the course its name.
The lectures having been found interesting, it was natural to write them out in full and publish.
If I may claim for them any merit, I should say it consists in their simple statement and explanation of scientific facts and laws. The biographical details are compiled from all readily available sources, there is no novelty or originality about them; though it is hoped that there may be some vividness. I have simply tried to present a living figure of each Pioneer in turn, and to trace his influence on the progress of thought.
I am indebted to many biographers and writers, among others to Mr. E.J.C. Morton, whose excellent set of lives published by the S.P.C.K. saved me much trouble in the early part of the course.
As we approach recent times the subject grows more complex, and the men more nearly contemporaries; hence the biographical aspect diminishes and the scientific treatment becomes fuller, but in no case has it been allowed to become technical and generally unreadable.
To the friends (C.C.C., F.W.H.M., E.F.R.) who with great kindness have revised the proofs, and have indicated places where the facts could be made more readily intelligible by a clearer statement, I express my genuine gratitude.
University College, Liverpool,November, 1892.
PART ILECTURE IPAGECOPERNICUS AND THE MOTION OF THE EARTH2LECTURE IITYCHO BRAHÉ AND THE EARLIEST OBSERVATORY32LECTURE IIIKEPLER AND THE LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION56LECTURE IVGALILEO AND THE INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPE80LECTURE VGALILEO AND THE INQUISITION108LECTURE VIDESCARTES AND HIS THEORY OF VORTICES136LECTURE VIISIR ISAAC NEWTON159LECTURE VIIINEWTON AND THE LAW OF GRAVITATION180LECTURE IXNEWTON'S "PRINCIPIA"203PART IILECTURE XROEMER AND BRADLEY AND THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT232LECTURE XILAGRANGE AND LAPLACE—THE STABILITY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS254LECTURE XIIHERSCHEL AND THE MOTION OF THE FIXED STARS273LECTURE XIIITHE DISCOVERY OF THE ASTEROIDS294LECTURE XIVBESSEL—THE DISTANCES OF THE STARS, AND THE DISCOVERY OF STELLAR PLANETS304LECTURE XVTHE DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE317LECTURE XVICOMETS AND METEORS331LECTURE XVIITHE TIDES353LECTURE XVIIITHE TIDES, AND PLANETARY EVOLUTION379
FIG.PAGE1.Archimedes82.Leonardo da Vinci103.Copernicus124.Homeric Cosmogony155.Egyptian Symbol of the Universe166.Hindoo Earth177.Order of ancient Planets corresponding to the Days of the Week198.Ptolemaic System209.Specimens of Apparent Paths of Venus and of Mars among the stars2110.Apparent Epicyclic Orbits of Jupiter and Saturn2211.Egyptian System2412.True Orbits of Earth and Jupiter2513.Orbits of Mercury and Earth2514.Copernican System as frequently represented2615.Slow Movement of the North Pole in a Circle among the Stars2916.Tychonic system, showing the Sun with all the Planets revolving round the Earth3817.Portrait of Tycho4118.Early out-door Quadrant of Tycho4319.Map of Denmark, showing the Island of Huen4520.Uraniburg4621.Astrolabe4722.Tycho's large Sextant4823.The Quadrant in Uraniburg4924.Tycho's Form of Transit Circle5025.A Modern Transit Circle5126.Orbits of some of the Planets drawn to scale6027.Many-sided Polygon or Approximate Circle enveloped by Straight Lines6128.Kepler's Idea of the Regular Solids6229.Diagram of Equant6730.Excentric Circle supposed to be divided into equal Areas6831.Mode of drawing an Ellipse7032.Kepler's Diagram proving Equable Description of Areas for an Ellipse7133.Diagram of a Planet's Velocity in Different Parts of its Orbit7234.Portrait of Kepler7635.Curve described by a Projectile8236.Two Forms of Pulsilogy8737.Tower of Pisa9138.View of the Half-Moon in small Telescope9739.Portion of the Lunar Surface more highly magnified9840.Another Portion of the Lunar Surface9941.Lunar Landscape showing Earth10042.Galileo's Method of estimating the Height of Lunar Mountain10143.Some Clusters and Nebulæ10244.Stages of the Discovery of Jupiter's Satellites10345.Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites10546.Old Drawings of Saturn by Different Observers, with the imperfect Instruments of that day11147.Phases of Venus11248.Sunspots as seen with Low Power11349.A Portion of the Sun's Disk as seen in a powerful modern Telescope11450.Saturn and his Rings11551.Map of Italy11852.Portrait of Galileo12653.Portrait of Descartes14854.Descartes's Eye Diagram15155.Descartes's Diagram of Vortices from his "Principia"15256.Manor-house of Woolsthorpe16257.Projectile Diagram17058.}{17159.Diagrams illustrative of those near the Beginning of Newton's "Principia"17460.17561-2.17563.Prismatic Dispersion18264.A single Constituent of White Light is capable of no more Dispersion18365.Parallel Beam passing through a Lens18466.Newton's Telescope18667.The Sextant, as now made18768.Newton when young19669.Sir Isaac Newton20070.Another "Principia" Diagram20771.Well-known Model exhibiting the Oblate Spheroidal Form as a Consequence of spinning about a Central Axis21972.Jupiter22173.Diagram of Eye looking at a Light reflected in a Distant Mirror through the Teeth of a revolving Wheel23874.Fizeau's Wheel, showing the appearance of distant Image seen through its Teeth23975.Eclipses of one of Jupiter's Satellites24176.A Transit instrument for the British Astronomical Expedition, 187424377.Diagram of equatorially mounted Telescope24578.Aberration Diagram25079.Showing the three Conjunction Places in the Orbits of Jupiter and Saturn25980.Lord Rosse's Drawing of the Spiral Nebula in Canes Venatici26981.Saturn27182.Principle of Newtonian Reflector27883.Herschel's 40-foot telescope28384.William Herschel28585.Caroline Herschel28786.Double Stars28887.Old Drawing of the Cluster in Hercules29088.Old Drawing of the Andromeda Nebula29189.The Great Nebula in Orion29290.Planetary Orbits to scale29791.Diagram illustrating Parallax30792.The Königsberg Heliometer31293.Perturbations of Uranus32094.Uranus' and Neptune's Relative Positions32595.Meteorite33396.Meteor Stream crossing Field of Telescope33497.Diagram of Direction of Earth's Orbital Motion33598.Parabolic and Elliptic Orbits34099.Orbit of Halley's Comet341100.Various Appearances of Halley's Comet when last seen342101.Head of Donati's Comet of 1858343102.Comet344103.Encke's Comet345104.Biela's Comet as last seen in two Portions346105.Radiant Point Perspective348106.Present Orbit of November Meteors349107.Orbit of November Meteors before and after Encounter with Uranus351108.The Mersey355109.Co-tidal Lines, showing the way the Tidal Wave reaches the British Isles from the Atlantic359110.Whirling Earth Model364111.Earth and Moon Model365112.Earth and Moon (Earth's Rotation Neglected)366113.Maps showing how comparatively Free from Land Obstruction the Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere Is369114.Spring and Neap Tides370115.Tidal Clock371116.Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)373117.Tide-gauge for recording Local Tides375118.Harmonic Analyzer375119.Tide-predicter376120.Weekly Sheet of Curves377
Physical Science of the Ancients.Thales 640B.C., Anaximander 610B.C.,Pythagoras600B.C., Anaxagoras 500B.C., Eudoxus 400B.C.,Aristotle384B.C., Aristarchus 300B.C.,Archimedes287B.C., Eratosthenes 276B.C.,Hipparchus160B.C., Ptolemy 100A.D.
Science of the Middle Ages.Cultivated only among the Arabs; largely in the forms of astrology, alchemy, and algebra.
Return of Science to Europe.Roger Bacon 1240, Leonardo da Vinci 1480, (Printing 1455), Columbus 1492, Copernicus 1543.
A sketch of Copernik's life and work.Born 1473 at Thorn in Poland. Studied mathematics at Bologna. Became an ecclesiastic. Lived at Frauenburg near mouth of Vistula. Substituted for the apparent motion of the heavens the real motion of the earth. Published tables of planetary motions. Motion still supposed to be in epicycles. Worked out his ideas for 36 years, and finally dedicated his work to the Pope. Died just as his book was printed, aged 72, a century before the birth of Newton. A colossal statue by Thorwaldsen erected at Warsaw in 1830.
Theordinary run of men live among phenomena of which they know nothing and care less. They see bodies fall to the earth, they hear sounds, they kindle fires, they see the heavens roll above them, but of the causes and inner working of the whole they are ignorant, and with their ignorance they are content.
"Understand the structure of a soap-bubble?" said a cultivated literary man whom I know; "I wouldn't cross the street to know it!"
And if this is a prevalent attitude now, what must have been the attitude in ancient times, when mankind was emerging from savagery, and when history seems composed of harassments by wars abroad and revolutions at home? In the most violently disturbed times indeed, those with which ordinary history is mainly occupied, science is quite impossible. It needs as its condition, in order to flourish, a fairly quiet, untroubled state, or else a cloister or university removed from the din and bustle of the political and commercial world. In such places it has taken its rise, and in such peaceful places and quiet times true science will continue to be cultivated.
The great bulk of mankind must always remain, I suppose, more or less careless of scientific research and scientific result, except in so far as it affects their modes of locomotion, their health and pleasure, or their purse.
But among a people hurried and busy and preoccupied, some in the pursuit of riches, some in the pursuit of pleasure, and some, the majority, in the struggle for existence, there arise in every generation, here and there, one or two great souls—men who seem of another age and country, who look upon the bustle and feverish activity and are not infected by it, who watch others achieving prizes of riches and pleasure and are not disturbed, who look on the world and the universe they are born in with quite other eyes. To them it appears not as a bazaar to buy and to sell in; not as a ladder to scramble up (or down) helter-skelter without knowing whither or why; but as a fact—a great and mysterious fact—to be pondered over, studied, and perchance in some small measure understood. By the multitude these men were sneered at as eccentric or feared as supernatural. Their calm, clear, contemplative attitude seemed either insane or diabolic; and accordingly they have been pitied as enthusiasts or killed as blasphemers. One of these great souls may have been a prophet or preacher, and have called to his generation to bethink them of why and what they were, to struggle less and meditate more, to search for things of true value and not for dross. Another has been a poet or musician, and has uttered in words or in song thoughts dimly possible to many men, but by them unutterable and left inarticulate. Another has been influenced still moredirectlyby the universe around him, has felt at times overpowered by the mystery and solemnity of it all, and has been impelled by a force stronger than himself to study it, patiently, slowly, diligently; content if he could gather a few crumbs of the great harvest of knowledge, happy if he could grasp some great generalization or wide-embracing law, and so in some small measure enter intothe mind and thought of the Designer of all this wondrous frame of things.
These last have been the men of science, the great and heaven-born men of science; and they are few. In our own day, amid the throng of inventions, there are a multitude of small men using the name of science but working for their own ends, jostling and scrambling just as they would jostle and scramble in any other trade or profession. These may be workers, they may and do advance knowledge, but they are never pioneers. Not to them is it given to open out great tracts of unexplored territory, or to view the promised land as from a mountain-top. Of them we shall not speak; we will concern ourselves only with the greatest, the epoch-making men, to whose life and work we and all who come after them owe so much. Such a man was Thales. Such was Archimedes, Hipparchus, Copernicus. Such pre-eminently was Newton.
Now I am not going to attempt a history of science. Such a work in ten lectures would be absurd. I intend to pick out a few salient names here and there, and to study these in some detail, rather than by attempting to deal with too many to lose individuality and distinctness.
We know so little of the great names of antiquity, that they are for this purpose scarcely suitable. In some departments the science of the Greeks was remarkable, though it is completely overshadowed by their philosophy; yet it was largely based on what has proved to be a wrong method of procedure, viz the introspective and conjectural, rather than the inductive and experimental methods. They investigated Nature by studying their own minds, by considering the meanings of words, rather than by studying things and recording phenomena. This wrong (though by no means, on the face of it, absurd) method was not pursued exclusively, else would their science have been valueless, but the influence it had was such as materially to detract from the value of their speculations and discoveries. Forwhen truth and falsehood are inextricably woven into a statement, the truth is as hopelessly hidden as if it had never been stated, for we have no criterion to distinguish the false from the true.