The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pioneers of Science, by Oliver LodgeThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: Pioneers of ScienceAuthor: Oliver LodgeRelease Date: April 26, 2009 [EBook #28613]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF SCIENCE ***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.)Transcriber’s NoteThe punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious typographical errorshave 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.P I O N E E R S O F S C I E N C ENEWTONNEWTONFrom the picture by Kneller, 1689, now at CambridgeP I O N E E R S O F S C I E N C EBYOLIVER LODGE, F.R.S.PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN VICTORIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOLWITH PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONSL o n d o nMACMILLAN AND CO.AND NEW YORK1893Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,LONDON AND BUNGAY.P R E F A C EThis book takes its origin in a course of lectures on the history and progress ...
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Pioneers of Science, by Oliver Lodge
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Pioneers of Science
Author: Oliver Lodge
Release Date: April 26, 2009 [EBook #28613]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PIONEERS OF SCIENCE ***
Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Greg Bergquist and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
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: φενόμενα
Your browser should be set to read the UTF-8 character set.
P I O N E E R S O F S C I E N C E
NEWTON
NEWTON
From the picture by Kneller, 1689, now at Cambridge
P I O N E E R S O F S C I E N C E
BY
OLIVER LODGE, F.R.S.
PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS IN VICTORIA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOL
WITH PORTRAITS AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONSL o n d o n
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
1893
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,
LONDON AND BUNGAY.P R E F A C E
This book 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.C O N T E N T S
PART I
LECTURE I
PAGE
COPERNICUS AND THE MOTION OF THE EARTH 2
LECTURE II
TYCHO BRAHÉ AND THE EARLIEST OBSERVATORY 32
LECTURE III
KEPLER AND THE LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION 56
LECTURE IV
GALILEO AND THE INVENTION OF THE TELESCOPE 80
LECTURE V
GALILEO AND THE INQUISITION 108
LECTURE VI
DESCARTES AND HIS THEORY OF VORTICES 136
LECTURE VII
SIR ISAAC NEWTON 159
LECTURE VIII
NEWTON AND THE LAW OF GRAVITATION 180
LECTURE IX
NEWTON'S "PRINCIPIA" 203
PART II
LECTURE X
ROEMER AND BRADLEY AND THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT 232
LECTURE XI
LAGRANGE AND LAPLACE—THE STABILITY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS 254
LECTURE XII
HERSCHEL AND THE MOTION OF THE FIXED STARS 273
LECTURE XIII
THE DISCOVERY OF THE ASTEROIDS 294
LECTURE XIV
BESSEL—THE DISTANCES OF THE STARS, AND THE DISCOVERY OF STELLAR PLANETS 304
LECTURE XV
THE DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE 317
LECTURE XVI
COMETS AND METEORS 331LECTURE XVII
THE TIDES 353
LECTURE XVIII
THE TIDES, AND PLANETARY EVOLUTION 379I L L U S T R A T I O N S
FIG. PAGE
1. Archimedes 8
2. Leonardo da Vinci 10
3. Copernicus 12
4. Homeric Cosmogony 15
5. Egyptian Symbol of the Universe 16
6. Hindoo Earth 17
7. Order of ancient Planets corresponding to the Days of the Week 19
8. Ptolemaic System 20
9. Specimens of Apparent Paths of Venus and of Mars among the stars 21
10. Apparent Epicyclic Orbits of Jupiter and Saturn 22
11. Egyptian System 24
12. True Orbits of Earth and Jupiter 25
13. Orbits of Mercury and Earth 25
14. Copernican System as frequently represented 26
15. Slow Movement of the North Pole in a Circle among the Stars 29
16. Tychonic system, showing the Sun with all the Planets revolving round the Earth 38
17. Portrait of Tycho 41
18. Early out-door Quadrant of Tycho 43
19. Map of Denmark, showing the Island of Huen 45
20. Uraniburg 46
21. Astrolabe 47
22. Tycho's large Sextant 48
23. The Quadrant in Uraniburg 49
24. Tycho's Form of Transit Circle 50
25. A Modern Transit Circle 51
26. Orbits of some of the Planets drawn to scale 60
27. Many-sided Polygon or Approximate Circle enveloped by Straight Lines 61
28. Kepler's Idea of the Regular Solids 62
29. Diagram of Equant 67
30. Excentric Circle supposed to be divided into equal Areas 68
31. Mode of drawing an Ellipse 70
32. Kepler's Diagram proving Equable Description of Areas for an Ellipse 71
33. Diagram of a Planet's Velocity in Different Parts of its Orbit 72
34. Portrait of Kepler 76
35. Curve described by a Projectile 82
36. Two Forms of Pulsilogy 87
37. Tower of Pisa 91
38. View of the Half-Moon in small Telescope 97
39. Portion of the Lunar Surface more highly magnified 98
40. Another Portion of the Lunar Surface 99
41. Lunar Landscape showing Earth 100
42. Galileo's Method of estimating the Height of Lunar Mountain 101
43. Some Clusters and Nebulæ 102
44. Stages of the Discovery of Jupiter's Satellites 103
45. Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites 105
46. Old Drawings of Saturn by Different Observers, with the imperfect Instruments of that day 111
47. Phases of Venus 112
48. Sunspots as seen with Low Power 113
49. A Portion of the Sun's Disk as seen in a powerful modern Telescope 114
50. Saturn and his Rings 115
51. Map of Italy 118
52. Portrait of Galileo 12653. Portrait of Descartes 148
54. Descartes's Eye Diagram 151
55. Descartes's Diagram of Vortices from his "Principia" 152
56. Manor-house of Woolsthorpe 162
57. Projectile Diagram 170
58. 171
59. Diagrams illustrative of those near the Beginning of Newton's "Principia" 174
60. 175} {
61-
175
2.
63. Prismatic Dispersion 182
64. A single Constituent of White Light is capable of no more Dispersion 183
65. Parallel Beam passing through a Lens 184
66. Newton's Telescope 186
67. The Sextant, as now made 187
68. Newton when young 196
69. Sir Isaac Newton 200
70. Another "Principia" Diagram 207
71. Well-known Model exhibiting the Oblate Spheroidal Form as a Consequence of spinning about a Central 219
Axis
72. Jupiter 221
73. Diagram of Eye looking at a Light reflected in a Distant Mirror through the Teeth of a revolving Wheel 238
74. Fizeau's Wheel, showing the appearance of distant Image seen through its Teeth 239
75. Eclipses of one of Jupiter's Satellites 241
76. A Transit instrument for the British Astronomical Expedition, 1874 243
77. Diagram of equatorially mounted Telescope 245
78. Aberration Diagram 250
79. Showing the three Conjunction Places in the Orbits of Jupiter and Saturn 259
80. Lord Rosse's Drawing of the Spiral Nebula in Canes Venatici 269
81. Saturn 271
82. Principle of Newtonian Reflector 278
83. Herschel's 40-foot telescope 283
84. William Herschel 285
85. Caroline Herschel 287
86. Double Stars 288
87. Old Drawing of the Cluster in Hercules 290
88. Old Drawing of the Andromeda Nebula 291
89. The Great Nebula in Orion 292
90. Planetary Orbits to scale 297
91. Diagram illustrating Parallax 307
92. The Königsberg Heliometer 312
93. Perturbations of Uranus 320
94. Uranus' and Neptune's Relative Positions 325
95. Meteorite 333
96. Meteor Stream crossing Field of Telescope 334
97. Diagram of Direction of Earth's Orbital Motion 335
98. Parabolic and Elliptic Orbits 340
99. Orbit of Halley's Comet 341
100. Various Appearances of Halley's Comet when last seen 342
101. Head of Donati's Comet of 1858 343
102. Comet 344
103. Encke's Comet 345
104. Biela's Comet as last seen in two Portions 346
105. Radiant Point Perspective 348
106. Present Orbit of November Meteors 349
107. Orbit of November Meteors before and after Encounter with Uranus 351
108. The Mersey 355
109. Co-tidal Lines, showing the way the Tidal Wave reaches the British Isles from the Atlantic 359110. Whirling Earth Model 364
111. Earth and Moon Model 365
112. Earth and Moon (Earth's Rotation Neglected) 366
113. Maps showing how comparatively Free from Land Obstruction the Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere Is 369
114. Spring and Neap Tides 370
115. Tidal Clock 371
116. Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) 373
117. Tide-gauge for recording Local Tides 375
118. Harmonic Analyzer 375
119. Tide-predicter 376
120. Weekly Sheet of Curves 377
P I O N E E R S O F S C I E N C E
P A R T I
F R O M D U S K T O D A Y L I G H T
D A T E S A N D S U M M A R Y O F F A C T S F O R L E C T U R E I
Physical Science of the Ancients. Thales 640 b.c., Anaximander 610 b.c., Pythagoras 600 b.c., Anaxagoras 500
b.c., Eudoxus 400 b.c., Aristotle 384 b.c., Aristarchus 300 b.c., Archimedes 287 b.c., Eratosthenes 276 b.c., Hipparchus
160 b.c., Ptolemy 100 a.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 Po