Voltaire's Riddle Micromegas and the Measure of All Things |
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Author:
| Simoson, Andrew |
Series title: | Dolciani Mathematical Expositions Ser. |
ISBN: | 978-0-88385-345-0 |
Publication Date: | Dec 2010 |
Publisher: | American Mathematical Society
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Imprint: | MAA Press |
Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | AUD $91.00 |
Book Description:
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Did you know that Voltaire was the first to publish the legend of Isaac Newton discovering gravity upon seeing an apple fall? That he tried for about eight years to be a mathematician. That in 1752 he wrote Micromegas, a story about a French expedition to the arctic (1736-7) whose purpose was to test Newton's controversial theories about gravity? This book is about that story and its underlying mathematics.
Did you know that Voltaire was the first to publish the legend of Isaac Newton discovering gravity upon seeing an apple fall? That he tried for about eight years to be a mathematician. That in 1752 he wrote Micromegas, a story about a French expedition to the arctic (1736-7) whose purpose was to test Newton's controversial theories about gravity? This book is about that story and its underlying mathematics.