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4. Astronomy transformed
Michael Hoskin
in The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction
The revolution set in motion by Copernicus was followed by huge advances in observing the planets and the stars. ‘Astronomy Transformed’ highlights the key thinkers and observers in this ...
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The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction
Michael Hoskin
The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction traces the history of Western astronomy, from prehistoric times to the origins of astrophysics in the mid-nineteenth century ...
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3. The superlunar world
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
‘The superlunar world’ outlines the astronomical developments of the scientific revolution. Ancient thinkers such as Plato and Ptolemy originated the ideas of planetary orbital spheres and ...
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Epilogue
Lawrence M. Principe
in The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
Modern science continues to seek out greater scientific knowledge using the same aims and methods as the early modern natural philosophers. Some of these came from the Middle Ages and ...
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2. Planet Earth
William Lowrie
in Geophysics: A Very Short Introduction
Two important physical laws determine the behaviour of the Earth as a planet and the relationship between the Sun and its planets: the law of conservation of energy and the law of ...
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3. Do you believe in models? Simplicity and complexity
Alain Goriely
in Applied Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
Models are central to the world of applied mathematics. In its simplest sense, a model is an abstract representation of a system developed in order to answer specific questions or gain ...
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3. Copernicus’s vision
Owen Gingerich
in Copernicus: A Very Short Introduction
The Ptolemaic system, created by Claudius Ptolemaeus around AD 150, for the first time in history introduced a comprehensive geometrical structure from which the positions of the planets ...
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3. A mathematical science
Jim Bennett
in Navigation: A Very Short Introduction
‘A mathematical science’ shows that the idea of navigation taking on techniques from other disciplines is reinforced by the appearance of instruments from these disciplines modified for ...
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3. The secularization of superstition
Stuart Vyse
in Superstition: A Very Short Introduction
The five centuries beginning with the 14th and ending with the 18th took European history from the Middle Ages, through the Enlightenment, and into the first two centuries of the scientific ...
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Introduction
Stillman Drake
in Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
The earliest explanations of man and his religion stemmed from religion, before philosophy and then science came onto the scene. It is natural that the later fields were guided by those ...
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2. Galileo's early years
Stillman Drake
in Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
‘Galileo's early years’ provides an insight into Galileo's childhood and early work. Galileo was born in Pisa, and attended the University there. He became chair of mathematics at Pisa ...
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3. Conflicts with philosophers
Stillman Drake
in Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
‘Conflicts with philosophers’ outlines some of the disagreements Galileo had with natural philosophers. In 1604 Galileo had a feud with a philosopher over the distance of a supernova from ...
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5. Competing with Ptolemy
Owen Gingerich
in Copernicus: A Very Short Introduction
In 1515, a full Latin translation of Ptolemy’s account of his geocentric cosmology was printed. Copernicus soon realized that his own radical cosmology would need a comparable book—with a ...
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6. Exploring the universe of stars
Michael Hoskin
in The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction
After Newton the attention of astronomers turned to the distant stars. ‘Exploring the Universe of Stars’ looks at the challenges that faced astronomers in the eighteenth- and ...
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Galileo: A Very Short Introduction
Stillman Drake
Galileo: A Very Short Introduction advances the hypothesis that Galileo's prosecution and condemnation by the Inquisition was caused not by his defiance of the Church but by ...
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The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction
Lawrence M. Principe
Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction explores the exciting developments in the sciences during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This time witnessed such ...
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