Huygens: The Man behind the Principle
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 8/25/2005
EAN 9780521850902, ISBN10: 0521850908
Hardcover, 476 pages, 23.6 x 16 x 3.3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English, translated by Sally Miedema
Huygens: The Man behind the Principle is the story of the great seventeenth-century Dutch mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629–95). This comprehensive biography describes in detail how Huygens arrived at discoveries and inventions that are often wrongly ascribed to Newton. Huygens played a key role in the 'scientific revolution', and the Huygens Principle on the wave theory of light helped establish his reputation. The discovery of Saturn's rings and the invention of the pendulum clock made him so famous that he was invited to be the first director of the French Academy of Science, but his life as director teetered on the edge of powerlessness. Despite Huygens' many achievements no complete biography had previously been published in English. This book gives scientists and historians the opportunity to learn more about all aspects of Huygens' life while bringing his story to a wider audience.
Preface
A commemoration
1. Titan
2. Father
3. Mother
4. Family portrait
5. Student
6. Collisions
7. Saturn
8. Force
9. Temperament
10. Weight
11. Crisis
12. Light
13. Dismissal
14. Orphan
15. Heaven
References
Bibliography
Further reading.