Book Review - Newton's Clock: Chaos in the Solar System by Ivars Peterson, 1st January 1993
I would like to review and recommend an astronomy book tonight. The book is older (1993), but still worth reading. Attached is a review from me of Ivars Peterson - "Newton's Clock: Chaos in the Solar System".
Who can't empathize with the awe and wonder of seeing a "velvet, black canopy... dotted with mysteriously glowing spots?" Ivars Peterson also wants to stimulate thought and wonder with his work on the behavior, mathematical description and simulation of dynamic systems.
Particular pleasure is provided by the presentation of the historical backgrounds and biographies of the scientists involved, which extend to the present day. In addition to the professional achievements and the bare facts of a CV, the author also tries to reveal something about the personality of the researchers described. The anecdotes told are exciting and amusing at the same time. For example, at the Paris Academy of Sciences in the mid-18th century there was a bitter dispute between Jean Le Rond d'Alembert and Alexis Claude Clairaut over the calculation of the exact position of the moon. This initially purely scientific dispute attracted a great deal of attention in the Paris salons, centers of social life at the time, and led to "the passionate debates in the academy, despite their difficult content, attracting many spectators because of the spite of the debaters and their supporters." You can imagine it vividly. 😃
In contrast to the well-researched historical and biographical accounts, the theories of celestial mechanics are expressed in a cumbersome manner and without a clear line. Peterson tries to clarify a few key ideas, for example the problem of accurate predictions when it comes to the long-term stability of the solar system, through excessive repetition, often of a purely enumerative nature. The strong emphasis on historical and biographical details proves to be a disadvantage in this context, as it is certainly not easy to weave the careers of individuals with scientific progress in astronomy and mathematics into a harmonious whole.
Despite the weak point mentioned and minor errors in the content, Peterson's book can be recommended for reading. Fans of the history of astronomy in particular will get their money's worth. The good index and the detailed bibliography organized by chapter, as well as the good supply of drawings and photographs, contribute to a positive overall impression.
Ivars Peterson - Newton's Clock: Chaos in the Solar System
1994, 350 pages, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel; ISBN-10 : 3034860633; ISBN-13 : 978-3034860635
#astronomy #book review #celestial mechanics #isaacnewton #moon
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Besonders amüsant finde ich folgende Passage des Textes aus der Deutschen Ausgabe, so kam es beispielsweise an der Pariser Akademie der Wissenschaften Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts zu einem erbitterten Streit zwischen Jean Le Rond d´Alembert und Alexis Claude Clairaut um die Berechnung der genauen Position des Mondes. Dieser zunächst rein wissenschaftliche Disput erregte in den Pariser Salons, Zentren des gesellschaftlichen Lebens jener Zeit, große Aufmerksamkeit und führte dazu, daß "die leidenschaftlich geführten Debatten in der Akademie trotz ihres schwierigen Inhalts wegen der Gehässigkeit der Streithähne und ihrer Anhänger" viele Zuschauer anzogen. 😃
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