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R. S. Ball's Mechanics: bringing Newton to the masses?

Abstract:
In 1879, the Irish astronomer Robert Stawell Ball published a slim book entitled simply Mechanics [1]. This book appeared as part of the series of ‘London Science Class-Books’, published by Longmans, Green & Co. These books were intended as elementary science texts for use in schools, and, as a consequence, their mathematical content was quite basic — even for those books on supposedly mathematical topics. In this article, I will look at Ball’s handling of his subject, and compare his book to its distant ancestor: Newton’s Principia.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Files:
  • (Accepted manuscript, pdf, 1.9MB)
Publisher copy:
10.1017/mag.2017.68

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Mathematical Institute
Role:
Author
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press Publisher's website
Journal:
Mathematical Gazette Journal website
Volume:
101
Issue:
551
Pages:
280-288
Publication date:
2017-06-15
Acceptance date:
2016-10-29
DOI:
EISSN:
2056-6328
ISSN:
0025-5572
Pubs id:
pubs:656702
UUID:
uuid:a6bf7e6e-9590-44be-a8ca-49e92429d1ee
Local pid:
pubs:656702
Source identifiers:
656702
Deposit date:
2016-11-02

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