Henry Smith Williams
A
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
BY
HENRY SMITH WILLIAMS, M.D., LL.D.
ASSISTED BY EDWARD H. WILLIAMS, M.D. IN FIVE VOLUMES
VOLUME II.
About the print version
A History of Science: in Five Volumes. Volume II: The Beginnings of Modern
Science
Williams, Henry Smith
308 pages.
Harper & Brothers
New York
1904
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS
PUBLISHERS MCMIV
Copyright, 1904 , by HARPER & BROTHERS.
All rights reserved Published November, 1904 .
CONTENTS
BOOK II
CHAPTER I
SCIENCE IN THE DARK AGE
Distinction between classical and mediæval epochs
-- Learning of the time centred in the priesthood
-- Effect of Oriental superstition on science
-- Age of extant manuscripts
-- Scarcity of manuscripts
-- Preservation of Western literature by the Arabs
CHAPTER II
MEDIÆVAL SCIENCE AMONG THE ARABIANS
Scientific studies of Arabian scholars
-- Evidences of Arabian practicality in measuring the earth
-- Albategnius, the Arabian astronomer
-- Arabian centres of learning
-- Alhazen
-- His conception in the fields of astronomy and physics
-- Geber the chemist
-- Arabian medicine
-- Arabian hospitals
CHAPTER III
MEDIÆVAL SCIENCE IN THE WEST
Byzantine medicine
-- Thirteenth-century medicine
-- Arnold and the search for a drug to produce insensibility
-- Peter of Abano
-- Practice of dissection reintroduced into Europe
-- Guy of Chauliac
-- Fifteenth-century medicine
-- Scepticism as to ancient authorities
-- Recovery of the lost De Medicine of Cornelius Celsus
-- The question of ``revulsion'' or ``derivation,''
-- Treatment of gun-shot wounds as advocated by John Of Vigo
-- New beginnings in general science
-- Roger Bacon
-- His discoveries and teachings
-- Leonardo da Vinci, man of science
-- His conception of the earth's movements
-- His invention of a ``steam-engine,''
-- His discoveries in geology
CHAPTER IV
THE NEW COSMOLOGY
-- COPERNICUS TO KEPLER AND GALILEO
The doctrine of the earth's motion as propounded by Nikolaus of Cusa
-- The coming of Copernicus
-- His early conception of the heliocentric system of the universe
-- Reception of Copernicus's revolutionary viewsp
-- Tycho Brahe
-- His rejection of the Copernican theory
-- Many specific advances made by him in astronomy
-- His accuracy as an observer
-- Johann Kepler and the laws of planetary motion
-- The sun as the centre of the planetary orbits taken for granted
-- Galileo Galilei
-- His construction of the telescope and his studies of the heavenly bodies by means of it
-- His discovery of the sun's spots
-- His accusation before the Inquisition, and his renunciation
CHAPTER V
GALILEO AND THE NEW PHYSICS
His publication of the Dialoghi delle Nvove Scienze
-- His demonstration of the velocity of falling bodies
-- His studies of projectiles
-- His studies of the pendulum
-- Stevinus and the law of equilibrium
-- Galileo and the equilibrium of fluids
-- His experiments on the displacement of floating bodies
-- William Gilbert and the study of magnetism
-- His demonstration that the earth was a giant loadstone
-- His studies of the dipping needle
-- His prediction as to where the vertical dip would be found
-- The studies of light, heat, and atmospheric pressure
-- Torricelli
-- His discovery of air pressure, and his invention of the barometer
-- Pascal's suggestion for demonstrating that Torricelli's theory is correct
CHAPTER VI
TWO PSEUDO-SCIENCES -- ALCHEMY AND ASTROLOGY
Ancient origin of alchemy
-- Fabulolus claims of numerous imposters
-- Serious belief in the possibility of transmuting metals, and eminent personages who practised alchemy
-- Alchemic conceptions of the process of transmutation
-- The alchemists' three principles, salt, sulphur, and mercury
-- Their ideas of the ``spirit'' of metals
-- Interest taken by governments in the philosopher's stone
-- Dangers attending the practice of alchemy
-- Formation of religious sects
-- Substances thought to contain the magic ``essence'' at various times
-- Deceptions practised by clever impostors
-- Final overthrow of the belief in alchemy
-- Astrology
-- Its uses and methods of studying it
-- Judicial astrology at its height in England
-- Lilly and his predictions
-- The explanation of some remarkable predictions
CHAPTER VII
FROM PARACELSUS TO HARVEY
Paracelsus
-- His early life
-- His revolutionary teachings
-- Influence of his teaching
-- His relation to modern chemistry
-- The great anatomists
-- Charles Étienne and Andrew Vesalius
-- Fate of Vesalius
-- The teachings of Eustachius, Fallopius,
and Columbus
-- Michael Servetus and the discovery of the pulmonary circulation
-- The coming of Harvey
-- Harvey as physician to Charles I.
-- His demonstration that the intraventricular septum of the heart is not porous
-- His discovery of the enormous amount of blood passing through the heart hourly
-- Experiments to prove that the blood passes from the heart by the arteries and is returned by the veins
-- His demonstration with ligatures to show the difference in the direction of the two blood currents
-- Antony von Leeuwenhoek and the discovery of microbes
CHAPTER VIII
MEDICINE IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES
Ambroise Paré
-- His improvements in surgery
-- Peter Franco's operation for strangulated hernia
-- Fabricius Hildanes
-- The medical system of Jan Baptista van Helmont
-- The Iatrochemical school
-- The Iatrophysical school
-- Borelli's foundation for establishing it
-- Thomas Sydenham
-- His work in establishing rational treatment of diseases.
CHAPTER IX
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTISTS AND NEW INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING
Francis Bacon
-- His teachings of inductive study
-- Descartes
-- His theories and his discoveries
-- His conception of the universe
-- Leibnitz and his work
-- Founding of the great scientific societies
-- Influence of Bacon's condemnation of existing methods of teaching
-- The Royal Society of London and the great Continental societies founded
CHAPTER X
THE SUCCESSORS OF GALILEO IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Robert Boyle
-- His experiments on atmospheric pressure
-- Mariotte and Von Guericke
-- Von Guericke's airpump
-- His experiments in electricity
-- His demonstration of the pressure of the atmosphere
-- Robert Hooke
-- His invention of the balance-spring for watches
-- Huygens
-- His adaptation of the micrometer to the telescope
-- His statement of the laws governing the collision of elastic bodies
-- His solution of the problem of the ``centre of oscillation,''
CHAPTER XI
NEWTON AND THE COMPOSITION OF LIGHT
Newton's early life
-- His studies of the composition of light
-- His study of colors
-- Opposition to Newton's views
-- Voltaire's comment on Newton's discovery of the composition of light
CHAPTER XII
NEWTON AND THE LAW OF GRAVITATION
The idea of universal gravitation not original with Newton
-- Voltaire and the story of the falling apple
-- Newton's observation of the fact that some force constantly pulls the moon towards the earth
-- His calculation of the force of this pull
-- The reason for this calculation being incorrect
-- His final solution of the problem
-- His account of this taken from his Principia
-- The effect of this discovery upon the scientific world
-- Lagrange's estimate of Newton
CHAPTER XIII
INSTRUMENTS OF PRECISION IN THE AGE OF NEWTON
Crudeness in the construction of most scientific instruments
-- The invention and development of the telescope
-- The telescopes of Galileo and Kepler
-- The application of the micrometer to the telescope
-- Revolutionary effect of this adaptation
-- Huygens's invention of the pendulum clock
-- The application of the coiled spring for regulating watches and marine clocks
-- The invention of the sextant, and its effect upon navigation
-- Improvement of the microscope
CHAPTER XIV
PROGRESS IN ELECTRICITY FROM GILBERT AND VON GUERICKE TO
FRANKLIN
The experiments of Francis Hauksbee
-- Stephen Gray and the discovery of electrical conduction
-- His experiments with long conducting-cords
-- His discovery that silk was a non-conductor
-- The experiments of Dufay
-- His discovery of insulation
-- His discovery of vitreous and resinous electricity
-- Spectacular experiments of George Matthias Bose
-- Ludolff's proof that the electric spark is fire
-- Gordon's invention of an electric bell and motor
-- Von Kleist invents the Leyden jar
-- Benjamin Franklin and his experiments for drawing off and throwing off electricity
-- His battery
-- His invention of the lightning-rod
-- His proof that lightning is electricity
CHAPTER XV
NATURAL HISTORY TO THE TIME OF LINNÆUS
The immediate predecessors of Linnæus
-- The discoveries of Malpighi
-- Nehemiah Grew's Anatomy of Vegetables
-- Discoveries of Robert Hooke and Stephen Hales
-- The classifications of Ray, Rivinus, Camerarius, and Tournefort
-- The coming of Linnæus
-- His famous system of classification
APPENDIX
A HISTORY OF SCIENCE
BOOK II
THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN SCIENCE
THE studies of the present book cover the progress of science from the close
of the Roman period in the fifth century A.D. to about the middle of the
eighteenth century. In tracing the course of events through so long a period, a
difficulty becomes prominent which everywhere besets the historian in less
degree -- a difficulty due to the conflict between the strictly chronological
and the topical method of treatment. We must hold as closely as possible to the
actual sequence of events, since, as already pointed out, one discovery leads on
to another. But, on the other hand, progressive steps are taken
contemporaneously in the various fields of science, and if we were to attempt to
introduce these in strict chronological order we should lose all sense of
topical continuity.
Our method has been to adopt a compromise, following the course of a single
science in each great epoch to a convenient stopping-point, and then turning back to bring forward the
story of another science. Thus, for example, we tell the story of Copernicus and
Galileo, bringing the record of cosmical and mechanical progress down to about
the middle of the seventeenth century, before ...
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