A History of the Mathematical Theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth From the Time of Newton to that of Laplace A History of the Mathematical Theories of Attraction and the Figure of the Earth 2 Volume Set Series

Newton's Principia paints a picture of the earth as a spinning, gravitating ball. However, the earth is not completely rigid and the interplay of forces will modify its shape in subtle ways. Newton predicted a flattening at the poles, yet others disagreed. Plenty of books have described the expeditions which sought to measure the shape of the earth, but very little has appeared on the mathematics of a problem which remains of enduring interest even in an age of satellites. Published in 1874, this two-volume work by Isaac Todhunter (1820?84), perhaps the greatest Victorian historian of mathematics, takes the mathematical story from Newton, through the expeditions which settled the matter in Newton's favour, to the investigations of Laplace which opened a new era in mathematical physics. Volume 1 traces developments from Newton up to 1780, including coverage of the work of Maupertuis, Clairaut and d'Alembert.

Preface; 1. Newton; 2. Huygens; 3. Miscellaneous investigations up to the year 1720; 4. Maupertuis; 5. Stirling; 6. Clairaut; 7. Arc of the meridian measured in Lapland; 8. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1721 and 1740; 9. Maclaurin; 10. Thomas Simpson; 11. Clairaut; 12. Arc of the meridian measured in Peru; 13. D'Alembert; 14. Boscovich and Stay; 15. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1741 and 1760; 16. D'Alembert; 17. Frisi; 18. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1761 and 1780.