Walking with Christiaan Huygens: From Archimedes' Influence to Unsung Contributions in Modern Science by Tijmen Jan Moser , Enders Anthony Robinson
English | PDF EPUB (True) | 2024 | 339 Pages | ISBN : 3031461576 | 74.7 MB
Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) left an indelible mark on the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, and geophysics. Despite his groundbreaking contributions, history has often overlooked his pivotal role. While two of the most famous achievements in physics are Newton’s theory of gravity and Einstein’s general theory of relativity, less well-known is that Huygens provided central elements to these theories. This book stands to correct that deficit. For example, we show how Huygens used symmetry arguments to derive conservation laws for momentum and for energy, and what Einstein later called the principle of equivalence to derive the formula for centrifugal force.