March 4, 1997
Contact: Theobolt Leung or Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; [email protected]
SYMPOSIUM ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF NEWTONIAN SCHOLARSHIP TO BE HELD IN LONDON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Arguably one of the most influential books ever written, Isaac Newton's Principia stands as the foundation for much of modern science. Yet, with the release of editions of Newton's other papers and letters, scholars are finding that there is still more to learn from and about the 300-year-old book.
A symposium on these latest insights, jointly sponsored by the Royal Society and the History of Science Society (U.S.), will be held at the Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, on Friday, March 21. Distinguished scholars from both the humanities and the sciences will speak at the daylong discussion. The meeting is being organized by physicists J. Bruce Brackenridge of Lawrence University, Richard H. Dalitz of Oxford University, and Michael Nauenberg of the University of California, Santa Cruz. The event is open to the public with a registration fee of L10.
Newton was the first to demonstrate that one could mathematically predict the future of a physical system, in essence initiating science as we know it today. Indeed, author John Simmons ranked Newton first in his 1996 book, The Scientific 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Scientists, Past and Present. But while much has been written on Newton and his work since his death in 1727, how he arrived at his conclusions remains clouded.
The publication of Newton's correspondence, his mathematical papers, and a variorum edition of the Principia, however, has kindled a new comprehension of his work. The volumes have made accessible the foundations of Newton's ideas, allowing more scholars to participate in the discussion.
The symposium will allow scholars to present their research in different areas of Newton's work. It also is intended as a tribute to those who have made Newton's documents available to all, including Rupert Hall, coeditor of the correspondence of Isaac Newton; D. T. Whiteside, editor of Newton's mathematical papers; and I. B. Cohen, coeditor of the variorum edition of the Principia.
The following talks will be presented at the symposium:
-- I. Bernard Cohen, Harvard University: "Newton in Historical Perspective" -- Alan E. Shapiro, University of Minnesota: "Newton's Experimental Investigation of Diffraction for the Optiks" -- J. Bruce Brackenridge, Lawrence University: "Newton's Dynamics: The Diagram as a Diagnostic Device" -- George E. Smith, Tufts University: "Fluid Resistance: Why did Newton Change his Mind?" -- John G. Fauvel, Open University: "Newton's Mathematical Language" -- Alan Cook, Selwyn College: "Success and Failure in Newton's Lunar Theory" -- Michael Nauenberg, UC Santa Cruz: "Newton's Perturbation Methods for Celestial Mechanics" -- Curtis Wilson, St. John's College: "From Kepler to Newton: Telling the Tale" -- A. Rupert Hall, Imperial College, London, and D. T. Whiteside, Cambridge University, will comment and respond.
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Editor's notes: You may reach the organizers as follows:
J. Bruce Brackenridge: +44-181-748-7593 or [email protected] Michael Nauenberg: (408) 459-2736 or [email protected]
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