The Key to Newton's Dynamics

Download or read book The Key to Newton's Dynamics written by J. Bruce Brackenridge and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1996-02-29 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While much has been written on the ramifications of Newton's dynamics, until now the details of Newton's solution were available only to the physics expert. The Key to Newton's Dynamics clearly explains the surprisingly simple analytical structure that underlies the determination of the force necessary to maintain ideal planetary motion. J. Bruce Brackenridge sets the problem in historical and conceptual perspective, showing the physicist's debt to the works of both Descartes and Galileo. He tracks Newton's work on the Kepler problem from its early stages at Cambridge before 1669, through the revival of his interest ten years later, to its fruition in the first three sections of the first edition of the Principia.