Cosmology, Atomic Theory, Evolution: Classic Readings in the Literature of Science

Front Cover
Courier Corporation, 1. jaan 2003 - 275 pages

"Sir William Cecil Dampier's Readings in the Literature of Science has long been a classic. Unlike many other collections, it has the virtue of dealing thoroughly with three major subjects which are at the very heart of science: cosmogony, atomic theory and evolution. For each, the readings have been selected so as to give a continuous story, enabling the reader to share in the great excitement of the process of scientific discovery and the growth of knowledge from the earliest times to the present. Here, in the original writings of the men who have made science, are displayed the noble qualities of the disciplined imagination which are the chief defining characteristics of the scientific enterprise." — I. Bernard Cohen, Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University
From the biblical book of Genesis to Henri Bergson's Creative Evolution, these extracts from world literature illustrate the development of scientific thought across millennia. Starting with speculations by the ancient Greeks on the structure of the universe, selections on cosmogony include works by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Laplace, Foucault, and Einstein. Theories and reports on experimental results concerning the nature of matter range from Paracelsus' writings on alchemy to Faraday's work with electrochemistry and Sir Ernest Rutherford's studies of radioactivity and the structure of the atom. The final section on evolutionary theory begins with Aristotle and Pliny and features landmark works by the giants in the field, among them, Linnaeus, Lamarck, Lyell, Malthus, Darwin, and Mendel. 36 figures. 7 tables.

 

Contents

COSMOGONY
1
From Aristarchus of Samos by Sir Thomas Heath By per
8
GALILEO GALILEI
14
NEWTON
31
LAPLACE
43
FOUCAULT STOKes Bunsen and KIRCHHOFF
50
EINSTEIN MINKOWSKI EDDINGTON Relativity
55
LUCRETIUS
69
POSITIVE RAYS AND ISOTOPES
144
75
158
RADIOACTIVITY AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
160
ARISTOTLE
167
PHYSIOLOGUS
179
AN EARLY MICROSCOPIST
181
LYELL
206
WÖHLER
213

LAVOISIER AND THE RISE OF MODERN CHEMISTRY
83
CHEMISTRY AND THE ATOMIC THEORY
93
15
98
THE COMBINATION OF GASES
100
ATOMS AND MOLECULES
105
THE PERIODIC
112
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
118
THE IONIC DISSOCIATION THEORY
127
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
229
MENDEL
247
83
253
THE CHROMOSOME THEORY OF HEREDITY
262
106
271
118
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