A History of Mechanics (Dover Books on Physics) by René Dugas (PDF)

Description

“A remarkable work which will remain a document of the first rank for the historian of mechanics.” — Louis de BroglieIn this masterful synthesis and summation of the science of mechanics, Rene Dugas, a leading scholar and educator at the famed Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, deals with the evolution of the principles of general mechanics chronologically from their earliest roots in antiquity through the Middle Ages to the revolutionary developments in relativistic mechanics, wave and quantum mechanics of the early 20th century.The present volume is divided into five parts: The first treats of the pioneers in the study of mechanics, from its beginnings up to and including the sixteenth century; the second section discusses the formation of classical mechanics, including the tremendously creative and influential work of Galileo, Huygens and Newton. The third part is devoted to the eighteenth century, in which the organization of mechanics finds its climax in the achievements of Euler, d’Alembert and Lagrange. The fourth part is devoted to classical mechanics after Lagrange. In Part Five, the author undertakes the relativistic revolutions in quantum and wave mechanics.Writing with great clarity and sweep of vision, M. Dugas follows closely the ideas of the great innovators and the texts of their writings. The result is an exceptionally accurate and objective account, especially thorough in its accounts of mechanics in antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the important contributions of Jordanus of Nemore, Jean Buridan, Albert of Saxony, Nicole Oresme, Leonardo da Vinci, and many other key figures.Erudite, comprehensive, replete with penetrating insights, AHistory of Mechanics is an unusually skillful and wide-ranging study that belongs in the library of anyone interested in the history of science.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I’m not a historian of physics although I am trained in physics. This book offers a fascinating survey of Classical Mechanics and it’s development over the many centuries. I’m not sure if the scholarship is up to date but it should offer a good gateway to those interested in the foundation and quibbles/ development of Classical Mechanics.My only complaint is that the Relativity section is somewhat out of date or shows how it’s still a fresh area of research. As such the author makes some mistakes regarding the twin paradox but perhaps offers insights into how authors at the time wrestled with it.Overall, it’s an excellent book (I haven’t read it end to end) for historians of science or physicists eager to see the roots of their field’s history.

⭐Dugas has created a beautiful history of mechanics. The book has 450 pages of “classical” mechanics and 200 pages of “modern” mechanics (up to 1950ish), with the dividing line being about the year 1900. Building on the works of

⭐,

⭐, and Jouget, we follow from Aristotle on up through the modern schools of thought. We see how the scientists switch from qualitatively describing physics into the quantitative and mathematical treatments we still use today. We see how concepts evolve, namely from impetus to momentum, and the distinctions between force, work, and energy are made. The focus is on mechanics in general; any emphasis on fluids or solids comes out of context alone. The tone is a little formal and boring, but any student of mechanics- physicist or engineer- would do well to read this book and learn about the nonlinear and interwoven history of the most elegant of subjects.Now, there is no doubt that mechanics is the product of western Europe, but there is an incredible French bias in this book. This shouldn’t be surprising, knowing that the French STILL cannot get past the fact that Doppler unquestionably deserves priority over Fizeau for the effect that bears his name. I don’t mean to underemphasize the contributions of l’academie, but French scientists are given several pages of explanations…and my what geniuses they were, with their clever and unquestionably perfect experiments (slight sarcasm). The majority of non-French scientists are merely discussed in passing. The chapter on Newton does not exactly hold the man in the most reverent of lights. Not that the Principia was perfect, but it WAS a sea change in the history of mechanics. On page 325, Dugas tries to attribute the general “F=d/dt(mv)” form of Newton’s second law to Lazare Carnot, even though not 100 pages and 50 years earlier he makes the case that Euler has that priority. Hooke is mentioned once, and not for his most famous law related to mechanics. Leibniz’s contributions (namely, the form of calculus we use today) are underappreciated. Coulomb is given priority over Stokes for the no-slip boundary condition. Lagrange is held as the pinnacle of classical mechanics, even though most of what he did in _Mechanique Analytique_ was reproducing and/or trivially extending what Euler did. Laplace is somehow given priority for special relativity. Dugas felt the need to underscore Einstein’s own words in developing relativitly, namely that he build from induction rather than axioms. Nevermind the fact that Einstein was almost scooped by Hilbert, Dugas goes on and on about how Poincare deserves all the credit for general relativity. Even though most of quantum mechanics did not come out of France, de Broglie is held as the pinnacle of that theory. The list goes on and on and on.For solids-specific history, try

⭐, and for fluids-specific history, try

⭐. For something a little less biased (and, more correct), consider some of the works by the eminent C.A. Truesdell (books

⭐and

⭐, and various articles in the scientific literature).

⭐A great book, with specific details, perfect for any engineer, student or teacher! It’s not easy to read, but its worth it, every page.

⭐Not an easy book to read, you have to possess some technical knowledge on the subject before gaining from it. Not for common readers.

⭐If you don’t have a Doctorate in mathamatics don’t buy this book. It would take a lifetime to finish it.

⭐This book is important today because it deals with the poorly developed concept of `impetus.” Impetus is defined as the motion that bodies have acquired from a motive agency. Today, the nature of the motive agency divides nonbelievers from the believers. Believers say that God is the motive agency that produces the impetus in all bodies of the universe. On the other hand, nonbelievers say that the motive agency of all bodies in the universe is an infinitely dense physical thing called the Big Bang. So, the believers say that the motive agency is spiritual whereas the nonbelievers say that it is physical.Dugas opens his book with Aristotle’s thoughts on motion. Aristotle divides all motions into natural or violent. For instance, the motion of a stone in a sling is natural. The motion of the stone becomes violent when the stone is released from the sling and becomes a projectile. Aristotle also says that the motive agency is always in contact with its moving bodies but is not a part of the moving bodies. Contact means that the motive agency and the moving bodies coexist.Since Aristotle’s universe has no vacuums, when a stone becomes violent and moves through air, for instance, the stone forces air out of the space it consumes and new air fills the empty space as the stone moves forward. Aristotle thought that the motion of the new air moves the stone forward until the projectile falls to the ground due to the attraction of gravity. As seen, Aristotle’s motive agency is physical.William of Ockham (1300-1350) was the first to reject Aristotle’s theory of motion. But, he offers no alternative theory. Jean Buridan (1300-1358), a student of Ockham at the University of Paris, argues that the motive agency is spiritual. However, Buridan expected theologians to show how God acts as the motive agency of all bodies in the universe.Theologians eventually showed that God is the motive agency of all moving bodies. First, Nicole Oresme (1329-1382), a mathematician and theologian, became the forerunner of the analytical geometry of Descartes when he argued that every measurable thing has a continuous quantity. Oresme’s argument says that a motive agency, spiritual or physical, must coexist continuously with the motions it produces. This argument cannot be met with the Big Bang theory because the infinitely dense physical particle becomes nonexistent upon its explosion. On the other hand, God is permanent and is thus in continuous contact with all bodies in the universe.Nicholas of Cusa (or Cues) was the first to show how God is in continuous contact with all things found in the universe. He shows this contact by developing a positive and negative science out of precise symbols… In this science, all opposites coincide in God. Thus, `what is not moving’ and `what is moving’ coexist continuously. Cusa’s writings inspired the cosmologies of Copernicus and Kepler, Bruno’s monads, Da Vinci’s `forza,’ the deism of Isaac Newton and the work of Leibniz. In Part II (Chapter Two), Leibniz distinguishes dead forces and living forces. The dead forces are expressed with the calculus and the equation d (m v2/2) = F ds. When this equation is integrated, living forces are born from the dead forces. The integrating process forms the fundamental law, m dv/dt = F.In a new book entitled ‘The First Scientific Proof of God, I conclude that God creates bodies with spiritual atoms. The spiritual atoms are one in God, are immortal and are endless in number. At creation, the spiritual atoms become distinct, different and related. Their relations form one universe with many organized bodies (stones, water, bees, horses, plants, humans, etc). The spiritual atoms enter and leave bodies at different rates continuously. This is why all organized bodies age and die. The permanency (immortality) and the motions of the spiritual atoms are guided by a complex differential equation that only God can know. We can only gain better understandings of God’s Intelligent Design. In my book, I show that it is natural for all bodies to change continuous (aging, etc). Thus I view a continuum of motion as a continuum of rests. Thus, one’s death is only a rest in a continuous processes that includes reincarnation. God also rests, as Moses concluded in his creation theory. But, God’s rests are wise changes..Interestingly, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci by Dover Publications (1970) shows that Da Vinci protected his thoughts about Cusa with complex coding schemes. Thus, the truths in Dan Brown’s book on The Da Vinci Code can questioned. Galileo also studied Cusa. But, Galileo did not secure his research results as Leonardo did.. Eventually, the Roman Church charged Galileo with heresy and was imprisoned, after he agreed with Cusa that the universe has no center body and that planet earth is not the center of the universe, as taught by the Church.

⭐Excellent

⭐The definitive work on Mechanics. It’s encyclopedic in scope, masterfully researched, and beautifully written. But definitely not for the faint of heart!

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