The Pull of History (ePub)

-->This book seeks to understand what bring to pass the birth of modern physics by focusing upon the formation of the concept of force. This would be the first book to note the important role magnetism has played in this process. Indeed, the force between celestial bodies, before the introduction of the Isaac Newtonian gravitational force, is first introduced by Johannes Kepler by analogy with the magnetic force. Moreover, this book, by concentrating our attention on the magnetism, fully describes the developments and the recognition of the force concept during the Middle Ages. The detailed description of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is a strong point of this book. By discussing and emphasizing on the role accomplished by the magnetic force, this book makes clear the connection between the natural magic and the modern experimental physics. This book will open up a new aspect of the birth of modern physics. -->Contents: PrefaceIntroductionAntiquity and the Middle Ages:Ancient Greece: The Science of Magnetism is BornThe Hellenistic AgeThe Days of the Roman EmpireChristianity in the Middle AgesThe Discovery of Magnetic DirectionalityThomas Aquinas and His Understanding of MagnetismRoger Bacon and the Propagation of Magnetic ForcePetrus Peregrinus and His Letter Concerning the MagnetRenaissance:Nicolaus Cusanus and the Quantification of Magnetic ForceThe Rediscovery of Things Ancient: Magic in the Early Renaissance PeriodThe Age of Exploration and the Discovery of Magnetic DeclinationRobert Norman and The Newe AttractiveMining and the Continued Peculiarity of MagnetismParacelsus and Magnet TherapyChanges in Magical Thought during the Late RenaissanceDella Porta's Investigations into MagnetismThe Dawn of the Modern Age:William Gilbert's On the MagnetJohannes Kepler and the Magnetical PhilosophySeventeenth-century Mechanism and Notions of ForceRobert Boyle and the Transformation of Mechanism in BritainMagnetism and Gravity: Hooke and NewtonEpilogue: Ascertaining the Laws of Magnetic ForceNotesBibliography --> -->Readership: History students, philosophy students, general public. -->Keywords:History;Magnetism;Philosophy;Greek;Modern PhysicsReview:0