Tides : a scientific history
This book provides a history of the study of the tides over two millennia, from the primitive ideas of the Ancient Greeks to present sophisticated space-age techniques. Tidal physics has puzzled some of the worlds greatest scientists and mathematicians: amongst many others, Galileo, Descartes, Bacon, Kepler, Newton, Bernoulli, Euler, Laplace, Young, Whewell, Airy, Kelvin, G. Darwin, H. Lamb, have all contributed to our understanding of tides. The volume is amply illustrated with diagrams from historical scientific papers, photographs of artefacts, and portraits of some of the subjects leading protagonists. The history of the tides is in part the history of a broad area of science and the subject provides insight into the progress of science as a whole: this book will therefore appeal to all those interested in how scientific ideas develop. It will particularly interest specialists in oceanography, hydrography, geophysics, geodesy, astronomy and navigation
Print Book, English, 2000
1st pbk. ed View all formats and editions
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000
History
xii, 292 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
9780521797467, 9780521621458, 0521797462, 0521621453
43820247
Early ideas and observations
What moon maketh a full sea?
Towards Newton
Newton and the prize essayists: the equilibrium theory
Measurements and empirical studies, 1650-1825
Laplace and 19th century hydrodynamics
Local analysis and prediction in the 19th century
Towards a map of cotidal lines
Tides of the geosphere: the birth of geophysics
Tidal researches between World Wars I and II
The impact of automatic computers, 1950-1980
The impact of instrument technology, 1960-1990
The impact of satellite technology, 1970-1995
Recent advances in miscellaneous topics, and final retrospect
Originally published: 1999