Stephen G. Brush – författare

Historically, the scientific method has been said to require proposing a theory, making a prediction of something not already known, testing the prediction, and giving up the theory (or substantially changing it) if it fails the test. A theory that leads to several successful predictions is more likely to be accepted than one that only explains what is already known but not understood. This process is widely treated as the conventional method of achieving scientific progress, and was used throughout the twentieth century as the standard route to discovery and experimentation.But does science really work this way? In Making 20th Century Science, Stephen G. Brush discusses this question, as it relates to the development of science throughout the last century. Answering this question requires both a philosophically and historically scientific approach, and Brush blends the two in order to take a close look at how scientific methodology has developed. Several cases from the history of modern physical and biological science are examined, including Mendeleev''s Periodic Law, Kekule''s structure for benzene, the light-quantum hypothesis, quantum mechanics, chromosome theory, and natural selection. In general it is found that theories are accepted for a combination of successful predictions and better explanations of old facts.Making 20th Century Science is a large-scale historical look at the implementation of the scientific method, and how scientific theories come to be accepted.

Historically, the scientific method has been said to require proposing a theory, making a prediction of something not already known, testing the prediction, and giving up the theory (or substantially changing it) if it fails the test. A theory that leads to several successful predictions is more likely to be accepted than one that only explains what is already known but not understood. This process is widely treated as the conventional method of achieving scientific progress, and was used throughout the twentieth century as the standard route to discovery and experimentation.But does science really work this way? In Making 20th Century Science, Stephen G. Brush discusses this question, as it relates to the development of science throughout the last century. Answering this question requires both a philosophically and historically scientific approach, and Brush blends the two in order to take a close look at how scientific methodology has developed. Several cases from the history of modern physical and biological science are examined, including Mendeleev's Periodic Law, Kekule's structure for benzene, the light-quantum hypothesis, quantum mechanics, chromosome theory, and natural selection. In general it is found that theories are accepted for a combination of successful predictions and better explanations of old facts.Making 20th Century Science is a large-scale historical look at the implementation of the scientific method, and how scientific theories come to be accepted.

Historically, the scientific method has been said to require proposing a theory, making a prediction of something not already known, testing the prediction, and giving up the theory (or substantially changing it) if it fails the test. A theory that leads to several successful predictions is more likely to be accepted than one that only explains what is already known but not understood. This process is widely treated as the conventional method of achieving scientific progress, and was used throughout the twentieth century as the standard route to discovery and experimentation.But does science really work this way? In Making 20th Century Science, Stephen G. Brush discusses this question, as it relates to the development of science throughout the last century. Answering this question requires both a philosophically and historically scientific approach, and Brush blends the two in order to take a close look at how scientific methodology has developed. Several cases from the history of modern physical and biological science are examined, including Mendeleev''s Periodic Law, Kekule''s structure for benzene, the light-quantum hypothesis, quantum mechanics, chromosome theory, and natural selection. In general it is found that theories are accepted for a combination of successful predictions and better explanations of old facts.Making 20th Century Science is a large-scale historical look at the implementation of the scientific method, and how scientific theories come to be accepted.

Lectures on Gas Theory by Ludwig Boltzmann stands as a seminal work in theoretical physics, offering both historical insight and enduring scientific value. This comprehensive treatise encapsulates Boltzmann’s pioneering efforts in the kinetic theory of gases, where he reconciled Newtonian mechanics with the statistical nature of irreversible processes. The book distills Boltzmann's vast body of work, presenting a detailed exposition of the statistical foundations of thermodynamics, his groundbreaking H-theorem, transport theory, and the molecular basis of thermal equilibrium. Beyond its technical achievements, the text includes Boltzmann’s philosophical reflections on entropy, irreversibility, and the role of statistical methods in physics, making it a critical reference for researchers and a bridge to modern statistical mechanics.Although some elements of Boltzmann's classical approach have been superseded by quantum mechanics, the foundational principles and mathematical frameworks he established remain highly relevant, particularly in fields like plasma physics, neutron transport, and rarefied gas dynamics. The book also serves as a historical document, chronicling the intellectual battles of Boltzmann’s time, including debates with proponents of the rival energetics movement. Boltzmann’s work embodies the triumph of atomistic theories, offering a model of rigorous scientific inquiry. Lectures on Gas Theory is a testament to his genius, providing not only a technical masterpiece but also profound insights into the philosophical underpinnings of physical science.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1964.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1964.

Lectures on Gas Theory by Ludwig Boltzmann stands as a seminal work in theoretical physics, offering both historical insight and enduring scientific value. This comprehensive treatise encapsulates Boltzmann’s pioneering efforts in the kinetic theory of gases, where he reconciled Newtonian mechanics with the statistical nature of irreversible processes. The book distills Boltzmann's vast body of work, presenting a detailed exposition of the statistical foundations of thermodynamics, his groundbreaking H-theorem, transport theory, and the molecular basis of thermal equilibrium. Beyond its technical achievements, the text includes Boltzmann’s philosophical reflections on entropy, irreversibility, and the role of statistical methods in physics, making it a critical reference for researchers and a bridge to modern statistical mechanics.Although some elements of Boltzmann's classical approach have been superseded by quantum mechanics, the foundational principles and mathematical frameworks he established remain highly relevant, particularly in fields like plasma physics, neutron transport, and rarefied gas dynamics. The book also serves as a historical document, chronicling the intellectual battles of Boltzmann’s time, including debates with proponents of the rival energetics movement. Boltzmann’s work embodies the triumph of atomistic theories, offering a model of rigorous scientific inquiry. Lectures on Gas Theory is a testament to his genius, providing not only a technical masterpiece but also profound insights into the philosophical underpinnings of physical science.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1964.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. Did the Earth and other planets form as a by-product of a natural process that formed the Sun? Did the solar system come into being as the result of catastrophic encounter of two stars? Is the inside of the Earth solid, liquid or gaseous? The three volumes that make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. Nebulous Earth follows the development of the nineteenth-century's most popular explanation for the origin of the solar system, Laplace's Nebular Hypothesis. This theory supposes that a flattened mass of gas extending beyond Neptune's orbit cooled and shrank, throwing off in the process successive rings that in time coalesced to form several planets.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. Together, the three volumes that make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. The early twentieth century saw the replacement of the Nebular Hypothesis with the Chamberlain-Moulton theory that the solar system resulted from the encounter of the Sun with a passing star. Fruitful Encounters follows the eventual refutation of the encounter theory and the subsequent revival of a modernised Nebular Hypothesis. Professor Brush also discusses the role of findings from the Apollo space programme, especially the analysis of lunar samples, culminating in the establishment, in the 1980s, of the 'giant impact' theory of the Moon's origin.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. The three volumes that together make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. The age of the Earth has been one of the most disputed numbers in science since the seventeenth century. Transmuted Past follows the development of theories of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis in the twentieth century and describes radiometric methods for estimating the age of the Earth. Professor Brush also offers perspectives on the changing reputation of planetary science relative to the 'pure' sciences, such as physics, and a comparison of history and geology as ways of studying the past.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. Did the Earth and other planets form as a by-product of a natural process that formed the Sun? Did the solar system come into being as the result of catastrophic encounter of two stars? Is the inside of the Earth solid, liquid or gaseous? The three volumes that make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. Nebulous Earth follows the development of the nineteenth-century's most popular explanation for the origin of the solar system, Laplace's Nebular Hypothesis. This theory supposes that a flattened mass of gas extending beyond Neptune's orbit cooled and shrank, throwing off in the process successive rings that in time coalesced to form several planets.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. The three volumes that together make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. The age of the Earth has been one of the most disputed numbers in science since the seventeenth century. Transmuted Past follows the development of theories of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis in the twentieth century and describes radiometric methods for estimating the age of the Earth. Professor Brush also offers perspectives on the changing reputation of planetary science relative to the 'pure' sciences, such as physics, and a comparison of history and geology as ways of studying the past.

Where did we come from? Before there was life there had to be something to live on - a planet, a solar system. During the past 200 years, astronomers and geologists have developed and tested several different theories about the origin of the solar system and the nature of the Earth. Together, the three volumes that make up A History of Modern Planetary Physics present a survey of these theories. The early twentieth century saw the replacement of the Nebular Hypothesis with the Chamberlain-Moulton theory that the solar system resulted from the encounter of the Sun with a passing star. Fruitful Encounters follows the eventual refutation of the encounter theory and the subsequent revival of a modernised Nebular Hypothesis. Professor Brush also discusses the role of findings from the Apollo space programme, especially the analysis of lunar samples, culminating in the establishment, in the 1980s, of the 'giant impact' theory of the Moon's origin.

Dies ist der zweite Band einer Sammlung grundlegender Arbeiten über die kinetische Gastheorie; er enthält ins­ besondere die zwei Arbeiten von MAXWELL und BOLTz­ MANN, in denen die Grundgleichungen für Transport­ prozesse in Gasen formuliert werden, einschließlich der ersten Herleitung des BOLTZMANNschen "H -Theorems", sowie eine Probe der späteren Diskussion dieses Satzes und des Irreversibilitätsproblems. Während wir uns in Band I darauf beschränkt haben, kurze Arbeiten relativ elementaren Charakters nachzu­ drucken, und von längeren Arbeiten nur Auszüge gegeben haben, wird der vorliegende Band fast vollständig von zwei ziemlich langen und ins einzelne gehenden Abhand­ lungen eingenommen. Wir hoffen, daß ernsthafte Stu­ dierende der Physik (fortgeschrittene Studenten oder Doktoranden) aus einem eingehenden Studium dieser Arbeiten Nutzen ziehen werden. Wenn auch einige der Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen MAXWELLS und BOLTz­ MANNS in moderne Lehrbücher eingegangen sind, werden die Ableitungen doch gewöhnlich in sehr geraffter Form dargeboten. Die Darstellung von BOLTZMANN fällt in das andere Extrem und ist vielleicht übermäßig kompliziert und wiederholt sich oft; dennoch kann man zu einem tieferen Verständnis des Gegenstandes gelangen, wenn man sich die Zeit nimmt, die Einzelheiten der Ableitungen zu verfolgen (wie auch aus der anhaltenden und zu Recht bestehenden Popularität des großartigen TOLMANschen Buches "The Principles of Statistical Mechanics" hervor­ geht).

This book introduces physics students and teachers to the historical development of the kinetic theory of gases, by providing a collection of the most important contributions by Clausius, Maxwell and Boltzmann, with introductory surveys explaining their significance. In addition, extracts from the works of Boyle, Newton, Mayer, Joule, Helmholtz, Kelvin and others show the historical context of ideas about gases, energy and irreversibility. In addition to five thematic essays connecting the classical kinetic theory with 20th century topics such as indeterminism and interatomic forces, there is an extensive international bibliography of historical commentaries on kinetic theory, thermodynamics, etc. published in the past four decades.The book will be useful to historians of science who need primary and secondary sources to be conveniently available for their own research and interpretation, along with the bibliography which makes it easier to learn what other historians have already done on this subject.