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.

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and a bridge to modern statistical mechanics.Although some elements of Boltzmann's classical approach have been superseded by quantum mechanics, the foundational principles and mathematical frameworks he established remain highly relevant, particularly in fields like plasma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.

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.

Winner of the 2001 Joseph Hazen Education Prize of the History of Science Society​Physics, the Human Adventure is the third edition of the classic text Introduction to Concepts and Theories in Physical Science. Authored by Gerald Holton, the text was a landmark in science education. It was the first modern textbook in physics (or in any other science) to make full and effective use of the history and philosophy of science in presenting for both the general and the science-oriented student an account of the nature of physical science. A second edition, prepared by Stephen G. Brush, brought the book up to date by increasing the coverage of topics in modern physics and by taking account of recent scholarly research in the history of science. In the new book Physics, The Human Adventure, each of the chapters has been reworked to further clarify the physics concepts and to incorporate recent physical advances and research. The book shows the unifying power of science by bringing in connections to chemistry, astronomy, and geoscience. In short, the aid of the new edition is to teach good physics while presenting physical science as a human adventure that has become a major force in our civilization.New chapters discuss theories of the origin of the solar system and the expanding universe; fission, fusion, and the Big Bang–Steady State Controversy; and thematic elements and styles in scientific thought. New topics include:• Theories of vision: does the eye send out rays or receive them?• Distances in the solar system• The prediction of the return of Halley’s comet and analysis of deviations from Kepler’s laws• Angular momentum conservation and Laplace’s nebular hypothesis• Relation between symmetries and conservation laws: Emmy Noether’s theorem• First estimates of atomic sizes• Consequences of the indistinguishability of elementary particles of the same kind• Applications of quantum mechanics to many-particle systems• Dirac’s prediction of anti-matter• The anthropic principle and other controversial issues on the frontiers of research

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.