Pierre-Simon Laplace, 1749-1827: A Life in Exact SciencePrinceton University Press, 2000 M02 27 - 322 pages Pierre-Simon Laplace was among the most influential scientists in history. Often referred to as the lawgiver of French science, he is known for his technical contributions to exact science, for the philosophical point of view he developed in the presentation of his work, and for the leading part he took in forming the modern discipline of mathematical physics. His two most famous treatises were the five-volume Traité de mécanique céleste (1799-1825) and Théorie analytique des probabilités (1812). In the former he demonstrated mathematically the stability of the solar system in service to the universal Newtonian law of gravity. In the latter he developed probability from a set of miscellaneous problems concerning games, averages, mortality, and insurance risks into the branch of mathematics that permitted the quantification of estimates of error and the drawing of statistical inferences, wherever data warranted, in social, medical, and juridical matters, as well as in the physical sciences. |
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... concern their specialties , those on probability and on the inequality of Jupiter and Saturn . A current graduate student , David Attis , is serving as a very capable research assistant . As always Emily Gillispie has read drafts and ...
... concerned Lagrange's finding in a 1761 paper that there was no need to follow Euler in assuming a constant difference . If the assumption was justi- fied , the number of equations might be reduced by at least one , and otherwise the ...
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Other editions - View all
Pierre-Simon Laplace, 1749-1827: A Life in Exact Science Charles Coulston Gillispie Limited preview - 2018 |
Pierre-Simon Laplace, 1749-1827: A Life in Exact Science Charles Coulston Gillispie,Robert Fox,I. Grattan-Guinness No preview available - 1997 |