"Nicholas Copernicus, the famous Polish astronomer, was born five hundred years ago in Toruń, an old town situated on the board of Vistula, in the North of Poland. Copernicus was the first scientist, who not only conceived the idea of heliocentric motions in the planetary system, but also proved by mathematical arguments, that his system was in agreement with his observations. In the astronomer's native town a new university bearing his name was organized in 1945. The history of the Astronomical Observatory of the Nicholas Copernicus University is told in this booklet. The reader will find some details about the difficult beginnings and further development of the Observatory, and the research activities of the Toruń astronomers."--From the publisher.
Controversial at the time, Copernicus's discoveries led to the scientific revolution, and a greater understanding of our place in the universe. An accessible, abridged edition with a new introduction. Renaissance Natural philosopher Nicolaus Copernicus's pioneering discovery of the heliocentric nature of the solar system is one of the few identifiable moments in history that define the understanding of the nature of all things. His great work was the consequence of long observation and resulted in the first stage of the Scientific Revolution by correctly positing that the earth and other planets of the solar system revolved around the sun. Not only did this promote further study to understand the place of humanity in the world and the universe, it questioned the authority of the organised Christian Church in the West to be the keeper of fundamental truths. Ultimately this would lead to the Enlightenment, and the separation of religion, government and science. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.
An account of the Copernican Revolution, focusing on the significance of the plurality of the revolution which encompassed not only mathematical astronomy, but also conceptual changes in cosmology, physics, philosophy, and religion.
In 1984, Noel Swerdlow and Otto Neugebauer argued that Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) explained planetary motion by using mathematical devices and astronomical models originally developed by Islamic astronomers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Was this a parallel development, or did Copernicus somehow learn of the work of his predecessors, and if so, how? And if Copernicus did use material from the Islamic world, how then should we understand the European context of his innovative cosmology? Although Copernicus’s work has been subject to a number of excellent studies, there has been little attention paid to the sources and diverse cultures that might have inspired him. Foregrounding the importance of interactions between Islamic and European astronomers and philosophers, Before Copernicus explores the multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual context of learning on the eve of the Copernican revolution, determining the relationship between Copernicus and his predecessors. Essays by Christopher Celenza and Nancy Bisaha delve into the European cultural and intellectual contexts of the fifteenth century, revealing both the profound differences between “them” and “us,” and the nascent attitudes that would mark the turn to modernity. Michael Shank, F. Jamil Ragep, Sally Ragep, and Robert Morrison depict the vibrant and creative work of astronomers in the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish worlds. In other essays, Rivka Feldhay, Raz Chen-Morris, and Edith Sylla demonstrate the importance of shifting outlooks that were critical for the emergence of a new worldview. Highlighting the often-neglected intercultural exchange between Islam and early modern Europe, Before Copernicus reimagines the scientific revolution in a global context.
"One might wonder if there is anything new to say about Thomas Kuhn and his views on science. Scholarship on Kuhn, though, has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. This is so for a number reasons"--
Do you know where are astronomical observatories in Poland and which institutions conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics? Extensive catalog of astronomical institutes and facilities, as well as a map of observatories, telescopes and other interesting information about astronomy in Poland. Polish astronomy is proud of its long history and tradition dating back to Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Hevelius. It also has many achievements and outstanding scientists today. This publication presents major facilities dealing with astronomical research in Poland. Additionally, it provides a catalog of locations where one can study astronomy, a map of planetariums, as well as an index of scientific media and main amateur organizations. We hope that this publication will help anyone interested in establishing scientific and educational cooperation, assist young people in choosing the most interesting place for studying science, offer journalists contact with leading Polish astronomers and develop cooperation between scientific facilities and industry. In addition, it will present a current outline of scientific research in astronomy and astrophysics conducted in Poland.
After three decades of investigation, and after traveling hundreds of thousands of miles across the globe-from Melbourne to Moscow, Boston to Beijing-Gingerich has written an utterly original book built on his experience and the remarkable insights gleaned from examining some 600 copies of De revolutionibus. He found the books owned and annotated by Galileo, Kepler and many other lesser-known astronomers whom he brings back to life, which illuminate the long, reluctant process of accepting the Sun-centered cosmos and highlight the historic tensions between science and the Catholic Church. He traced the ownership of individual copies through the hands of saints, heretics, scalawags, and bibliomaniacs. He was called as the expert witness in the theft of one copy, witnessed the dramatic auction of another, and proves conclusively that De revolutionibus was as inspirational as it was revolutionary. Part biography of a book, part scientific exploration, part bibliographic detective story, The Book Nobody Read recolors the history of cosmology and offers new appreciation of the enduring power of an extraordinary book and its ideas.
The book provides the broad knowledge on electromigration techniques including: theory of CE, description of instrumentation, theory and practice in micellar electrokinetic chromatography, isotachophoresis, capillary isoelectric focusing, capillary and planar electrochromatography (including description of instrumentation and packed and monolithic column preparation), 2D-gel electrophoresis (including sample preparation) and lab-on-a-chip systems. The book also provides the most recent examples of applications including food, environmental, pharmaceutical analysis as well as proteomics.
If you have ever wanted to understand the basic principles of astronomy and celestial movements, you should read this book. Using pictures of the sky observed from different places on Earth, as well as drawings of ancient astronomical methods and tools, Prof. Sun Kwok tells this story in an entertaining and fascinating way. Since the beginning of human civilization, people have wondered about the structure of the cosmos and our place in the Universe. More than 2,000 years ago, our ancestors knew that the seasons were unequal, the Earth was an unattached object floating in space, and stars existed that they could not see. From celestial observations, they concluded that the Earth was round. Using simple tools and mathematics, ancient astronomers accurately determined the sizes of the Earth and Moon, the distance to the Moon, and the lengths of the months and year. With a clever device called the armillary sphere, Greek astronomers could predict the times of sunrise and sunset on any day of the year, at any place on Earth. They developed sophisticated mathematical models to forecast Mars’ motions hundreds of years into the future. Find out how ancient observers achieved these remarkable feats. With minimal use of mathematics, this book retraces the footsteps of our ancestors, explains their intellectual journeys in simple terms, and explores the philosophical implications of these discoveries.
In 1973, on the 500th anniversary of Copernicus's birth, the Polish Academy of Sciences announced its intention to publish all of the astronomer's extant works, both in their original Latin and in modern translations. Here, available for the first time in softcover, are Edward Rosen's authoritative English translations and commentaries.
