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Hesiod's Anvil Andrew J. Simoson

Hesiod's Anvil By Andrew J. Simoson

Hesiod's Anvil by Andrew J. Simoson


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Summary

This book is about models of motion as enunciated by poets, philosophers, story-tellers and early scientists. By using popular literature and philosophy to bring the mechanics of motion alive, blending with equal voice both romantic whimsy and derived equations.

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Hesiod's Anvil Summary

Hesiod's Anvil: Falling and Spinning through Heaven and Earth by Andrew J. Simoson

This book is about how poets, philosophers, storytellers, and scientists have described motion, beginning with Hesiod, who imagined that the expanse of heaven and the depth of hell was the distance that an anvil falls in nine days. The reader will learn that Dante's implicit model of the earth implies a black hole at its core, that Edmond Halley championed a hollow earth, and that Da Vinci knew that the acceleration due to Earth's gravity was a constant. There are chapters modeling Jules Verne's and H.G. Wells' imaginative flights to the moon and back, analyses of Edgar Alan Poe's descending pendulum, and the solution to an old problem perhaps inspired by one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It blends with equal voice romantic whimsy and derived equations, and anyone interested in mathematics will find new and surprising ideas about motion and the people who thought about it.

About Andrew J. Simoson

Andrew J. Simoson is chairman of the mathematics department at King College in Bristol, Tennessee. He is also a member of the MAA and has twice been a Fulbright professor.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Preamble I. Good to fall; 1. Hesiod's muses; Preamble II. Towers crash; 2. The gravity of Hades; Preamble III. A great fall; 3. Ballistics; Preamble IV. A new leaf; 4. Heavenly motion; Preamble V. Falling oars; 5. Pendulum variations; Preamble VI. Half to fall; 6. Retrieving H.G. Wells from the ocean floor; Preamble VII. Turned round and round; 7. Sliding along a chord through a rotating Earth; Preamble VIII. Fallen, fallen, fallen; 8. Falling through a rotating Earth; Preamble IX. Falling into naught; 9. Shadow lands; Preamble X. Spinning complete; 10. The Trochoid family; Preamble XI. The world turned; 11. Retrieving H. G. Wells from the moon; Preamble XII. Catch a star; 12. Playing ball in space; Preamble XIII. Turn a different hue; 13. The rotating beacon; Preamble XIV. Never turning; 14. The long count; Preamble XV. What a fall!; 15. Hesiod's anvil; Appendix; Cast of characters; Comments on selected exercises; References; Index; About the author.

Additional information

CIN0883853361G
9780883853368
0883853361
Hesiod's Anvil: Falling and Spinning through Heaven and Earth by Andrew J. Simoson
Used - Good
Hardback
Mathematical Association of America
2007-07-26
220
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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