Abstract
Newton’s success in mechanics altered profoundly the way in which scientists viewed the Universe. The motions of the Sun and planets could now be considered as purely mechanical, that is, governed by the laws of mechanics, much like a machine. As for any machine, whether a clock or the solar system, the motions of the parts were completely determined once the system had been put together.
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Further Reading
EL. Holmes, Lavoisier and the Chemistry of Life, ( Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989 ), Chapter 24.
G. Holton and S.G. Brush, Physics, The Human Adventure,(Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001), Chapters 15–18.
R.S. Westfall, The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics, ( New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978 ).
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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Cassidy, D., Holton, G., Rutherford, J. (2002). Conserving Matter and Motion. In: Understanding Physics. Undergraduate Texts in Contemporary Physics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-7698-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-7698-0_5
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