![]() Even of the works of the better known thinkers, few fragments survived. Much of the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world was lost. 212 BC) of "Eureka!" fame, who defined the concept of the centre of gravity and created the field of statics, and the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus), who wrote scientific treatises in Alexandria that were later used as the basis of much later science. Many contributions were made by many thinkers, including the mathematician Archimedes ( Greek: Ἀρχιμήδης) (c. 230 BC) presented a heliocentric view of the solar system, placing the Sun, not the Earth, at the centre. In contrast to Aristotle's geocentric views, Aristarchus of Samos ( Greek: Ἀρίσταρχος 310 BC – ca. During the classical period (6th, 5th and 4th centuries BC) and in Hellenistic times, natural philosophy slowly developed into an exciting and contentious field of study.Įarly in classical antiquity, that the earth is a sphere ("round"), was generally known by all, and around 240 BCE, the Libyan astronomer Eratosthenes (276 BCE - 194 BCE) accurately estimated its circumference in Egypt. He wrote the first work which refers to that line of study as "Physics" ( Aristotle's Physics). This was elaborated in great detail by Democritus.Īristotle ( Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC), a student of Plato, promoted the concept that observation of physical phenomena could ultimately lead to the discovery of the natural laws governing them. He went on to develop the theory of atomism - the idea that everything is composed entirely of various imperishable, indivisible elements called atoms. Thales also made advancements in 580 BCE, suggesting that water is the basic element, experimenting with magnets and attraction to rubbed amber, and formulating cosmologies.Īccordingly, Leucippus ( Greek: Λεύκιππος, first half of 5th century BC), refusing to accept various supernatural, religious or mythological explanations for natural phenomena, proclaimed that every event had a natural cause. The Phoenician philosopher Thales (7th and 6th centuries BCE), sometimes anachronistically dubbed a "father of science" (in the philosophical sense) for refusing to accept various supernatural, religious or mythological explanations for natural phenomena, proclaimed that every event had a natural cause. This move towards a more rational understanding of nature later influenced the Eastern Medierranean, particularly the Greeks and Phoenicians, at least since the Archaic Period (650 BC – 480 BC), with the Presocratics. Though the arguments he used were lost, Plutarch stated that Seleucus was the first to prove the heliocentric system through reasoning.įurther information: Aristotelian physics In the 2nd century BC, the Babylonian astronomer Seleucus of Seleucia proposed a heliocentric model where the Earth rotated around its own axis, which in turn revolved around the Sun. They began studying natural philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the universe, and began employing an internal logic within their predictive planetary systems. The fact that many star names appear in Sumerian suggests a continuity reaching into the early Bronze Age.Įarly attempts at philosophically explaining nature date back to the 8th and 7th centuries BC, when Babylonian astronomers developed an empirical approach to astronomy. Our knowledge of Sumerian astronomy is indirect, via the earliest Babylonian star catalogues dating from about 1200 BCE. In the course of the last few decades it has become increasingly clear that all Western efforts in the exact sciences are descendants in direct line from the work of the late Babylonian astronomers. The origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia ( Iraq). Early history in Middle East and Mediterranean įurther information: History of astronomy and Babylonian astronomy More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves. "nature" ) is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. "knowledge of nature", from φύσις, physis, i.e. 6.3 Constructing a new fundamental physics.6.2 The radical years: general relativity and quantum mechanics.6.1 The emergence of a new physics circa 1900.5.6 Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and electromagnetic theory.5.5 Physical experimentation in the 18th and early 19th centuries.5.4 Rational mechanics in the 18th century.5.3 Newtonian motion versus Cartesian motion.5.1 Galileo Galilei and the rise of physico-mathematics.4.1 Ibn al-Haytham's mathematical physics and physical optics.4 Emergence of experimental method and mathematical physics.2 Early history in Middle East and Mediterranean.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |