Galileo and Huygens on free fall: Mathematical and methodological differences
Metadata
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Ducheyne, SteffenEditorial
Universidad de Granada
Materia
Huygens Galileo Caída libre Mecánica Filosofía natural del siglo XVII Horologium Oscillatorium Discorsi Free fall Mechanics XVIIth century natural philosophy
Date
2008Referencia bibliográfica
Ducheyne, Steffen. «Galileo and Huygens on free fall : mathematical and methodological differences». Dynamis: Acta Hispanica ad Medicinae Scientiarumque Historiam Illustrandam, 2008, Vol. 28, p. 243-274, https://raco.cat/index.php/Dynamis/article/view/118814.
Abstract
In this essay, I will scrutinize the differences between Galileo’s and Huygens’s demonstrations
of free fall, which can be found respectively in the Discorsi and the Horologium,
from a mathematical, representational and methodological perspective. I argue that more can
be learnt from such an analysis than the thesis that Huygens re-styled Galilean mechanics which
is a communis opinio. I shall argue that the differences in their approach on free fall highlight
a significantly different mathematical and methodological outlook.