Science and Its Times

by Schlager, Neil; Lauer, Josh

• ISBN13: 9780787639358
• ISBN10: 0787639354
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Gale / Cengage Learning

Summary

"This series discusses how the major fields of science developed during specific time periods. Each volume focuses on a range of years and includes developments in exploration, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and technology. When the series is completed, the seven volumes will cover 2000 B.C. to the present."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2001.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Advisory Board	xi
Contributors	xiii
Introduction: 1450-1699	xvii
Chronology: 1450-1699	xxi
Exploration and Discovery
Chronology of Key Events	1	(1)
Overview	2	(1)
Topical Essays
Spanish Exploration and Colonization	3	(4)
Portugal Launches Age of Discovery	7	(2)
Dutch Exploration and Colonization	9	(3)
Overview of English Exploration	12	(3)
The Voyages of Christopher Columbus: European Contact with the New World and the Age of Exploration	15	(4)
Juan Ponce de Leon Explores Florida and the Bahama Channel	19	(3)
Alonso Alvarez de Pineda explores the Gulf of Mexico and Is the First European to See the Mississippi River	22	(2)
Hernando de Soto and the Spanish Exploration of the American Southeast, 1539-1542	24	(2)
Coronado's Search for the Seven Cities of Gold Leads to Spanish Dominion over Southwestern North America	26	(2)
Spanish Florida and the Founding of St. Augustine	28	(3)
The English Establish a Colony in Jamestown, Virginia	31	(2)
John Cabot's Exploration of North America	33	(3)
The Search for a Northwest Passage	36	(2)
North America's First Permanent European Colony	38	(2)
Pedro Cabral and the Portuguese Settlement of Brazil	40	(2)
Vasco Nunez de Balboa Reaches the Pacific Ocean	42	(2)
The First Maritime Circumnavigation of the Globe	44	(2)
European Contact Overwhelms the Inca Empire: Francisco Pizarro's Conquest of Peru	46	(3)
Exploring the Amazon River	49	(2)
Willem Barents Searches for the Northeast Passage and Finds Svalbard Instead	51	(3)
The Discovery of Baffin Bay	54	(2)
Semyon Dezhnyov Finds the Bering Strait---Eighty Years before Bering	56	(2)
Diogo Cao and the Portuguese in West Africa	58	(2)
Bartolomeu Dias and the Opening of the Indian Ocean Trade Route to India, 1487-1488	60	(3)
Vasco da Gama Establishes the First Ocean Trade Route from Europe to India and Asia	63	(2)
Willem Jansz Lands on the Australian Mainland and Sets Off a Century of Dutch Exploration of the Region	65	(2)
The Voyages of Abel Janszoon Tasman	67	(2)
Introduction of the Mercator World Map Revolutionizes Nautical Navigation	69	(3)
Biographical Sketches	72	(25)
Biographical Mentions	97	(12)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	109	(2)
Life Sciences and Medicine
Chronology of Key Events	111	(1)
Overview	112	(2)
Topical Essays
Philosophy of Science: Baconian and Cartesian Approaches	114	(2)
Theory and Experiment Redefine Medical Practice and Philosophy	116	(3)
Advances in Midwifery and Obstetrics	119	(3)
Advances in Understanding the Female Reproductive System	122	(2)
The Medical Role of Women: Women as Patients and Practitioners	124	(3)
Mechanical Printing and Its Impact on Medicine	127	(3)
The Development and Impact of Medical Illustrations	130	(2)
The Invention of the Microscope	132	(3)
The Alliance of Science and Art in Early Modern Europe	135	(3)
Advancements in Surgery	138	(3)
Empirics, Quacks, and Alternative Medical Practices	141	(3)
William Harvey and the Discovery of the Human Circulatory System	144	(3)
The Beginnings of Blood Transfusion	147	(4)
Progress in Understanding Human Anatomy	151	(2)
Advances in Understanding the Nervous System	153	(2)
Paracelsian Medicine Leads to a New Understanding of Therapy	155	(3)
The Exchange of Plant and Animal Species Between the New World and Old World	158	(2)
The Impact of European Diseases on Native Americans	160	(3)
The Appearance of Syphilis in the 1490s	163	(4)
The Development of Zoology	167	(2)
Advances in Botany	169	(3)
Renaissance Botanical and Zoological Gardens	172	(2)
Biographical Sketches	174	(36)
Biographical Mentions	210	(10)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	220	(7)
Mathematics
Chronology of Key Events	227	(1)
Overview	228	(2)
Topical Essays
Advancements in Notation Enhance the Translation and Precision of Mathematics	230	(2)
The Reappearance of Analysis in Mathematics	232	(2)
John Napier Discovers Logarithms	234	(3)
Militarizing Mathematics	237	(2)
Algebraic Solution of Cubic and Quartic Equations	239	(2)
The Development of Analytic Geometry	241	(2)
The Printing of Important Mathematics Texts Leads the Way to the Scientific Revolution	243	(4)
Marin Mersenne Leads an International Effort to Understand Cycloids	247	(2)
Mathematicians Revolutionize the Understanding of Equations	249	(2)
Girard Desargues and Projective Geometry	251	(3)
Mathematical Induction Provides a Tool for Proving Large Problems by Proceeding through the Solution of Smaller Increments	254	(2)
The Emergence of the Calculus	256	(3)
The Enduring and Revolutionary Impact of Pierre de Fermat's Last Theorem	259	(3)
Mathematics, Communication, and Community	262	(2)
Mathematicians Develop New Ways to Calculate	264	(3)
Mastering the Seas: Advances in Trigonometry and Their Impact upon Astronomy, Cartography, and Maritime Navigation	267	(3)
Mathematics, Science, and the Society of Jesus	270	(2)
Mathematical Challenges and Contest	272	(3)
Biographical Sketches	275	(26)
Biographical Mentions	301	(6)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	307	(4)
Physical Sciences
Chronology of Key Events	311	(1)
Overview	312	(2)
Topical Essays
Science and Christianity during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries	314	(4)
Nicolaus Copernicus Begins a Revolution in Astronomy with His Heliocentric Model of the Solar System	318	(3)
The Gregorian Reform of the Calendar	321	(3)
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation	324	(2)
Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica Greatly Influences the Scientific World and the Society Beyond It	326	(3)
From Alchemy to Chemistry	329	(3)
Advances in Geological Science, 1450-1699	332	(2)
Christiaan Huygens Makes Fundamental Contributions to Mechanics, Astronomy, Horology, and Optics	334	(3)
The Emergence of Scientific Societies	337	(2)
Development of Stellar Astronomy	339	(3)
Observing and Defining Comets	342	(4)
The Rise of the Phologiston Theory of Fire	346	(2)
Seventeenth-century Experimental and Theoretical Advances Regarding the Nature of Light Lay the Foundations of Modern Optics	348	(3)
The Founding of England's Royal Observatory	351	(3)
Revival of Corpuscular Theories during the Seventeenth Century	354	(3)
Advances in Electricity and Magnetism	357	(3)
Biographical Sketches	360	(27)
Biographical Mentions	387	(11)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	398	(3)
Technology and Invention
Chronology of Key Events	401	(1)
Overview	402	(2)
Topical Essays
The Birth of Print Culture: The Invention of the Printing Press in Western Europe	404	(7)
The Advent of Newspapers	411	(2)
Advances in Firearms	413	(2)
The Military Revolution	415	(3)
Inventing the Submarine	418	(2)
The Invention of Spectales	420	(3)
Camera Obscura: Ancestor of Modern Photography	423	(3)
Antonio Neri Reveals the Secrets of Glassmaking and Helps Make High Quality Glass Available to the World	426	(3)
The Origins and Development of the Magic Lantern	429	(3)
William Lee and the Stocking Knitting Frame: Micro- and Macroinventions	432	(3)
Advances in Metallurgy	435	(3)
Development of the Horse-Drawn Coach	438	(2)
Systematic Crop Rotation Transforms Agriculture	440	(3)
The Development of Key Instruments for Science	443	(3)
The Measure of Time	446	(3)
Development of the Self-Regulating Oven	449	(2)
Denis Papin Invents the Pressure Cooker	451	(2)
Andrea Palladio and Developments in Western Architecture	453	(4)
The Palace of Versailles	457	(2)
Development of the Midi Canal	459	(3)
Biographical Sketches	462	(19)
Biographical Mentions	481	(11)
Bibliography of Primary Sources	492	(3)
General Bibliography	495	(2)
Index	497