Galileo's Pendulum

by Newton, Roger G.

• ISBN13: 9780674018488
• ISBN10: 0674018486
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-31
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

The principle of the pendulum's swing marks a simple yet fundamental system in nature, one that ties the rhythm of time to the very existence of matter in the universe. Newton sets the stage for Galileo's discovery with a look at biorhythms in living organisms and at early calendars and clocks--contrivances of nature and culture that, however adequate in their time, did not meet the precise requirements of seventeenth-century science and navigation.

Author Biography

Roger G. Newton is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physics at Indiana University

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(3)
Biological Timekeeping: The Body's Rhythms	4	(20)
The Calendar: Different Drummers	24	(10)
Early Clocks: Home-Made Beats	34	(14)
The Pendulum Clock: The Beat of Nature	48	(17)
Successors: Ubiquitous Timekeeping	65	(18)
Isaac Newton: The Physics of the Pendulum	83	(15)
Sound and Light: Oscillations Everywhere	98	(25)
The Quantum: Oscillators Make Particles	123	(16)
Notes	139	(3)
References	142	(4)
Illustration Credits	146	(3)
Index	149