Category Archives: Physics

Another feminist Newtonian

Posted on October 16, 2012 by

Given that Newton boasted on his deathbed that he had never known a woman and that many modern historians are fairly convinced that he was homosexual it is somewhat ironic that his theories were defended against other competing systems of … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Physics | Leave a comment

Oh dear! More crap than you can shake a stick at.

Posted on August 29, 2012 by

One of the websites that I usually enjoy reading is Wonders & Marvels a collective of historians[1] who post mostly short reports on historical things, oft medical, that they have found fascinating. However, as I recently visited this delightful oasis of historical frivolity … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Physics | Leave a comment

A knighthood for science?

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

On 16th April 1705 Queen Anne surprised the audience at her visit to Cambridge University by knighting the ex-Lucasian Professor of Mathematics Isaac Newton. This dubbing was as much of a surprise to Newton as it was to everybody else. Now … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, History, Physics | Leave a comment

AAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!!!!!

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

The title of this post is the sound of me screaming in a state of total frustration and despair. Who or what has reduced me to this state of mental despondency? You might well ask and the answer [can be … Continue reading →

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A Croatian Polymath

Posted on May 18, 2011 by

Join me in wishing the 18th century Jesuit polymath Roger Joseph Boscovich a happy 300th birthday

Posted in astronomy, History, mathematics, Physics | Leave a comment

A Gallic Newtonian

Posted on May 7, 2011 by

In the early 18th century the whole of France was in the grip of Cartesian physicists, the whole of France? No! A small centre of Newtonian resistance existed on the country estate, Cirey-sur-Blaise, of Gabrielle-Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet. … Continue reading →

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The blatherings of Mr Wrong

Posted on January 22, 2011 by

I stumbled across Chris Wright’s post “Measuring Hell” at the Boston Globe Website, via 3 Quarks Daily, more than a week ago and briefly considered blogging about it and then couldn’t be bothered. At the end of this week Darwin’s … Continue reading →

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The Problem of Human Missions to Mars

Posted on October 26, 2010 by

I just published a short piece in the Journal of Cosmology’s special issue Colonizing Mars: The Mission to the Red Planet. It argues that humans will not reach Mars on the power of peripheral arguments about science, national pride, or … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, History, Physics, Science, Space Exploration | 3 Comments

Mr X

Posted on October 16, 2010 by

There is a scholar, call him Mr X, who received his training within the academy, but who found it wasn’t enough. He wanted more: to move outside of his wonky circle of colleagues, to engage the public, to communicate ideas … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Early Scientific Printing, History, Mathematics, Physics, Science | 2 Comments

Martyr of Science

Posted on September 27, 2010 by

I wrote this introduction to David Brewster’s collected biography of Galileo, Tycho Brahe and Kepler, Martyrs of Science (1841), some time ago when there was a plan to republish it as part of a collected edition of popular 19th-century works on science and history … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, Book, History, Physics, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments