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| POSSEDUTO (se manca la collocazione vai al documento contenente) | |
| Accesso online: | https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana |
| Autore principale: | Raynaud, Dominique, 1961-
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| Titolo: | Descartes and the law of refraction [Risorsa elettronica] / Dominique Raynaud. |
| Abstract: | Historical research on refraction in the modern era has often focused on the question of attributing the law of refraction to Descartes, Snel and Harriott. The discovery of Ibn Sahl’s work has put an end to the dispute over priority between these authors, leaving another problem largely unnoticed: most of the literature refers to this discovery without distinguishing the native form of the statements on refraction from the current conception of the law of refraction. This anachronism is problematic. Ancient texts do not contain a single statement of the law of refraction as we know it today. Descartes’ contribution is in line with Maurolico’s and Kepler’s work on refraction. Like them, Descartes makes no mention of sines or refractive indices, nor does he formulate a physical law of refraction. Since these ideas developed gradually between the late 17th century and the 19th century, the recognition of a law of sines or a law of refraction is not an idea native to the 16th and 17th centuries. We suggest that the work of Descartes does not fit into the modern quest for the laws of nature, but rather into the framework of the theory of proportions. |
| In: |  Mathematical thought in the Renaissance and the genesis of modern mathematics. p. 255-294 |
| Discipline: | Ottica--Persone. |
| Persone: | Descartes, René, 1596-1650--Fisica. Maurolico, Francesco, 1494-1575. Kepler, Johannes, 1571-1630. |
| Sudd. cronologiche: | Secolo XVII. |
| 000001111293 |
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