A report on Pierre Louis Maupertuis
French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters.
- Pierre Louis Maupertuis18 related topics with Alpha
Stationary-action principle
4 linksVariational principle that, when applied to the action of a mechanical system, yields the equations of motion for that system.
Variational principle that, when applied to the action of a mechanical system, yields the equations of motion for that system.
Scholars often credit Pierre Louis Maupertuis for formulating the principle of least action because he wrote about it in 1744 and 1746.
Joseph-Louis Lagrange
4 linksItalian mathematician and astronomer, later naturalized French.
Italian mathematician and astronomer, later naturalized French.
Lagrange also applied his ideas to problems of classical mechanics, generalising the results of Euler and Maupertuis.
Isaac Newton
2 linksEnglish mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of all time and among the most influential scientists.
English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of all time and among the most influential scientists.
Newton's inference that the Earth is an oblate spheroid was later confirmed by the geodetic measurements of Maupertuis, La Condamine, and others, convincing most European scientists of the superiority of Newtonian mechanics over earlier systems.
Prussian Academy of Sciences
2 linksAcademy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.
Academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.
The membership was strong in mathematics and philosophy, and included notable philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert, Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis, and Etienne de Condillac.
Maupertuis's principle
1 linksIn classical mechanics, Maupertuis's principle (named after Pierre Louis Maupertuis) states that the path followed by a physical system is the one of least length (with a suitable interpretation of path and length).
Voltaire
2 linksFrench Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity—especially the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery, as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity—especially the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery, as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
He encountered other difficulties: an argument with Maupertuis, the president of the Berlin Academy of Science and a former rival for Émilie's affections, provoked Voltaire's Diatribe du docteur Akakia ("Diatribe of Doctor Akakia"), which satirized some of Maupertuis's theories and his persecutions of a mutual acquaintance, Johann Samuel König.
Frederick the Great
2 linksKing in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786.
King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786.
The membership was strong in mathematics and philosophy and included Immanuel Kant, D'Alembert, Pierre Louis de Maupertuis, and Étienne de Condillac.
Johann Samuel König
1 linksGerman mathematician.
German mathematician.
Johann Bernoulli instructed both König and Pierre Louis Maupertuis as pupils during the same period.
Natural selection
0 linksDifferential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype.
Differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype.
The classical arguments were reintroduced in the 18th century by Pierre Louis Maupertuis and others, including Darwin's grandfather, Erasmus Darwin.
William Rowan Hamilton
2 linksIrish mathematician, astronomer, and physicist.
Irish mathematician, astronomer, and physicist.
His principle of "Varying Action" was based on the calculus of variations, in the general class of problems included under the principle of least action which had been studied earlier by Pierre Louis Maupertuis, Euler, Joseph Louis Lagrange and others.