L'évolution de la mécanique

Description

YouTube: Pierre Duhem, L'évolution de la mécanique. Jtgrandtour

Citations of Lagrange's Mécanique analytique :

• *

1st part:

sec. II

sec. II n. 9, 12, 13, 14

sec. III n. 21

sec. III §v n. 25

sec. IV §1, §II

sec. V ch. III

sec. VII §II

2nd part (on D'Alembert's principle):

sec. II, n. 5, 8

sec. III, n. 5

sec. IV, n. 7

sec. VI §1

sec. XI, §1, art. 17

The bulk of this volume is a photo reprint of Duhem's general history of mechanics. Although it gained some attention at the time, including a reprint in 1905 and translations into Polish and German, it became a rather neglected work: an English translation was published only in 1980 [Nijhoff, The Hague, 1980; MR0660634], and there is no article on it in the recent special issues of Synthese (1990) on Duhem [Synthese 83 (1990), no. 2; MR1064356; Synthese 83 (1990), no. 3; MR1065139].
In the first part of the book Duhem treats classical mechanics. He scampers through the early and medieval periods at speed, since he treats them (or intended to) in much greater detail in other works, now better known. His main concern is from the mid-18th century onwards, especially variational and energy mechanics, and with some emphasis on elasticity theory and hydrodynamics. His failure even to mention the tradition of energy/work mechanics stemming from Lazare Carnot in the late 18th century is an example of his fallibility as a historian of the more recent periods (possibly due to the widespread but unfortunate influence of Lagrange's historical notes in his Méchanique analitique (1788)). Duhem's other important omissions include Euler's torque theorem and Laplace's invariable plane, and Poinsot's theory of the couple.
The second half of the book deals with thermodynamics, which for Duhem was linked to mechanics primarily via potential theory (the phrase "thermodynamics potential'' is his). He discusses several aspects, including his own findings of nonreversible equilibrium in hysteresis. This volume is supplemented by a reprint of three articles of 1895 on the prehistory of the subject in the development of heat theory.
In his historical work Duhem mixed historical questions with his own philosophical approach rather like his contemporary Ernst Mach. The volume is completed by a reprint of his 1903 review of the first French translation of Mach's history of mechanics (prepared from reading the proofs, and published before the book appeared in 1904!).
The editor contributes a short introduction, a bibliography of works cited by Duhem, and a name index. A subject index would have been useful as well as indications of the original pagination of the reprinted articles.

Reviewed by I. Grattan-Guinness