Related papers: Materials Science in Ancient Rome
It is commonly believed that the ancient Romans were the first to create and use concrete. This is not true, as we can easily learn from the Latin literature itself. For sure, Romans were able to prepare high-quality hydraulic cements,…
Throughout human history, people have used sight to learn about the world, but only in relatively recent times the science of light has been developed. Egyptians and Mesopotamians made the first known lenses out of quartz, giving birth to…
We consider several appearances of the notion of convexity in Greek antiquity, more specifically in mathematics and optics, in the writings of Aristotle, and in art. The final version of this article will appear in the book `Geometry in…
In the paper we will describe three instruments of particular historical and didactic interest belonging to the Historical Collection of Physics Instruments of Palermo University: a convex mirror most likely dating back to the early…
In De Impressionibus Elementorum, a treatise written by Grosseteste shortly after 1220, we can find a discussion of some phenomena involving the four classical elements (air, water, fire and earth), in the framework of an Aristotelian…
The paper discusses the tale that we can find in "The Architecture" by Vitruvius, on a method used by Archimedes to determine the percentage of gold and silver in a crown. The method is based on the immersion of bodies, allowing the…
Recent uses of differential geometry in materials science are reviewed here, in particular the September issue of the Phil. Trans. Royal Soc., entitled ``Curvature and chemical Structure.''
A detailed bibliography related to physics at the University of Lviv (Leopolis, Lemberg, Lw\'ow) in 18th-19th centuries is presented. Over ninety works of various types are listed with a large share being illustrated by title or starting…
This is an essay that considering the knowledge structure and language of a different nature, attempts to build on an explanation of the object of study and characteristics of the mathematical science. We end up with a learning cycle of…
Despite great advances in computation, materials design is still science fiction. The construction of structure-property relations on the quantum scale will turn computational empiricism into true design.
Currently it is widely accepted that the language of science is mathematics. This book explores an alternative idea where the future of science is based on the language of algorithms and programs. How such a language can actually be…
We venture that the long evolution of science may be viewed as unfolding over three blurred epochs. The first epoch spans the slow, haphazard, error-ridden realization of scientific truths along with foundational scientific methods. The…
To flourish in the new data-intensive environment of 21st century science, we need to evolve new skills. These can be expressed in terms of the systemized framework that formed the basis of mediaeval education - the trivium (logic, grammar,…
This article focuses on evolvement of the history of mathematics as a science and development of its methodology from the 4th century B.C. to the age of Enlightenment.
Since the early days of humankind, people have been asking questions about Nature of two kinds: why did that happen? And how can that be used? In a broad sense, science was born that day. We show indeed that science has two complementary…
Mathematics and its relation to the physical universe have been the topic of speculation since the days of Pythagoras. Several different views of the nature of mathematics have been considered: Realism - mathematics exists and is…
Supportive attitudes can bring to a blossoming science, while neglect can quickly make science absent from everyday life and provide a very primitive view of the world. We compare one important Greek achievement, the computation of the…
Museum curators and archaeologists use analytical science to provide important information on artworks and objects. For example, scientific techniques provide information on artwork elemental composition, origin and authenticity, and…
Imagine a world where beauty and technology move in perfect harmony, revealing tiny masterpieces hidden in the water. This world is Nature, and diatoms are the stars. Masters of assembling complex hierarchical glass structures, these…
This paper presents a set of general strategies for the analysis of structure in amorphous materials and a general approach to assessing the utility of a selected structural description. Measures of structural diversity and utility are…