''Traité de mécanique céleste'' () is a five-volume

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...

celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...

written by

Pierre-Simon Laplace Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized ...

and published from 1798 to 1825 with a second edition in 1829. In 1842, the government of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

gave a grant of 40,000 francs for a 7-volume national edition of the ''Oeuvres de Laplace'' (1843–1847); the ''Traité de mécanique céleste'' with its four supplements occupies the first 5 volumes.

Tome I. (1798)

Livre I. Des lois générales de l'équilibre et du mouvement

* Chap. I. De l'équilibre et de la composition des forces qui agissent sur un point matériel * Chap. II. Du mouvement d'un point matériel * Chap. III. De l'équilibre d'un système de corps * Chap. IV. De l'équilibre des fluides * Chap. V. Principes généraux du mouvement d'un système de corps * Chap. VI. Des lois du mouvement d'un système de corps, dans toutes les relations mathématiquement possibles entre la force et la vitesse * Chat. VII. Des mouvemens d'un corps solide de figure quelconque * Chap. VIII. Du mouvement des fluides

Livre II. De la loi pesanteur universelle, et du mouvement des centres de gravité des corps célestes

Tome II. (1798)

Livre III. De la figure des corps céleste

Livre IV. Des oscillations de la mer et de l'atmosphère

Livre V. Des mouvemens des corps célestes, autour de leurs propre centres de gravité

Tome III. (1802)

Livre VI. Théorie particulières des mouvemens célestes

Livre VII. Théorie de la lune

Tome IV. (1805)

Livre VIII. Théorie des satellites de Jupiter, de Saturne et d'Uranus

Livre IX. Théorie des comètes

Livre X. Sur différens points relatifs au système du monde

Tome V. (1825)

Livre XI. De la figure et de la rotation de la terre

Livre XII. De l'attraction et de la répulsion des sphères, et des lois de l'equilibre et du mouvement des fluides élastiques

Livre XIII. Des oscillations des fluides qui recouvrent les planètes

Livre XIV. Des mouvemens des corps célestes autour de leurs centres de gravité

Livre XV. Du mouvement des planètes et des comètes

Livre XVI. Du mouvement des satellites

English translations

During the early nineteenth century at least five English translations of ''Mécanique Céleste'' were published. In 1814 the Reverend John Toplis prepared a translation of Book 1 entitled ''The Mechanics of Laplace. Translated with Notes and Additions''. In 1821 Thomas Young anonymously published a further translation into English of the first book; beyond just translating from French to English he claimed in the preface to have translated the ''style of mathematics:''

The translator flatters himself, however, that he has not expressed the author’s meaning in English words alone, but that he has rendered it perfectly intelligible to any person, who is conversant with the English mathematicians of the old school only, and that his book will serve as a connecting link between the geometrical and algebraical modes of representation.

The Reverend Henry Harte, a fellow at Trinity College, Dublin translated the entire first volume of ''Mécanique Céleste,'' with Book 1 published in 1822 and Book 2 published separately in 1827. Similarly to Bowditch (see below), Harte felt that Laplace's exposition was too brief, making his work difficult to understand:

... it may be safely asserted, that the chief obstacle to a more general knowledge of the work, arises from the summary manner in which the Author passes over the intermediate steps in several of his most interesting investigations.

Bowditch's translation

The famous American mathematician

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

translated the first four volumes of the ''Traité de mécanique céleste'' but not the fifth volume; however, Bowditch did make use of relevant portions of the fifth volume in his extensive commentaries for the first four volumes. File:Laplace-5.jpg, Volumes 1-4 of "Mécanique céleste" translated by

(1829) File:Laplace-7.jpg, Title page of Volume 1 of "Mécanique céleste" translated by

(1829) File:Laplace-11.jpg, First page of Volume 1 of "Mécanique céleste" translated by

(1829)

Somerville's translation

In 1826, it was still felt by Henry Brougham, president of the

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) was founded in London in 1826, mainly at the instigation of Whig MP Henry Brougham, with the object of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching or who pr ...

, that the British reader was lacking a readable translation of ''Mécanique Céleste.'' He thus approached Mary Somerville, who began to prepare a translation which would "explain to the unlearned the sort of thing it is - the plan, the vast merit, the wonderful truths unfolded or methodized - and the calculus by which all this is accomplished". In 1830, John Herschel wrote to Somerville and enclosed a copy of Bowditch's 1828 translation of Volume 1 which Herschel had just received. Undeterred, Somerville decided to continue with the preparation of her own work as she felt the two translations differed in their aims; whereas Bowditch's contained an overwhelming number of footnotes to explain each mathematical step, Somerville instead wished to state and demonstrate the results as clearly as possible. A year later, in 1831, Somerville's translation was published under the title ''Mechanism of the Heavens.'' It received great critical acclaim, with complimentary reviews appearing in the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'', the '' Edinburgh Review'', and the ''

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...

''.

References

External links

Translation by Nathaniel Bowditch
Volume I, 1829

Volume II, 1832

Volume III, 1834

Volume IV, 1839
with a memoir of the translator by his son {{DEFAULTSORT:Traite de mecanique celeste Historical physics publications Physics books Mathematics books 1798 non-fiction books French books Celestial mechanics