Newton's Clock

With his critically acclaimed bestsellers Mathematical Tourism & Islands of Truth, Peterson took readers to the frontiers of modern mathematics. His new book provides an up-to-date look at one of science's greatest detective stories: the search for order in the workings of the solar system. In the late 1600s, Sir Isaac Newton provided what astronomers had long sought: a seemingly reliable way of calculating planetary orbits & positions. His laws of motion & his coherent, mathematical view of the cosmos dominated scientific discourse for centuries. At the same time, observers recorded subtle, unexpected movements of the planets & other bodies, suggesting that the solar system is not as placid & predictable as its venerable clockwork image suggests. Today, scientists can go beyond the hand calculations, mathematical tables & massive observational logs that limited the explorations of Newton, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Tycho Brahe etc. Using supercomputers to simulate the dynamics of the solar system, astronomers are learning more about the motions they observe & uncovering some examples of chaotic behavior in the heavens. Nonetheless, the long-term stability of the solar system remains a perplexing, unsolved issue, with each step toward its resolution exposing additional uncertainties & deeper mysteries. To show how the view of the solar system has changed from clocklike precision to chaos & complexity, Newton's Clock describes the development of celestial mechanics thru the ages--from the star charts of ancient navigators to the seminal discoveries of the 17th century from the crucial work of Poincare to the sometimes controversial findings & theories made possible by modern mathematics & computer simulations. The result makes for provocative reading, equal parts science, history & intellectual adventure.