ERIC Number: EJ974798
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 45
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0926-7220
Science and Society: The Case of Acceptance of Newtonian Optics in the Eighteenth Century
Silva, Cibelle Celestino; Moura, Breno Arsioli
Science & Education, v21 n9 p1317-1335 Sep 2012
The present paper presents a historical study on the acceptance of Newton's corpuscular theory of light in the early eighteenth century. Isaac Newton first published his famous book "Opticks" in 1704. After its publication, it became quite popular and was an almost mandatory presence in cultural life of Enlightenment societies. However, Newton's optics did not become popular only via his own words and hands, but also via public lectures and short books with scientific contents devoted to general public (including women) that emerged in the period as a sort of entertainment business. Lectures and writers stressed the inductivist approach to the study of nature and presented Newton's ideas about optics as they were consensual among natural philosophers in the period. The historical case study presented in this paper illustrates relevant aspects of nature of science, which can be explored by students of physics on undergraduate level or in physics teacher training programs.
Descriptors: Scientific Principles, Science and Society, Optics, History, Theories, Undergraduate Study, Science Instruction, Physics, College Science
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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