Development of Modern Mathematical Sciences and its Involvement with Material Culture (1660-1840)

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23501200
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology/History of science and technology
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: OKI Sayaka 広島大学, 総合科学研究科, 准教授 (60536879)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NOZAWA Satoshi 獨協大学, 国際教養学部, 准教授 (30599741) ; KOBAYASHI Manabu 千葉工業大学, 工学部, 助教 (60447555) ; TAJIMA Toru 四日市大学, 関孝和数学研究所, 客員研究員 (30636246)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 混合数学 / 物質・技術文化 / 土木工学 / 河川工学 / 力学 / 光学 / 軍事技術 / 科学技術史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this project, we examined the role of instruments and experimental apparatus in the production of knowledge in the fields included ‘mixed mathematics’, such as mechanics, optics, hydraulics, and other mathematical engineering sciences. The history of the term ‘mixed mathematics’ is deeply concerned with two major events in the history of science: the impact of Newtonian sciences toward the end of the seventeenth century and the development of algebraic analysis in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The first contributed to extending the scope of mathematics to the cognitive territory of the natural philosophers, and our case studies show that, during this period, scientists questioned what was the adequate method for producing theoretical knowledge and argued the role of the experiments in this process. The second event encouraged the further enlargement of its scope to the fields of engineering, although not all of these attempts were immediately successful.

Free Research Field

科学技術史