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Mathematical Communities in the Reconstruction After the Great War 1918–1928The Mathematics of Nonlinear Oscillations in the 1920s: A Decade of Trials and Convergence? Examples of the Work of Nicolai Minorsky

Mathematical Communities in the Reconstruction After the Great War 1918–1928: The Mathematics of... [Nonlinear oscillations appeared to be a major technological and scientific problem at the beginning of the 20th century. Until the 1920s, analysis of these oscillations remained merely empirical and technologically driven. The first attempts to theoretically encompass these technological problems led to a shared mathematical analysis of nonlinear oscillations, borrowing from the mathematics of differential equations, and putting forward concepts such as “relaxation oscillations”. We focus on the work of Nicolai Fyodorovich Minorsky (1885–1970), a Russian born naval engineer. His seminal work of 1922, «Directional stability of automatically steered bodies» illustrates how he dealt with mathematical knowledge for the steering of ships and the controlling of oscillations. We show how he progressively tackled nonlinear oscillations problems in this context. He later became an advocate of nonlinear oscillations theories, among a community that grew progressively in the 1920s. This community, although very heterogeneous, can be characterised by a strong appeal to mathematics. Minorsky’s commitment to nonlinear theories sheds light on the mathematics and epistemology of mathematics that were at stake in the community.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Mathematical Communities in the Reconstruction After the Great War 1918–1928The Mathematics of Nonlinear Oscillations in the 1920s: A Decade of Trials and Convergence? Examples of the Work of Nicolai Minorsky

Part of the Trends in the History of Science Book Series
Editors: Mazliak, Laurent; Tazzioli, Rossana
Petitgirard, Loïc
Mathematical Communities in the Reconstruction After the Great War 1918–1928 — Mar 28, 2021
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References (28)

Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
ISBN
978-3-030-61682-3
Pages
227 –251
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-61683-0_8
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Nonlinear oscillations appeared to be a major technological and scientific problem at the beginning of the 20th century. Until the 1920s, analysis of these oscillations remained merely empirical and technologically driven. The first attempts to theoretically encompass these technological problems led to a shared mathematical analysis of nonlinear oscillations, borrowing from the mathematics of differential equations, and putting forward concepts such as “relaxation oscillations”. We focus on the work of Nicolai Fyodorovich Minorsky (1885–1970), a Russian born naval engineer. His seminal work of 1922, «Directional stability of automatically steered bodies» illustrates how he dealt with mathematical knowledge for the steering of ships and the controlling of oscillations. We show how he progressively tackled nonlinear oscillations problems in this context. He later became an advocate of nonlinear oscillations theories, among a community that grew progressively in the 1920s. This community, although very heterogeneous, can be characterised by a strong appeal to mathematics. Minorsky’s commitment to nonlinear theories sheds light on the mathematics and epistemology of mathematics that were at stake in the community.]

Published: Mar 28, 2021

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