The Life and Works of John Napier PDF
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The Life and Works of John Napier Brian Rice Enrique González-Velasco Alexander Corrigan The Life and Works of John Napier John Napier (1550–1617), inventor of logarithms and numerous other mathemati- cal concepts and calculating devices, as detailed in this work. The portrait (by an unknown artist) was donated to the University of Edinburgh by Margaret, Baroness Napier(d.1706)inthelateseventeenthcenturyandsubsequentlypassedtotheScot- tishNationalPortraitGalleryatanunknowndatebeforereturningtotheUniversityin × 1983. Oiloncanvas,43½” 38”. (CourtesyoftheUniversityofEdinburgh.) Brian Rice • Enrique González-Velasco Alexander Corrigan The Life and Works of John Napier Brian Rice Enrique González-Velasco Horsham Department of Mathematical Sciences West Sussex, United Kingdom University of Massachusetts at Lowell Lowell, Massachusetts, USA Alexander Corrigan School of Divinity The University of Edinburgh New College, Mound Place Edinburgh, United Kingdom ISBN 978-3-319-53281-3 ISBN978-3-319-53 282-0 (eB ook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-53282-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017931974 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration courtesy of Lord Napier and Ettrick Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland CONTENTS Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xv ANoteonOrthography xvii 1. JohnNapier 1 2. RevealingthePlaineDiscovery 61 3. APlaineDiscovery 97 4. MathematicalIntroduction 391 5. Descriptio 475 6. Rabdologiæ 649 7. Constructio 751 8. DeArteLogistica 809 9. Appendices 943 10. FurtherReading 975 11. BibliographyofNapier’sWorks 981 v ILLUSTRATIONS JohnNapier(UniversityofEdinburgh) Frontispiece JohnNapier(LordNapierandEttrick) 2 ManuscriptmapofEdinburghandenvirons,1682 6 ElizabethNapier,ne´eStirling 13 FastCastle 23 ViewofEdinburghbyHollar,1641 24 MerchistonTower,c.1775 28 MerchistonTower,1790 34 MerchistonTower,c.1850 39 FrontispieceofRudolphineTables,1627 42 MapofGartness,1898 52 MerchistonTowerinthe15thand18thcenturies 56 PlansofMerchistonTower 57 TitlepageofAPlaineDiscovery,1593 62 TitlepageofAPlaineDiscovery,1611 98 JohnNapier(ScottishNationalPortraitGallery) 392 TheMadridPromptuary(17thcentury) 470 TitlepageofDescriptio,1614 477 TitlepageofDescriptio,1616 478 TitlepageofRabdologiæ,1617 651 TitlepageofConstructio,1619 753 TitlepageofDeArteLogistica,1834 811 JohnNapier(engraving) 944 Napier’sagreementtosearchfortreasureatFastCastle 950 Napier’smanuscriptSecrettInventionis 953 vii THELIFEANDWORKSOFJOHNNAPIER MerchistonTowerpriortorestoration,1957 968 MerchistonTowerafterrestoration,1964 969 MarkNapier,1867 974 MemorialtoJohnNapierinStCuthbert’s,Edinburgh 980 viii I REMEMBER as a child seeing the portrait of my remarkable ancestor (ormygreat—tothepowerof12—grandfather),theScottishtheologian andmathematicianJohnNapier,hanginginmyparents’home.Italways fascinatedme,andmylatefatherfrequentlytoldmethathewasaveryclever manandthatImuststudymymathsreallywell! Tothevastmajorityofpeopleitseemsincrediblethatsomeonecouldfind a way to simplify multiplication and division, mathematical functions that seem so fundamental that they could not possibly be simplified any further. YetthisisexactlywhathedidwithhisinventionofLogarithms,tothebenefit of all those involved in the complex computations required for astronomy, navigation, andengineeringetc. Hedevelopedaningeniousbutsimplemethodofmultiplyinganddividing usingsmallrods,commonlycalled“Napier’sbones”,whichremainedpopular throughout the 17th century and beyond. He also invented numerous other devicesforsimplifyingarithmeticalcalculations,inparticularhisPromptuary, thoughnoneofthemeverbecamepopular, probablyduetotheverysuccess ofhisownlogarithms,whichrenderedthemunnecessary. Nowadays,modern technologymeanswetakesuchcalculationsforgranted. Napierwasalsoknownforhisstrongreligiousviews. Manystorieshave beentoldabouthimandsomelocalseventhoughthewasinleaguewiththe Devil. However,LogarithmsareundoubtedlyNapier’sgreatestlegacy. ix THELIFEANDWORKSOFJOHNNAPIER Napier was a truly remarkable person and his work was highly valued bymanyillustriousastronomersandmathematiciansofhisgeneration. Iam privilegedtoknowthatIamrelatedtothisgreatman,whowillforeverhavea placeofhonouralongsidethegreatestandmostfamousnamesinthehistory ofscience. Iamdelightedthatthethreeauthorsofthissplendidbookhavebroughtall of Napier’s publications together for the first time, some 400 years after his death. ThegreateraccessibilitythisprovidestoNapier’sworkscanonlyhelp toenhancehisfame. NAPIERandETTRICK December2016 x
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