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History of Mechanism and Machine Science 24 Agamenon R. E. Oliveira A History of the Work Concept From Physics to Economics History of Mechanism and Machine Science Volume 24 Series Editor Marco Ceccarelli, Cassino, Italy For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/7481 Aims and Scope of the Series This book series aims to establish a well defined forum for Monographs and Pro- ceedings on the History of Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS). The series publishes works that give an overview of the historical developments, from the ear- liest times up to and including the recent past, of MMS in all its technical aspects. This technical approach is an essential characteristic of the series. By discuss- ing technical details and formulations and even reformulating those in terms of modern formalisms the possibility is created not only to track the historical technical developments but also to use past experiences in technical teaching and research today. In order to do so, the emphasis must be on technical aspects rather than a purely historical focus, although the latter has its place too. Furthermore, the series will consider the republication of out-of-print older works with English translation and comments. The book series is intended to collect technical views on historical developments of the broad field of MMS in a unique frame that can be seen in its totality as an Encyclopaedia of the History of MMS but with the additional purpose of archiving and teaching the History of MMS. Therefore the book series is intended not only for researchers of the History of Engineering but also for professionals and students who are interested in obtaining a clear perspective of the past for their future technical works. The books will be written in general by engineers but not only for engineers. Prospective authors and editors can contact the series editor, Professor M. Ceccarelli, about future publications within the series at: Agamenon R. E. Oliveira A History of the Work Concept From Physics to Economics 1 3 Agamenon R. E. Oliveira Applied Mechanics and Structures Polytechnic School of Rio de Janeiro Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil ISSN 1875-3442 ISSN 1875-3426 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-007-7704-0 ISBN 978-94-007-7705-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7705-7 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013950052 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 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. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. 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. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Preface Distinguished scholar, Agamenon Rodrigues Oliveira, has combined his mechanical and historical skills in a very successful way in this brilliant book on the history of the work concept during pre and post-revolutionary France. His book is devoted to the history of classical mechanics, focusing on the role played by the concept of Work within the history of science. The result is based on a profound historical and epistemological approach which sheds new light on the foundations of science by examining this crucial physical concept and its framework based on the main concepts of space, time, mass and force as fundamental quantities for the development of the concept of work in the history of physics and mechanical sciences. The book is organized into two main parts (Conceptual Genesis and Instrumental Genesis) and eight chapters. The book ends with References and an Analytical Index. In Chaps. 1 and 2, Oliveira deals with the impact of the concept of work in society within the Marxist debate in order to “[…] remark the influence of Positivist philosophy in general historiography as well as in historiography of science […]” (p. 37). He then intelligently and gradually discusses the scientific concept of “Work” in the chapters that follow. Chapter 3 is devoted to the concepts of energy and work in the history of mechanics. The author intelligently avoids banal modern assumptions (p. 71), focusing on the mathematical interpretation of the concepts up through the conservation principle in history. The history of virtual laws is taken into account with great lucidity (p. 78), thus distinguishing this work from other books on the history of mechanical science that have appeared since the Principle of Virtual Work became “[…] intensively used as an alternative method to the equations of equilibrium taken from Newton’s laws for a given mechanical system” (Ivi). Chapter 4 is dedicated to rational mechanics within a theoretical and empirical physical context, mainly from Lagrangian to Laplacian sciences where algebra applied to physics moves from mathematics applied to physics to physics– mathematics as a new discipline which emerged in the nineteenth century, particularly in France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy. This was a new methodological approach to solving problems that were physical in origin, where the quantities can be physical and mathematical at the same time (rfi st innovation) and measurements v vi Preface are not however a priority or a prerogative (second innovation) to establishing a coher- ent and valid physical science. Therefore, the emergence of physics–mathematics (discipline) belonged to physics, not to an advanced use of mathematics to solve physical problems; physics changed its face since within this new physical mathematical discipline it had changed its foundations. The second part of the book starts with the development of the concept of work in the history of mechanics in Lazare Carnot’s memoires (1779, 1781). Since he aptly focuses on the fundamental importance and role played by Carnot in the development of the concept of work, I am not surprised that Oliveira profoundly observes that Carnot’s mechanical essays constitute an “[…] important link between d’Alembert and Lagrange […]” (p. 127). I have also examined mechanics and complex French mechanical and thermodynamic sciences. As a historian, I believe that Oliveira’s effort to profoundly examine the crucial role played by virtual issues in the work of Lazare Carnot (1753–1823) and other important French scholars will be greatly appreciated by historians of science and researchers in mechanics. In particular, Oliveira maintains that the foundations, impact and heritage of Lazare Carnot’s mechanics (Chaps. 5 and 6) have resulted in the formulation of a law of virtual work which is generalized for dynamics: the mechanics of the impact of hard bodies, virtual velocity and (geometric) motion demonstrate how the Organisateur de la victoire, l’hombre des machines en géné- ral, succeeded in formulating a generalized virtual law to evaluate the velocities of a system of hard bodies of which the initial velocity is known. A special debate on the views of the scholars of École polytechnique is also included (Chap. 7). Finally, in the conclusion, general comments are presented from historical, political and economic standpoints, where “Being more concerned with a history of applied mechanics where the principal characters are renowned gfi ures whose names frequently appear in engineering manuals [the nfi al part of the book] repre- sent a modest contribution to the history of mechanical engineering. It should be highlighted that science history texts dealing with the more applied sciences are very rare. Normally they are histories of the basic disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry or biology.” (p. 208). Oliveira has written an interesting scientific and historical essay revealing an impressive knowledge of the vast amount of original and modern publications regarding the history and epistemology of science; he helps readers avoid losing track of the historical path of arguments dealt with by using reasoning, summa- ries and illustrations. From a methodological and historical point of view I am also particularly appreciative of the effort to produce a history of science based on standpoints in history which are interpreted epistemologically. The book’s composition makes for absorbing reading. Agamenon Rodrigues Oliveira has produced an important study and a signifi- cant contribution of support for mechanics, engineers, physicists, historians and epistemologists of mechanical and mathematical physical sciences. Please enjoy this stimulating read! Lille, France Raffaele Pisano Contents 1 Theoretical Framework ...................................... 1 1.1 Marxism ............................................... 1 1.1.1 A Brief History (Hobsbaum 1980) ..................... 1 1.1.2 Historical Materialism .............................. 6 1.1.3 Dialectical Materialism ............................. 9 1.1.4 Theory of Knowledge ............................... 12 1.2 Genetic Epistemology .................................... 15 1.3 Ecological Economics .................................... 17 1.4 Theory of History and General Historiography ................. 20 1.5 Science Historiography ................................... 26 References .................................................. 36 Part I The Conceptual Genesis 2 The Conceptual Basis to Work Studies .......................... 41 2.1 Historical Character of Physical Concepts Construction .......... 41 2.2 The Evolution of Space Concepts ........................... 45 2.2.1 Euclid (330–260 B.C.) .............................. 45 2.2.2 Descartes (1596–1650) .............................. 47 2.2.3 Newton (1642–1727) ............................... 49 2.2.4 Leibniz (1646–1716) ............................... 51 2.3 The Development of Time Concept .......................... 53 2.4 The Concept of Force and Its Controversies ................... 56 2.5 The Concept of Mass ..................................... 60 References .................................................. 64 3 The Ideas of Work and Energy in Mechanics ..................... 65 3.1 General Considerations ................................... 65 3.2 The Work Concept and Its Formalization ...................... 69 3.3 The Development of Virtual Works Principle .................. 72 3.3.1 Fourier (1798) ..................................... 74 3.3.2 Lagrange (1798) ................................... 74 3.3.3 Prony (1798) ...................................... 75 3.3.4 Poinsot (1806) .................................... 76 vii viii Contents 3.4 The Least Action Principle ................................. 77 3.5 The Energy Conservation Principle .......................... 81 References .................................................. 90 4 The Rational Mechanics Dilemma .............................. 93 4.1 A Brief History of Mechanics in Physics Context ............... 93 4.2 Formalization of Mechanics in the Eighteenth Century ........... 101 4.2.1 Background ...................................... 101 4.2.2 The Tools ........................................ 102 4.2.3 Lagrangian Mechanics .............................. 105 4.3 Laplacian Project and Rational Mechanics .................... 107 4.4 Empirical Knowledge of Machine Manufacturers ............... 110 References .................................................. 116 Part II The Instrumental Genesis 5 Lazare Carnot’s General Theory of Machines .................... 121 5.1 Lazare Carnot: Scientific and Political Career .................. 121 5.2 Science and the French Revolution .......................... 128 5.3 The Mechanics of Lazare Carnot ............................ 132 5.4 The Work Concept in Carnot’s Mechanics ..................... 136 5.5 Lazare Carnot’s Memoir of 1779 ............................ 139 5.6 Lazare Carnot’s Memoir of 1781 ............................ 142 References .................................................. 151 6 The “Fundamental Principles of Equilibrium and Motion” of Lazare Carnot ............................................ 153 6.1 Preface ................................................ 153 6.2 Considerations About the Application of Driven Forces to Machines ............................................ 173 Reference ................................................... 179 7 The Metamorphosis of the Work Concept and Its Incorporation into Economic Thought ....................................... 181 7.1 The Conservation of Living Forces Principle ................... 181 7.2 Coulomb and the Work as a Form for Overcoming Passive Resistance .............................................. 184 7.3 Navier and Work as a “Mechanical Currency” .................. 192 7.4 Coriolis and Work as a Measurement of a Machines’ Operation .... 198 7.5 Poncelet’s Contribution to Applied and Industrial Mechanics ...... 209 7.6 Applied Mechanics to Machines ............................ 212 7.7 Physical and Experimental Mechanics ........................ 213 References .................................................. 218 8 Conclusions ................................................ 219 References .................................................... 239 Work Concept in the Machines Context Labour is the source of any wealth, stated the economists. Hence, besides the nature it provides the materials that are converted in wealth. The labour, however, is much more than that. It is the basic and fundamental condition of whole human life. And in such intensity that we can assure that labour has created the man itself. (Friedrich Engels—On the role of labour in the transformation of ape in man, A cultural brochure, Causa Operária Editions, 2011) The machines can be defined, classified and studied in their evolution according to any criterion as follows: power, complexity, utilization of physical principles, etc. On the other hand, at the beginning, one is obliged to choose between two ways of different thinking. The first one is the engineer point of view, who regards the technology, mainly the internal relations which tend to define the machine with relation to itself, as a technical fact. The second is a social approach, which study the technology in its connections with the society and defines the machine in relation to human labour, and as a social device. (Harry Braverman—Labour and Monopolist Capital—Rio, Zahar Editors, 1977) Introduction The inspiration for this book about the concept of work came mainly from the writings of François Vatin, in particular his book entitled Work: Economics and Physics 1780–1830. In this short book Vatin, in a clear and didactic way, explains some ideas that traditionally have been treated in different fields of knowledge. In addition he highlights some clues about issues that have been of particular con- cern to us during the last five years. Another interesting motivation came from a specific problem studied and developed by Vatin, the complex process of incor - poration of the physical concept of work into economic thought. He attributes the accomplishment of this task mainly to Louis-Henry Navier (1785–1867), Gaspard- Gustave de Coriolis (1792–1843) and Jean-Victor Poncelet (1788–1867). The original idea underlying our concept of work was progressively enriched until it became clear that we needed to develop our investigation in two ways that were different from Vatin’s book. First of all it was our intention to go in some depth into the theoretical and historical aspects of the basic concepts necessary to understand the concept of work. Obviously we need to study the concepts of space, time, mass and force as a kind of decomposition of the concept of work in its “ele- ments”. The second fundamental difference from Vatin’s socio-economic approach ix