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Dov wrote:

>It is said that the great triumph of 19th  century science (really begun
>by Newton) was showing that the world was governed by  linear equations,
>and the great triumph of 20th century science was proving that it wasn't
>;-)  It's no wonder that Newton didn't like the problem of lunar
>distances, as there is no neat analytic linear equation that you can
>solve to get the answer....

My comment:

I think that Newton _did_ like the lunar distances; at least, he saw this
_and_ the timekeeper method as the most likely and promising routes to
solving the longitude problem. What made his head ache was the theory of
the moon's motion. Eventually Newton produced a lunar theory that had
geometrical (not analytical) origins and that was probably based on an
earlier theory by Jeremiah Horrocks. In Newton's time the solving of
differential equations was in its infancy and generaaly I think it is not
fair or sensible to suggest that Newton's work is in the spirit of the 19th
century.

Steven

-----------------------------------------------------------
Steven Wepster                          wepster@math.uu.nl
                                        tel +31 30 253 1186
Mathematisch Instituut
Universiteit Utrecht
PO Box 80.010
3508 TA Utrecht
The Netherlands
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