On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences

by Mary Somerville

Mary Somerville (1780 - 1872) would have been a remarkable woman in any age, but as an acknowledged leading mathematician and astronomer at a time when the education of most women was extremely restricted, her achievement was extraordinary. Laplace famously told her that 'There have been only three women who have understood me. These are yourself, Mrs Somerville, Caroline Herschel and a Mrs Greig of whom I know nothing.'

Mary Somerville was in fact Mrs Greig. After (as she herself said) translating Laplace's work 'from algebra into common language', she wrote On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences (1834). Her intention was to demonstrate the remarkable tendency of modern scientific discoveries 'to simplify the laws of nature, and to unite detached branches by general principles.' This and her next book, the two-volume Physical Geography, also reissued in this series, were enormously influential both within the scientific community and beyond."

Genres: Science, Physics

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1834

About the author

Mary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and was nominated to be jointly the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society at the same time as Caroline Herschel.

Reviews

[Kaustubh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will recommend this book to those who are interested in the science writing in 19th century. Though the book is quite long (I read select sections) and some of the explained scientific concepts have been falsified (eg. luminiferous aether), it was very advanced for its time. Importantly, it aimed at explaining the then advanced topics to non-scientific community. One thing that I like about the Victorian era science writing is the way authors tried to generate curiosity in a particular topic. This is particularly important today because now science is strongly influenced by Government decisions and people who are not motivated enough to understand facts about nature. Secondly, I like the way other researchers are quoted in these books. There is always a sense of respect towards a person even if his/her scientific views contradict yours.