Benjamin Robins: elegant mathematics versus experimental inconvenience?

Abstract

Ballistics is an area of flight, and fewer subjects were of greater importance to nation states in the eighteenth century. William Mountaine who published on the topic in 1747 and 1781, wrote: ‘It is not possible in the nature of things for any one kingdom to continue long in a state of peace and tranquility', and ‘the art of gunnery has from time to time engaged the attention of the most eminent mathematicians’. This paper describes the slow up-take of ideas, first put forward explicitly by Benjamin Robins in 1742, which challenged the belief that air resistance could be neglected in the flight of cannon balls, and asks why it could be, that for a topic so pressing, a clearly wrong mathematical theory was upheld for so long. While considering a number of factors, it argues the attraction of beautiful and simple geometry can be beguiling.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Wilkins relates that Wilson identified the principal ancient treatise to which Robins referred as ‘Apollon de Sectione Rationis, published by Dr. Halley at Oxford in 1706’. (2002 iv)

2 Wikipedia ‘Ballistics’ states: ‘the discipline of ballistics was initially studied and developed by Italian mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia in 1531’ Accessed December 2023.

10 RS 11568

3 On the question of priority for these experiments between 'sGravesande and Poleni see ('sGravesande 1774 247)

4 Science Museum Inventory no 1927-1201

5 Translation by David Pinto

6 pp. 14–23 for the pendulum

7 Cited by Demours 1758, 162, 171

8 Science Museum inventory number 1929-114

9 Translation by David Pinto