Leonard Euler in the “Scientific Revolution” Concept of Thomas Kuhn

Abstract

This study seeks to clarify T. Kuhn’s “theory of scientific revolution” in the application of the laws of I. Newton to the theory of the Moon’s motion. It argues that I. Newton’s formulae produced at least three approaches. L. Euler provided one by gearing the formula to the needs of practical astronomy and developed calculation techniques that could answer all practical needs, using the apparatus of differentials and derivatives developed by G. W. Leibniz. J. L. Lagrange took Newton’s concept of ‘force’ and developed it into the formalism of ‘impulse’ and ‘energy’. Later G. Plana returned to the point where L. Euler had started, but he used the law of universal gravitation instead of the 2nd law of Newton in his equations. Thus I. Newton’s laws and ideas were developed in totally different directions, none of which seemed enough in the 19^th century.