Newton's Clock: Chaos in the Solar System

Peterson ( The Mathematical Tourist ) is well-suited to wean the general reader away from one of everyday science's most comforting and tenacious illusions--namely, that the solar system operates on a giant stable clockwork system. As this historical treatment demonstrates, some 300 years before the development of the computer, mathematical astronomers offered theories in line with today's current chaos and dynamic systems theories. Even in astronomy's earliest days, perturbations of some planetary bodies defied Newton's mechanics; centuries of interaction between astronomical theory and observation have demanded that serious stargazers take account of complexity and chaotic phenomena. In Peterson's long view, this is a mathematically meaty story. The few (and insufficient) basic calculus formulas included are presented in sidebars; many of the illustrations depict historical models or manuscripts. Readers grounded in number theory will most fully appreciate the progression of the astronomical issues covered here. (Oct.)