Harmonies of the World (On the Shoulders of Giants, Book 5)

Book Five of Johannes Kepler's great masterpiece on planetary motion is presented with an introduction by the ultimate authority on this topic, noted physicist and bestselling author Stephen Hawking. Modifying Copernicus's sun-centered model of the universe, Kepler's 1619 work went on to establish laws of planetary motion, forming the basis for Newton's discoveries some 60 years later. As part of our On the Shoulders of Giants series, this translation of the original edition of Kepler's monumental essay includes an insightful biography and a highly accessible summary putting into context the significance of Harmony of the World . Cover Contents A Note to the Reader Introduction Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) His Life and Work HARMONIES OF THE WORLD BOOK FIVE Proem 1. Concerning the Five Regular Solid Figures 2. On the Kinship Between the Harmonic Ratios and the Five Regular Figures 3. A Summary of Astronomical Doctrine Necessary for Speculation into the Celestial Harmonies 4. In What Things Having to do with the Planetary Movements Have the Harmonic Consonances been Expressed by the Creator, and in What Way? 5. In the Ratios of the Planetary Movements which are Apparent as it were to Spectators at the Sun, have been Expressed the Pitches of the System, or Notes of the Musical Scale, and the Modes of Song (Genera Cantus), the Major and the Minor 6. In the Extreme Planetary Movements the Musical Modes or Tones Have Somehow Been Expressed 7. The Universal Consonances of All Six Planets, Like Common Four-Part Counterpoint, Can Exist 8. In the Celestial Harmonies Which Planet Sings Soprano, Which Alto, Which Tenor, and Which Bass? 9. The Genesis of the Eccentricities in the Single Planets from the Procurement of the Consonances between their Movements 10. Epilogue Concerning the Sun, by way of Conjecture Acknowledgments About Stephen Hawking "Professor Hawking illuminates Johannes Kepler's revolutionary work, Harmonies of the World. An introductory essay with insights into Kepler's life and times makes the work of this revolutionary thinker accessible to a new generation of readers"--Back cover