Dr. Fritz Nagel

Keynote Title: Acceptance and Rejection of Newton’s Theory of Light and Colours

Abstract: The paper tries to show how Newton’s basic ideas on optics, presented for the first time in 1662 in the Philosophical Transactions, have slowly been accepted by the scientific community. After repetitions of the fundamental experiment most of the prominent scientist like Malebranche, Leibniz, Wolff or the Bernoullis acknowledged Newton’s discoveries. But this acknowledgement was restricted mainly on Newton’s theory of colours whereas his theories about the nature of light were regarded by most scientists as an unverified hypothesis and therefore rejected. Emilie du Châtelet in contrast to this mainstream development has accepted both, Newton’s theory of colours as well as his theory of light. Her attitude towards Newton was besides of all her astonishing knowledge of his physics and mathematics that of a relative uncritical admiration.

CV: Study of mathematics, physic, philosophy and history of science at the universities of Heidelberg and Basel.

Doctor degree (s.c.l.) of the philosophisch-naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Basel with a thesis on the reception of Nicolaus Cusanus’ mathematics.

Teaching mathematics, physics and philosophy at a Gymnasium of the Kanton  Basel-Stadt.

1988-2008 Head of the Basel Research Centre of the Bernoulli Edition.

Responsible for the edition of the correspondence of the mathematicians Bernoulli.

Creation of the electronic Basel inventory of Bernoulli correspondence.

Co-founder and editor of the Basel online edition of Bernoulli’s correspondence.

Since 2010 Member of the Board of Directors of the Bernoulli-Euler Centre at the University of Basel.

Main research fields

Mathematics, physics and philosophy at the boundary of the 14th and 15th centuries (Nicolaus Cusanus) and at the boundary of the 17th and 18th centuries (Bernoulli circle, Jacob Hermann, Leibniz). History of scientific ideas. Network of Bernoulli correspondence. Editorial problems.

Read more: CV and List of publications https://bez.unibas.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/bez/Nagel-2023.pdf