Doctoral Dissertation: Ballistics and Military Change in Eighteenth Century Europe

布雷特·D斯蒂尔，博士论文学生;题目：“弹道学和 军事变革。" 把科学知识运用到战争实践中 已经成为一个越来越重要的话题。 在20世纪60年代， 大学的实验室和研究中心遭到轰炸， 反越南示威者 即使是现在，许多大学也很谨慎， 在他们的校园里有国防相关的研究项目。 然而 这种对学术科学的谨慎态度， 军事研究（及其对应，传统的谨慎， 军队要迅速采用科学成果， 工程学不是新的。 在文艺复兴时期的欧洲，据说 尼科洛·塔尔塔利亚呼吁暂停对 弹道学研究 然而，在这一呼吁之后不久，摩尔人 威胁着维也纳和西欧的大门 被威胁要被占领。 塔尔塔利亚换了位置， 致力于利用他的科学敏锐性来推进 弹道学他发现了 如果以45度角射击，（在真空中）飞得最远。 虽然在弹道学理论方面取得了很大进展， 文艺复兴时期，武器的粗糙使理论 讨论有点多余。 斯蒂尔先生在他的论文中 是在研究弹道学的科学研究 开始产生真实的影响。 他的论文有两个目标： 对历史出版物进行更深入的调查 进行弹道分析，并调查这两者之间的关系 科学和军事发展。 更具体地说，斯蒂尔先生 记录了革命与 本杰明·罗宾斯和伦纳德·欧拉提出的弹道学 此后不久，炮兵开始转型。 正是在这个 根据斯蒂尔先生的说法，正在进行的弹道学研究 显著改进的射击或火炮“软件。“这 研究还将揭示一个具有历史意义的， 经典力学中通常被忽视的一面，即研究 在阻力介质中运动。 由此产生的论文将连接 重要的科学和军事活动， 在历史上是脱节的，融合了实验和数学 研究一个广泛的政治框架。

Brett D. Steele, Dissertation Student; Topic: "Ballistics and Military Change." The incorporation of scientific knowledge into the practice of war has become an increasingly important topic. In the 1960's, laboratories and research centers at universities were bombed by anti-Vietnam protestors. Even now, many universities are chary of having defense-related research programs on their campuses. Yet this wariness of academic science to be actively involved in military research (and its counterpart, the traditional wariness of the military to adopt quickly the fruits of science and engineering) is not new. In Renaissance Europe, it is said that Niccolo Tartaglia called for a moratorium on the study of ballistics research. Shortly after this call, however, the Moors were threatening the gates of Vienna and Western Europe was threatened with being overrun. Tartaglia switched positions and worked to use his scientific acumen to advance the theory of ballistics--he is the one who discovered the law that projectiles fly farthest (in a vacuum) if shot at a 45 degree angle. While much progress was made in the theory of ballistics during the Renaissance, the crudity of the weapons made the theoretical discussions somewhat superfluous. Mr. Steele, in his dissertation, is examining the period when the scientific study of ballistics began to make a real difference. His dissertation has two goals: to provide a more thorough investigation of historical publications on ballistics, and to investigate the relationship between this science and military developments. More specifically, Mr. Steele is documenting the relationship between the revolution in ballistics launched by Benjamin Robins and Leonard Euler and the transformation of artillery shortly thereafter. It was in this period, according to Mr. Steele, that ongoing ballistics research significantly improved gunnery or artillery "software." This research will also shed light on an historically significant yet generally ignored side of classical mechanics, namely the study of motion in resisting media. The resulting dissertation will connect significant scientific and military activities that are currently disconnected in history, integrating experimental and mathematical research into a broad political framework.