Doctoral Dissertation: Ballistics and Military Change in Eighteenth Century Europe

布雷特·d·斯蒂尔，论文学生；主题：“弹道与军事变革”。将科学知识纳入战争实践已成为一个日益重要的话题。在20世纪60年代，大学的实验室和研究中心被反越南抗议者炸毁。即使是现在，许多大学对在校园里开展与国防有关的研究项目也很谨慎。然而，这种对学术科学积极参与军事研究的谨慎态度（与之对应的是，军方对迅速采用科学和工程成果的传统谨慎态度）并不新鲜。在文艺复兴时期的欧洲，据说尼可罗·塔塔利亚呼吁暂停对弹道学的研究。然而，在这次召唤之后不久，摩尔人就威胁到了维也纳的城门，西欧也面临被占领的威胁。塔塔利亚换了职位，用他的科学头脑推进了弹道理论——他是发现了（在真空中）以45度角射击的弹射体飞得最远的人。虽然在文艺复兴时期弹道理论取得了很大的进步，但武器的粗制滥造使得理论讨论有些多余。斯蒂尔先生在他的论文中考察了弹道学的科学研究开始产生真正影响的时期。他的论文有两个目的：对弹道学的历史出版物进行更深入的调查，并调查这门科学与军事发展之间的关系。更具体地说，斯蒂尔正在记录本杰明·罗宾斯（Benjamin Robins）和伦纳德·欧拉（Leonard Euler）发起的弹道革命与此后不久炮兵的变革之间的关系。斯蒂尔说，正是在这个时期，正在进行的弹道研究显著改进了火炮或火炮“软件”。这项研究还将揭示经典力学中一个具有历史意义但通常被忽视的方面，即对阻力介质运动的研究。由此产生的论文将连接重要的科学和军事活动，目前在历史上断开，整合实验和数学研究到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.