Greek angles from Babylonian numbers

Models of planetary motion as observed from Earth must account for two principal anomalies: the nonuniform speed of the planet as it circles the zodiac, and the correlation of the planet’s position with the position of the Sun. In the context of the geometrical models used by the Greeks, the practical difficulty is to somehow isolate the motion of the epicycle center on the deferent from the motion of the planet on its epicycle. One way to isolate the motion of the epicycle center is to determine the longitude and time of oppositions of the planet with the mean Sun. A Greek astronomer might have realized that the predictions of mean oppositions by Babylonian models could serve as useful proxies for real empirical observations. It is shown that a Greek astronomer with a reasonable understanding of Babylonian System A models for the outer planets and the Sun–Moon could have used those models to estimate approximate values for the eccentricity e and longitude of apogee A required for geometrical models. The same method would work for the inner planets if conjunctions were observable, but they are not, and the variation of the observable synodic events—first and last morning and evening visibilities—is dominated more by the motion of the planet in latitude than the nonuniform motion of the epicycle center.     

Drosophila enzyme-genetics: A table

Zusammenfassung Durch Verwendung elektrophoretischer Enzym-Mutanten ist es möglich, beiDrosophila melanogaster die chromosomale Position der entsprechenden Strukturgene zu bestimmen. Über 20 Gene sind auf diese Weise lokalisiert worden. Untersuchung der Gewebe-und Stadienspezifität dieser Enzyme, im Verband mit zytogenetischer Analyse der Riesenchromosomen, verspricht wertvolle Einblicke in das Problem der Genregulation. In den vorliegenden Tabellen sind die bereits erzielten Ergebnisse zusammengestellt.

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Research supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, project No. 3. 247. 69.     

Drosophila enzyme-genetics: A table

Summary A method for the vacuum distillation of microgram amounts of substances is described.     

Predictivism and the periodic table

This is a comment on the paper by Barnes (2005) and the responses from Scerri (2005) and Worrall (2005), debating the thesis (‘predictivism’) that a fact successfully predicted by a theory is stronger evidence than a similar fact known before the prediction was made. Since Barnes and Scerri both use evidence presented in my paper on Mendeleev’s periodic law (Brush, 1996) to support their views, I reiterate my own position on predictivism. I do not argue for or against predictivism in the normative sense that philosophers of science employ, rather I describe how scientists themselves use facts and predictions to support their theories. I find wide variations, and no support for the assumption that scientists use a single ‘Scientific Method’ in deciding whether to accept a proposed new theory.     

Greek astronomical calendars I. The parapegma of Euctemon

Summary In view of the striking similarities noted in the subsection A, B, C we are bound to conclude that Euctemon was influenced by Babylonian astronomy. However, his parapegma was not just a translation of a Babylonian text: it was an improvement in many respects. His dates of annual risings and settings were more accurate than the Babylonian dates. In most cases he recorded true risings, or he recorded both the true and the visible phaenomena. This distinction is not made in the text MUL APIN.     

The periodic table and the turn to practice

The philosopher of chemistry Andrea Woody has recently published a wide-ranging article concerning the turn to practice in the philosophy of science. Her primary example consists of the use of different forms of representations by Lothar Meyer and Mendeleev when they presented their views on chemical periodicity. Woody believes that this distinction can cast light on various issues including why Mendeleev was able to make predictions while Meyer was not. Secondly, she claims that it can clarify the much-debated question concerning the relative values of prediction and accommodation of data in the way that the periodic system was accepted. Thirdly, Woody believes that such differences in the representation of periodicity can be used to argue for the explanatory nature of the periodic table in contrast with the more traditional view that the periodic table is not explanatory.This discussion examines each of these claims and argues that they need to be qualified and in some cases rejected.