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In 1731 he gave a demonstration of the fact noted by Newton that all curves of the third order were projections of one of five parabolas.
In 1741 Clairaut went on a scientific expedition to measure the length of a meridian degree on the Earth's surface, and on his return in 1743 he published his Théorie de la figure de la terre. This is founded on a paper by Maclaurin, which had shown that a mass of homogeneous fluid set in rotation about a line through its centre of mass would, under the mutual attraction of its particles, take the form of a spheroidA spheroid is a quadric surface in three dimensions obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes. If the ellipse is rotated about its major axis, the surface is called a prolate spheroid (similar to the shape of a rugby ball). If the mi. This work of Clairaut treated of heterogeneousA heterogeneous compound, mixture, or other such object is one that consists of many different items. It is the antonym of homogeneous, which means that the object consists of many identical items. It is often used in a scientific or mathematical context. spheroids and contains the proof of his formula for the accelerating effect of gravity in a place of latitude l. In 1849 Stokes showed that the same result was true whatever was the interior constitution or density of the Earth, provided the surface was a spheroid of equilibrium of small ellipticity.
Impressed by the power of geometry as shown in the writings of Newton and Maclaurin, Clairaut abandoned analysis, and his next work, the Théorie de la lune, published in 1752, is strictly Newtonian in character. This contains the explanation of the motion of the apsisThis article is about the astronomical term. In architecture, apsis is a synonym for apse. Apogee is also the name of a major video game publisher. orbit In astronomy, an apsis (plural apsides ap-si-deez ) is the point of greatest or least distance of the which had previously puzzled astronomers, and which Clairaut had at first deemed so inexplicable that he was on the point of publishing a new hypothesis as to the law of attraction when it occurred to him to carry the approximation to the third order, and he thereupon found that the result was in accordance with the observations. This was followed in 1754 by some lunar tables. Clairaut subsequently wrote various papers on the orbitFor other meanings of the term "orbit", see orbit (disambiguation In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. History Orbits were first analyse of the MoonFor other moons in the solar system see natural satellite. For other uses see Moon (disambiguation). The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. It has no formal name other than "The Moon" although it is occasionally called Luna ( Latin for moon to d, and on the motion of cometsHalley's Comet nucleus sunlit from the left. A comet is a relatively small astronomical object similar to an asteroid but composed largely of ice. In Earth's solar system, the orbits of comets may extend past that of Pluto; of the comets which enter the i as affected by the perturbation of the planets, particularly on the path of Halley's cometESA Giotto mission. The nucleus is sunlit from the left, and several bright jets of gas and dust are visible. Comet Halley officially designated 1P/Halley more generally known as Halley's Comet after Edmond Halley, is the best-known and the brightest of t.
His growing popularity in society hindered his scientific work: engagé, says Bossut , à des soupers, à des veilles, entraîné par un goût vif pour les femmes, voulant allier le plaisir à ses travaux ordinaires, il perdit le repos, la santé, enfin la vie à l'âge de cinquante-deux ans.
See also: Clairaut's equation
This page is based on public domain text taken from 'A Short Account of the History of Mathematics' (4th edition, 1908) by W. W. Rouse Ball.
Clairaut, Alexis Claude Clairaut, Alexis Claude