Stevin
Full Name: Simon Stevin
Achievements: Discovered the triangle of forces. Perfected decimal fractions. Proposed decimal currency.
Born: 1548; Bruges, Netherlands
Died: c. March 1620; The Hague, Netherlands (or Leyden, Netherlands) (Aged about 72)
Field & Discipline: Mathematics; Engineering
Language: Dutch
Father: Anthenunis Stevin
Mother: Cathelijen van de Poort
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Catherine Cray
Children: Four boys and girls of whom: Hendrick, scientist
Education: Leyden University, The Netherlands
Major Work:
"De Behinselen de Weeghconst"
Standardization of Decimal Fractions
"De Behinselen des Waterwichts (Statics and Hydrostatics)"
"De Hemelloop"
Life & Times:
Before entering Leyden University in 1577 Stevin spent six years traveling through Europe. After he graduated in 1581, he settled down in the new republic of the Northern Netherlands.
He worked first as an engineer, then as quartermaster-general of the army of the States of the Netherlands, and, later, as commissioner of public works. He took an interest in the Dutch army, one of the best in Europe at the time, made accurate records of its practices and devices, and wrote two books about it:- one on the art of fortification, and the other on the campaigns of Prince [taught] Maurice of Nassau*, and the military life of the period.
Maurice employed Stevin as his instructor in mathematics and the sciences. Stevin wrote several textbooks for him, served as an administrator in his dominions, and established a school for engineers at Leyden. In 1610, Stevin married Catherine Cray, by whom he had four children. (Their son, Hendrick, became another talented scientist.)
Stevin began to gain fame as a military and civil engineer. He invented a defense system -- usable against any enemy -- that entailed flooding the lowlands by means of sluices and dykes.
Another invention was a 26-passenger carriage, powered by wind sails. He also introduced innovations in navigation, fortifications, geography and trigonometry. Stevin's lasting reputation was made in mathematics and mechanics.
A writer of great clarity and organization, he wrote on a variety of themes: mathematics, astronomy, perspective in art, navigation, military science, engineering, music theory, civics, dialectics, bookkeeping, geography, and house-building. In keeping with the new thinking of the day he wrote not in Latin but in his native Dutch.
In 1582, he published his first work, "Tafeln van Interest (“Tables of Interest"), which drew on his earlier experience in finance and commerce. He explained single and compound interest, and provided tables for calculating discounts and annuities. In 1585 Stevin's acclaimed pamphlet, "De Thiende” (“The Tenth”) was the first elementary discussion of decimal fractions and their everyday uses.
Although he did not invent the decimal fraction, and his method of calculation was generally clumsy, his work was the forerunner of the decimal system later generally adopted for coinage, weights and measurements. His was the original idea for [proposed] dollars & cents*
Historians consider that the theory of the lever, the theorems of the inclined plane, and the determination of the center of gravity were first spelled out in Stevin's "De Behinselen de Weeghconst", published in 1586 and the first major attempt in Renaissance mechanics to develop the work of Archimedes.
Since Stevin is well-known for his work on the inclined plane, it is remarkable that his discovery of the center of gravity has gone largely unnoticed. In an experiment with two lead spheres, one ten times heavier than the other, which he dropped simultaneously from a height of 30 feet, he discovered that both balls reached the ground at the same time. This disproved Aristotle's belief that heavy objects fall more quickly than lighter ones. His discovery preceded [anticipated] Galileo*'s first treatise on gravity by three years, and was 18 years ahead of Galileo's work on falling bodies.
Stevin's "Statics and Hydrostatics" of 1586 set forth the first discussion of the theorem of the triangle of forces, equivalent to the parallelogram diagram of forces. The discovery breathed new life into the study of statics, and also demonstrated that liquid exerts downward pressure, irrespective of the shape within which it is contained; only the level, not the direction, of pressure is variable according to the size of the base of the container. This discovery established the principles for hydraulic pressure.
Other short works followed on such subjects as simple machinery, pulleys, the windlass, the hauling of ships, balances, the block-and-tackle, and the effect of a bridle on a horse. Two books on engineering discussed new types of sluices and locks for canals and also dealt with the formation of sandbanks, peat and quicksand and modifications in the course of a river.
In 1608, Stevin published his main work on astronomy, "De Hemelloop", which demonstrated the validity of the [demonstrated validity of] Copernicus* system. He again was ahead of his time, and ahead of Galileo. Stevin also empirically arrived at a theory of the tides, 50 years prior to British physicist [anticipated] Newton's* work on the same topic.
In his last years, Stevin concentrated on mathematics. He revised and collected his previous writings on the subject into two folio volumes called, "Wistconstighe Gedachtenissen", which appeared 1605-1608. They were also published in Latin and French.
Extra Connections: Met [met] Gouverneur Morris*, [met] De Gheyn*, [met] Grotius,* and [met] Snell*.
His work was of value to the rich [work related to] Flanders wool* market economy.
Influenced [influenced] Beeckman*
Was influenced by the work of [influenced by] Benedetti*, and [influenced by] Witelo*
Assessment: Largely overlooked by science historians, perhaps because his contributions were not written in any of the acceptable languages of the time.
Oneliner: Simon Stevin, who worked out center of gravity
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.