Where can I find Pierre-Simon Laplace's Mécanique Céleste?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around locating English translations of Pierre-Simon Laplace's work, Mécanique Céleste, specifically seeking all five volumes. Participants share resources and experiences related to finding these texts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in finding all five volumes of Mécanique Céleste translated into English, noting they found volumes one and five on Google Books.
  • Another participant suggests checking archive.org for available volumes.
  • A third participant reports that archive.org only has volume one and possibly two.
  • A later reply points out that the translation by Nathaniel Bowditch is available in four volumes on archive.org, providing specific links to each volume.
  • There is mention of a five-volume English version that includes the original French, but the author is not specified, leading to some uncertainty about the exact editions available.
  • One participant expresses satisfaction with the availability of four volumes and questions why they could not find the third and fourth volumes initially.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the availability of all five volumes, as some believe they exist while others only confirm the presence of four volumes. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the complete set.

Contextual Notes

There is uncertainty regarding the copyright status of the texts and the specific editions available, as well as the potential existence of a five-volume version without clear authorship.

Bluskyz
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I've been hunting for all five volumes of Mécanique Céleste by Laplace but I can't find all 5 translated to English. I found volumes one and five on Google books but the other three have remained hidden to me. Anybody who has a copy of this book or knows where to find a copy, please share your knowledge. I would assume that this book is not copy righted so distributing it would be fine but I may be wrong. Thanks.
 
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Try archive.org
 
I checked archive.org and they seem to only have volume one and maybe two.
 
It seems that your search was sloppy. At least the translation by Nathaniel Bowditch is there in four volumes:
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles01laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles02laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles03laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles04laplrich

Wikipedia claims that there is a 5 volume English version without stating the author (maybe the same) which includes the original French. Maybe you have been searching for that one, but then I guess a translator's name would help...
 
Last edited:
0xDEADBEEF said:
It seems that your search was sloppy. At least the translation by Nathaniel Bowditch is there in four volumes:
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles01laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles02laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles03laplrich
http://archive.org/details/mcaniquecles04laplrich

Wikipedia claims that there is a 5 volume English version without stating the author (maybe the same) which includes the original French. Maybe you have been searching for that one, but then I guess a translator's name would help...

Thanks, I think 4 volumes will suffice. I don't know why I couldn't find the third and fourth volumes. Thanks again :)
 

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