Ampère's Electrodynamics

• Grant number: 09/00792-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2009
• End date: May 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Science
• Principal Investigator: André Koch Torres de Assis
• Grantee: Joao Paulo Martins de Castro Chaib
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The main goal of this project is the philosophical and historical recovery of the construction of electrodynamics. This is an area of physics which has a scientific and technological importance. To this end we will utilize as our main theme the conceptions and debates realized by its main scientist: André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836). The goal is to write and publish two books. The first one will contain a full commented translation, from French to Portuguese, of Ampères main work: Théorie des Phénomènes Électro-dynamiques, Uniquement Déduite de l'Expérience. The second book will contain an analysis of the road followed by Ampere in order to arrive at his force law between current elements and the applications of this force. In this second book we will include the debates and contributions of other scientists of his time, like Biot, Faraday and Poisson. We will also analyse their influences upon later works of other scientists, like Maxwell, going up to the present day.