Jakob Hermann
Encyclopedia
Jakob Hermann was a mathematician who worked on problems in classical mechanics
. He is the author of Phoronomia, an early treatise on Mechanics
. In 1729, he proclaimed that it was as easy to graph a locus on the polar coordinate system as it was to graph it on the Cartesian coordinate system. However, no one listened.
He appears to have been the first to show that the Laplace–Runge–Lenz vector is a constant of motion
for particles acted upon by an inverse-square central force.
Hermann received his initial training from Jacob Bernoulli and graduated with a degree in 1695. He became a member of the Berlin Academy in 1701. He was appointed to a chair in mathematics in Padua in 1707, but moved to Frankfurt an der Oder
in 1713, and thence to St. Petersburg in 1724. Finally, he returned to Basel in 1731 to take a chair in ethics and natural law.
Hermann was elected to the Académie Royale des Sciences (Paris) in 1733, the year of his death.
Hermann was a distant relative of Leonhard Euler
.
Classical mechanics
In physics, classical mechanics is one of the two major sub-fields of mechanics, which is concerned with the set of physical laws describing the motion of bodies under the action of a system of forces...
. He is the author of Phoronomia, an early treatise on Mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
. In 1729, he proclaimed that it was as easy to graph a locus on the polar coordinate system as it was to graph it on the Cartesian coordinate system. However, no one listened.
He appears to have been the first to show that the Laplace–Runge–Lenz vector is a constant of motion
Constant of motion
In mechanics, a constant of motion is a quantity that is conserved throughout the motion, imposing in effect a constraint on the motion. However, it is a mathematical constraint, the natural consequence of the equations of motion, rather than a physical constraint...
for particles acted upon by an inverse-square central force.
Hermann received his initial training from Jacob Bernoulli and graduated with a degree in 1695. He became a member of the Berlin Academy in 1701. He was appointed to a chair in mathematics in Padua in 1707, but moved to Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
in 1713, and thence to St. Petersburg in 1724. Finally, he returned to Basel in 1731 to take a chair in ethics and natural law.
Hermann was elected to the Académie Royale des Sciences (Paris) in 1733, the year of his death.
Hermann was a distant relative of Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
.