O Papel de Émilie du Châtelet na História da Evolução do Conceito de Vis Viva
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23925/2178-2911.2025v32p28-45Keywords:
Émilie du Châtelet, Força viva, Energia cinéticaAbstract
This research investigates the contributions of the Marquise Émilie du Châtelet to the conceptual development of vis viva, which we currently understand as kinetic energy. The reserch problem lies in the difficulty historiographical materials have in recognizing her achievements. In this context, the study is justified by the need to recover the relevance of Émilie’s contributions in defense of Leibnizian conceptions and her courage in confronting renowned critics aligned with Cartesian views. The objective is to highlight the significance of Émilie’s contributions to the understanding of the concept of vis viva. For this purpose, we examine the treatments provided by Newton (1687), Leibniz (1686), and Jean Bernoulli (1667–1748), adopting a qualitative and historiographical approach based on primary and secondary sources, and emphasizing the main algebraic and experimental demonstrations related to the concept of vis viva. As a result, the Marquise’s contributions to the historical evolution and conceptual transition from vis viva to kinetic energy are brought to light, although she remains undervalued in modern historiography.
References
Châtelet, G. É. Du. Institutions de Physique. Paris: Prault Fils, 1740, https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10130894?.
Gomes, Luciano Carvalhais. “A História da Evolução do Conceito Físico de Energia Cinética Como Subsídio para o Ensino e Aprendizagem - Parte I.” Caderno Brasileiro de Ensino de Física, 32, nº 2 (2015): 407-41, https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/fisica/article/view/2175-7941.2015v32n2p407.
Iltis, Carolyn. “D’Alembert and the vis viva Controversy.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 2 (1970): 135-44, https://nature.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/articles.html.
Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm. Brevis demonstratio erroris memorabilis Cartesii et aliorum circa legem naturae. Acta Eruditorum, 161-3. vol. 5, mar. 1686, https://archive.org/details/s1id13206520/mode/2up.
Lindsay, Robert Bruce. Energy: Historical Development of the Concept, 110. Stroudsburg: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1973.
Martins, Roberto de Andrade. “A Marquesa de Châtelet: Uma Filósofa Natural do Século XVIII.” Ensino de Matemática e Ciências: História e Filosofia na Formação de Professores, 7-24. org. Rafael Prearo Lima & Rodrigo Rafael Gomes & Rubens Pantano Filho. Campinas: FE/Unicamp, 2022.
Martins, Roberto de Andrade. "Ciência Versus Historiografia: Os Diferentes Níveis
Discursivos nas Obras Sobre História da Ciência" In Ana Maria Alfonso-Goldfarb & Maria Helena Roxo Beltran. Escrevendo a História da Ciência: Tendências, Propostas e Discussões Historiográficas, 115-45. São Paulo: EDUC; Livraria de Física; FAPESP, 2005.
Newton, I. Philosophiæ naturalis principia mathematica. Londini: Jussu Societatis Regiæ ac Typis Josephi Streater, 1687, https://ia902906.us.archive.org/8/items/1686-newton-principia-1ed/.
Papineau, D. “The vis viva Controversy: Do Meanings Matter?” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Part A. vol. 8. 111-42. Países baixos: Amsterdã, 1977, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0039368177900115?via%3Dihub.
Pereira, Jaene Guimarães & Ana Paula Bispo da Silva. “A França se Rende ao Charme da Marquesa: Émilie du Châtelet e Sua Tradução de Newton.” 18° Seminário Nacional de História da Ciência e da Tecnologia 18 (2022), https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365153311_A_Franca_se_rende_ao_charme_da_marquesa_Emilie_du_Chatelet_e_sua_traducao_de_Newton.
Reichenberger, Andrea. “Émilie du Châtelet’s Interpretation of the Laws of Motion in the Light of 18th Century Mechanics.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 69 (2018): 1-11.
