The geometry of burning mirrors in Greek antiquity. Analysis, heuristic, projections, lemmatic fragmentation

• Published in: Archive for history of exact sciences Vol. 65; no. 5; pp. 471 - 497
• Main Author: Acerbi, Fabio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer 01.09.2011; Springer-Verlag
• Subjects: Antiquity; Astronomy; Conic sections; Diodes; Geometry; Heuristics; History; History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics; History of Mathematical Sciences; History of Science; History of science and technology; Mathematical sciences and techniques; Mathematics; Mathematics and Statistics; Observations and Techniques; Parabolas; Parabolic reflectors; Philosophy of Science; Property lines; Tangents; Triangles; Vertices; Antiquity; Greek Antiquity; Vertex Versus; Locus Theorem; Conic Section; Equal Angle; Burning; Archimedes; Geometry; Diocles
• ISSN: 0003-9519; 1432-0657
• DOI: 10.1007/s00407-010-0076-8

The article analyzes in detail the assumptions and the proofs typical of the research field of the geometry of burning mirrors. It emphasizes the role of two propositions of the Archimedean Quadratura parabolae, never brought to bear on this subject, and of a complex system of projections reducing a...