Abstract

Boscovitch's Theoria, originally published in 1758, introduced the idea of particles as point masses surrounded by a field of force, which varied between attraction and repulsion at very short distances and merged with Newton's law of gravitational attraction at larger distances. Though Boscovitch's attempt to explain the observed properties of extended bodies in terms of point masses ultimately proved unsuccessful, his ideas on fields of force strongly influenced. Faraday, Kelvin, and other nineteenth century scientists. This paperback reissue of Child's 1921 translation makes one of the seminal, but almost forgotten, books that shaped modern science readily available to students of the history of science.—E. M. M.