Definition:Orthogonal Trajectories/Historical Note
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Historical Note on Orthogonal Trajectories
The origin of the problem of orthogonal trajectories is uncertain.
Some sources say that it was posed by Nicolaus II Bernoulli in $1720$ as a challenge to the English Newtonian school of mathematics.
Others suggest that it was the work of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz in $1716$, who was aiming the problem specifically at Isaac Newton himself.
Legend has it that Newton solved the problem in an evening, having returned from his day's work at the Mint.
Sources
- 1937: Eric Temple Bell: Men of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text{VI}$: On the Seashore