How Galileo dropped the ball and Fermat picked it up

Bryan W. Roberts

pp. 337-356

in: Synthese 180 (3), 2011.

Abstract

This paper introduces a little-known episode in the history of physics, in which a mathematical proof by Pierre Fermat vindicated Galileo’s characterization of freefall. The first part of the paper reviews the historical context leading up to Fermat’s proof. The second part illustrates how a physical and a mathematical insight enabled Fermat’s result, and that a simple modification would satisfy any of Fermat’s critics. The result is an illustration of how a purely theoretical argument can settle an apparently empirical debate.

Cited authors

Galilei Galileo

Fermat Pierre