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The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model of planetary formation, based on the idea that the Solar System was formed by the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud. Learn about its history, challenges, and variations, as well as other hypotheses such as the tidal hypothesis and the vortex model.
A comprehensive overview of the historical development of evolutionary theory, from ancient to modern times. Learn about the origins, controversies, and advances of evolutionary biology, and how it relates to other disciplines and society.
Learn how to count the roots of a polynomial by examining sign changes in its coefficients, as described by René Descartes in his La Géométrie. See examples, proofs, generalizations and related topics.
Dioptrique is a treatise by René Descartes on the nature and properties of light, published in 1637. It contains his famous Law of Refraction, based on models of light as a stick, a wine vat, and a tennis ball.
Rules 13–24 deal with what Descartes terms "perfectly understood problems", or problems in which all of the conditions relevant to the solution of the problem are known, and which arise principally in arithmetic and geometry. Rules 25–36 deal with "imperfectly understood problems", or problems in which one or more conditions relevant to the ...
Vitalism is a belief that living organisms have a non-physical element or are governed by different principles than inanimate things. The article traces the origins and development of vitalism in philosophy, biology and medicine, and explains why it is considered a pseudoscience or a superseded theory.
Daniel Dennett's multiple drafts model of consciousness is a physicalist theory of consciousness based upon cognitivism, which views the mind in terms of information processing. The theory is described in depth in his book, Consciousness Explained , published in 1991.
The theory of tides is the application of continuum mechanics to interpret and predict the tidal deformations of planetary and satellite bodies and their atmospheres and oceans. The article covers the history of the theory, from ancient to modern times, and the different explanations of the tides based on gravitational, astronomical, and geological factors.