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Paper, 'De figuris quas fluida rotata induere possunt, problemata duo; cum conjectura de stellis quae aliquando prodeunt vel deficiunt, et de annulo saturni' ['On two problems of the shapes of rotating fluids, with a conjecture about the stars that will eventually emerge or fade, and on the ring of Saturn'] by Petro Ludovico [Pierre Louis] de Maupertuis

Reference number: CLP/1/48

Date: 1731

Description

De Maupertuis observes how fluids can become spheres, assuming the fluid can be attracted to the centre. He also touches on matters of astronomy including emerging and fading stars and the rings of Saturn. Includes six figures in the text.

Subject: Physics / Astronomy

Published in Philosophical Transactions as 'De figuris quas fluida rotata induere possunt, problemata duo; cum conjectura de Stellis quæ aliquando prodeunt vel deficiunt; & de annulo saturni'.

Read to the Royal Society on 8 July 1731.

Reference number
CLP/1/48
Earliest possible date
1731
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
13 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis

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Citation

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Paper, 'De figuris quas fluida rotata induere possunt, problemata duo; cum conjectura de stellis quae aliquando prodeunt vel deficiunt, et de annulo saturni' ['On two problems of the shapes of rotating fluids, with a conjecture about the stars that will eventually emerge or fade, and on the ring of Saturn'] by Petro Ludovico [Pierre Louis] de Maupertuis, 1731, CLP/1/48, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_1_48/paper-de-figuris-quas-fluida-rotata-induere-possunt-problemata-duo-cum-conjectura-de-stellis-quae-aliquando-prodeunt-vel-deficiunt-et-de-annulo-saturni-on-two-problems-of-the-shapes-of-rotating-fluids-with-a-conjecture-about-the-stars-that-will-eventually-emerge-or-fade-and-on-the-ring-of-saturn-by-petro-ludovico-pierre-louis-de-maupertuis, accessed on 06 June 2026

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  • Classified Papers

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

    Dates: 1592 - 1741

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