Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the Making of Science in Europe
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- Create Date：2021-12-10 02:16:13
- Update Date：2025-09-23
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- Author：Hugh Aldersey-Williams
- ISBN：1509893350
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Summary
Filled with incident， discovery， and revelation， Dutch Light is a vivid account of Christiaan Huygens’s remarkable life and career， but it is also nothing less than the story of the birth of modern science as we know it。
Europe’s greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century， Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath。 A towering figure in the fields of astronomy， optics， mechanics， and mathematics， many of his innovations in methodology， optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day。 Among his many achievements， he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave， invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock， and discovered the rings of Saturn – via a telescope that he had also invented。
A man of fashion and culture， Christiaan came from a family of multi-talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society， but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt， Locke and Descartes。 The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age， a time of unprecedented intellectual expansion within the Netherlands。 Set against a backdrop of worldwide religious and political turmoil， this febrile period was defined by danger， luxury and leisure， but also curiosity， purpose， and tremendous possibility。
Following in Huygens’s footsteps as he navigates this era while shuttling opportunistically between countries and scientific disciplines， Hugh Aldersey-Williams builds a compelling case to reclaim Huygens from the margins of history and acknowledge him as one of our most important and influential scientific figures。
Europe’s greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century， Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath。 A towering figure in the fields of astronomy， optics， mechanics， and mathematics， many of his innovations in methodology， optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day。 Among his many achievements， he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave， invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock， and discovered the rings of Saturn – via a telescope that he had also invented。
A man of fashion and culture， Christiaan came from a family of multi-talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society， but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt， Locke and Descartes。 The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age， a time of unprecedented intellectual expansion within the Netherlands。 Set against a backdrop of worldwide religious and political turmoil， this febrile period was defined by danger， luxury and leisure， but also curiosity， purpose， and tremendous possibility。
Following in Huygens’s footsteps as he navigates this era while shuttling opportunistically between countries and scientific disciplines， Hugh Aldersey-Williams builds a compelling case to reclaim Huygens from the margins of history and acknowledge him as one of our most important and influential scientific figures。
Reviews
Boudewijn
，
Every time I read a book about scientists from the （late） Middle Ages or the Enlightenment， I am a little jealous: jealous of the fact that that was the moment in history where science managed to make rapid strides。 In that period， thanks to the development of the telescope and microscope， man was for the first time able to fathom the unattainable distance or， on the contrary， the tiny wonders of nature。 Christiaan Huygens （1629-1695） was undoubtedly one of the leading figures of seventeenth-ce Every time I read a book about scientists from the （late） Middle Ages or the Enlightenment， I am a little jealous: jealous of the fact that that was the moment in history where science managed to make rapid strides。 In that period， thanks to the development of the telescope and microscope， man was for the first time able to fathom the unattainable distance or， on the contrary， the tiny wonders of nature。 Christiaan Huygens （1629-1695） was undoubtedly one of the leading figures of seventeenth-century science。 As a mathematician， he was a pioneer in probability calculation and integral calculus。 As a physicist， he was the first to declare light as a wave phenomenon。 As an astronomer， he explained Saturn's appearance by explaining the position of its rings and discovered one of its moons， Titan。 A Century of Light is not so much a biography of Huygens， but rather a description of how a talented person like Huygens researched and acted within the world of seventeenth-century science。 As a follower of Descartes， he worked mainly in theory （rather than through experiments） and is therefore often seen as the first theoretical physicist。As a talented draftsman， he also managed to provide his works with good illustrations。 His drawing of Saturn's rings， and its relative position to Earth， enabled him to predict the exact appearance of Saturn。What I also found remarkable was how Huygens was able to communicate with other scientists in his day。 During the same period， Huygens became the first foreigner to become a member of the Royal Society and became a member of the newly founded L'Académie des sciences in France。In addition to all the scientific components， the book also gives a good picture of the zeitgeist。 Rembrandt van Rijn comes into the picture because he was asked to make a number of paintings by the Huygens family。 Other painters and well-known figures also make their appearance。All in all， Hugh Aldersey-Williams has written an interesting book that provides a good picture of seventeenth-century science through the work of Huygens。 。。。more
Arend
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Interesting more than captivating， but that's partly because I am very well familiar with Christiaan Huygens' work， and partly because a good part of the focus is on other members of the family （particularly Constantijn pere）。 Overall it gives a wonderful introduction to the beginnings of science as a profession and a method of investigation， and tries to return Christiaan Huygens back to his rightful place in the pantheon （irony intended）。 Christiaan lived in an eventful and foundational period Interesting more than captivating， but that's partly because I am very well familiar with Christiaan Huygens' work， and partly because a good part of the focus is on other members of the family （particularly Constantijn pere）。 Overall it gives a wonderful introduction to the beginnings of science as a profession and a method of investigation， and tries to return Christiaan Huygens back to his rightful place in the pantheon （irony intended）。 Christiaan lived in an eventful and foundational period in Dutch history （secterianism， war， republicans vs royalists， and so on）， which doesn't come through very strongly in the book， especially given the Orangist loyalty of the Huygens family。 。。。more
Niek de Rooij
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A fascinating reappraisal of one of te brightest minds of the 17th Century and one of the founders of modern science。 Whereas all of Europe celebrated Huygens in his days， now he is largely forgotten， even in his native The Netherlands。 Aldersey-Williams tells the story of Huygens， his talented family and his inventions in a compelling way， and provides ample scientific and historic context。 He shines a new light on the genius who owns his place amongst Galilei， Newton， Kepler and Einstein。 Alth A fascinating reappraisal of one of te brightest minds of the 17th Century and one of the founders of modern science。 Whereas all of Europe celebrated Huygens in his days， now he is largely forgotten， even in his native The Netherlands。 Aldersey-Williams tells the story of Huygens， his talented family and his inventions in a compelling way， and provides ample scientific and historic context。 He shines a new light on the genius who owns his place amongst Galilei， Newton， Kepler and Einstein。 Although the storyline could perhaps have been a bit tighter， It was an eye-opening and engaging read。 。。。more
Rudi Pauwelijn
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Ik vond het een zeer aangenaam boek en zou het zeker aanraden aan lezers die interesse hebben in geschiedenis en biografieën Welkom in 1600 -1700
MJonker
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Mooi om te lezen dat Newton inderdaad op de schouders van reuzen stond。 In dit geval Huygens。 Ook de rol van licht bij diverse ontwikkelingen （schilderkunst） in die tijd wordt mooi belicht。 Alsook bredere historische context
Eunice
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This is a good book but I felt it could have been better。 I learned a huge amount about Christiaan Hugyens and the remarkable family from which he came， about the world of 18th century science and the interconnectedness of the science community at this time。 Hugyens was a remarkable scientist who discovered the rings of Saturn and much else but whose reputation was overshadowed subsequently by Newton and others。 My reservation about the book is structural。 While essentially chronological there s This is a good book but I felt it could have been better。 I learned a huge amount about Christiaan Hugyens and the remarkable family from which he came， about the world of 18th century science and the interconnectedness of the science community at this time。 Hugyens was a remarkable scientist who discovered the rings of Saturn and much else but whose reputation was overshadowed subsequently by Newton and others。 My reservation about the book is structural。 While essentially chronological there seems to be a lot of repetition or themes begun and then left for a time and then suddenly taken up again。 I wonder if this could have been resolved by better editing。 。。。more
Anamontes
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