His work helped to develop mathematical astronomy and statistics. His five volume "Mécanique Céleste" (Celestial Mechanics) (1799–1825) was a key work. In it, he changed the geometric study of classical mechanics to one based on calculus, which meant it could tackle a wider range of problems. In statistics, the so-called Bayesian interpretation of probability was mainly developed by Laplace.
He invented Laplace's equation, and pioneered the Laplace transform which is used in many branches of mathematical physics. The Laplacian differential operator, widely used in mathematics, is also named after him.
Laplace's view on the origin of the Solar System is still ours today. He recognised, like Newton, that the key force in the Solar System was gravitation. Gravitation caused the coming together of gas and small particles into one central mass (which became the Sun) with other smaller groups (the planets), held to the central star by gravitation.
Laplace proved that the small irregularities in planetary motion were self-correcting, and that the solar system as a whole was stable. This meant the solar system was going to exist in the present state for a very long time. He worked out some problems in the moon's orbit, and how the moon caused tides.
Laplace also came close to getting the concept of the black hole. He pointed out that there could be massive stars whose gravity is so great that not even light could escape from their surface (see escape velocity). Laplace also speculated that some of the nebulae revealed by telescopes may not be part of the Milky Way and might actually be galaxies themselves. Thus, he anticipated Edwin Hubble's major discovery 100 years in advance.
Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban
Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban is a commune of 5,270 people (2008). It is found in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the south of France.
A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile is located in the commune.
Inselberg
An inselberg or monadnock is a large rock formation that sits on its own, surrounded by flat lowlands. It can be a hill, ridge or small mountain. They are found in hot, dry areas of land. The name means "island mountain".
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake () is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the deepest lake in North America at 614m, and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is long and wide. It covers . The lake shares its name with the Slavey First Nations. Towns on the lake include: Yellowknife, Hay River, Behchoko, Fort Resolution, Lutselk'e, Hay River Reserve, Dettah and N'Dilo.
North American Aboriginal Peoples were the first people to live around the lake. They built communities including Dettah, which still exists today. British fur trader Samuel Hearne explored the area in 1771 and crossed the frozen lake. He named it Lake Athapuscow. This was a misunderstanding of the name Athabaska. In 1897-1898, the American frontiersman Charles "Buffalo" Jones traveled to the Arctic Circle.
In the 1930s, gold was discovered there, and the city of Yellowknife was founded. It became the capital of the Northwest Territories. In 1967, an all-season highway was built around the lake, originally an extension of the Mackenzie Highway but now known as Yellowknife Highway or Highway 3. On January 24, 1978, a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite, named Kosmos 954 fell from orbit and broke apart. The satellite had an on board nuclear reactor. Pieces of the nuclear core fell near the Great Slave Lake. 90% of the nuclear debris was recovered by a group called Operation Morning Light. They included people from both the United States and Canada.
The Hay, Slave and Taltson Rivers enter the lake. The Mackenzie River flows out. The western shore has forests, but the east shore and northern arm are tundra-like. The southern and eastern shores reach the edge of the Canadian Shield. The Great Slave Lake remains from a large post-glacial lake along with other lakes such as the Great Bear and Athabasca.
The main western part of the lake is a bowl with a surface area of and a volume of . This main portion has a maximum depth of and a mean depth of . To the east, McLeod Bay () and Christie Bay () are much deeper, with a maximum recorded depth in Christie Bay of .
There is the nesting site of a flock of Whooping Cranes south of Great Slave Lake, in a remote corner of Wood Buffalo National Park.
There is one ice road on Great Slave Lake. It connects Yellowknife to Dettah.
List of NHL players (S)
This is a list of National Hockey League (NHL) players who have played at least one game in the NHL from 1917 to present and have a last name that starts with "S".
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist and anthropologist. He was one of the first to explore the study of mankind as an aspect of natural history. He used comparative anatomy to classify human races, of which he listed five.
Blumenbach divided the human species into five races in 1779. Later he based them on the anatomy of the human skull. Blumenbach's work included the description of sixty skulls published as "Decas craniorum" (Göttingen 1790–1828). This was a founding work for other scientists.
He called the five races (1793/1795):
He did not think other races were inferior to the Caucasian race, and were potentially good members of society.
Anatomical study led him to the conclusion that 'individual Africans differ as much, or even more, from other individual Africans as Europeans differ from Europeans'. Furthermore he thought that Africans were not inferior to the rest of mankind 'concerning healthy faculties of understanding, excellent natural talents and mental capacities'.
"Finally, I am of opinion that after all these numerous instances I have brought together of negroes of capacity, it would not be difficult to mention entire well-known provinces of Europe, from out of which you would not easily expect to obtain off-hand such good authors, poets, philosophers, and correspondents of the Paris Academy; and on the other hand, there is no so-called savage nation known under the sun which has so much distinguished itself by such examples of perfectibility and original capacity for scientific culture, and thereby attached itself so closely to the most civilized nations of the earth, as the Negro."
These ideas were far less influential. His ideas were adopted by other researchers and encouraged scientific racism. Blumenbach's work was used by many biologists and comparative anatomists in the nineteenth century who were interested in the origin of races: Wells, Lawrence, Prichard, Huxley and William Flower are good examples of his influence on human biology.
Regarding human origins, Blumenbach believed the first humans had originated in Asia.
List of Canadian painters
The following is a brief alphabetical list of professional Canadian artists primarily working in watercolour or oil paint. See other articles for information on Canadian art or a List of Canadian artists for other information.
Homare Sawa
As a professional athlete, she was played with the Women's United Soccer Association from 2001 to 2003. In 2004 she was named Women's Player of the Year for the Asian Football Confederation. In 2009 and 2010, Sawa was part of Women's Professional Soccer.
Sawa has played for the Japan national team, including the team which won the 2011 World Cup. She participated in the last five World Cups. Sawa was part of the women's team at the 1996, the 2004, the 2008. She was a member of the team which won a silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics at London.