Leonhard Euler's Letters to a German Princess

Leonhard Euler’s Letters to a German Princess: A milestone in the history of physics textbooks and more examines the life and work of Euler and his legacy as the foremost mathematician, theoretical physicist and theoretical astronomer during the 18th-century Enlightenment. It also analyzes the leading textbooks used in physics education in the latter 17th and early 18th centuries in Europe and British America. The text investigates the search to identify two German princesses taking physics lessons by mail from Euler. Over two years, from 1760 to 1762, Euler wrote 234 letters to the princesses on different topics including astronomy, music, optics, magnetism, electricity, motion and navigation, with less on theology and philosophy, especially logic. The first two volumes of the letters were published in French in 1768 by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Its third volume appeared there in 1772. Today, 250 years later, we study this work of Euler’s as a foundation for the history of physics teaching, and analyze the letters from a historical and pedagogical point of view. This book includes selected full and abbreviated letters and a summary of the physics content.

As a whole, the book makes for an illuminating read, and gives a great insight into how physics, and its study, has progressed into what it is today. A scientific background is definitely essential to get to grips with the material; once that is established, however, this book is very accessible, with minimal use of formulae and an easy writing style.