A few points that might be of general interest:

1. The dates: The date of Huygens' first written down material, which was orally presented to the French Academy of Sciences, is 1678---in contrast to the oft-quoted date of 1690. 1690 was the year of the first, French, publication of these notes (plus other material) in the form of a book.

Attached is an intriguing commentary on the scientific method through an example, written by my good friend, Luc Tartar. The specific example is that of trying to understand what 'light' might be, especially from a mathematician's point of view. The mathematician in this case is an extremely talented one, who also happens to actually understand a whole lot of physics and mechanics.

I am posting it especially for our younger members on imechanica, since I think there are interesting things to learn here. If you are an engineer or a physicist, it will not necessarily be a comfortable read, both on matters technical and philosophical. But my personal point of view is that not everything worth learning has to be within one's comfort zone. Being open-minded about learning, and recognizing when there is something to be learnt, is one of the best habits we can develop. One does not have to agree with all that is said, but the greatest intellectual progress happens when a collection of sincere, talented people operate at the boundary of their individual comfort zones - not necessarily agreeing, but definitely learning from each other.

So, enjoy!

What are the effects of magnetism on stresses while material is under loading condition?Is there any relationship between magnetism and stress?

Thanks!

Shantaram