Latest Issue of Science News   Science past and present
Medieval cosmology meets modern mathematics  A modern computer
simulation shows a two-dimensional cross section of celestial
spheres produced in a process suggested by 13th century scholar
Robert Grosseteste. With certain specific values plugged in for
quantities such as the intensity of light and the strength of
interaction between light and matter, the simulation produced
nine “perfect” spheres surrounding an imperfect realm of
terrestrial matter, just as medieval cosmologists envisioned.
Sponsor Message  When imagining medieval Europe, most people
envision knights and castles and maybe cathedrals. Science is
usually nowhere in the picture. Apart from monks copying
manuscripts, intellectual activity in the Middle Ages was
supposedly on the same level as that of 21st century
politicians.  But actually, a few medieval minds were busy
building modern science’s foundations. Some sophisticated
thinkers realized that nature should be understandable using