Aerodynamics and mathematics in National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy: a comparison of research institutes.

The article is concerned with the mathematical sciences in National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy, with special attention to research important to the war effort. It focuses on three institutional developments: the expansion of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Göttingen, the foundation of the Reich Institute for Mathematics in Oberwolfach (Black Forest), and the work of the Istituto Nazionale per le Applicazioni del Calcolo in Rome. All three developments are embedded in the general political background, thus providing a basis for comparative conclusions about the conditions of the mathematical sciences and military-related research in Germany and Italy. It turns out that in both countries, the increasing demand for mathematical knowledge in modern warfare led to the establishment of "extra-university" national institutions specifically devoted to mathematical research.

In the sign of Galileo: pictorial representation in the 17th-century Copernican debate.

After Galileo had discovered the four moons of Jupiter in 1609 he became increasingly convinced that the Copernican, heliocentric system of the world was correct. However, this ran against the opinions of the Church and a large number of contemporary astronomers and natural philosophers. The ensuing development culminated in the condemnation of the Copernican system by the Church in 1616 and of Galileo himself, who had propagated the Copernican system in his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), in 1633. Nevertheless, there was a constant debate about the right world system during the whole 17th century. Pictorial representation played an important role in it and the illustrations used as book frontispieces were a significant medium for the dispute.