Describes the evolution of the idea that nature can be described in the language of mathematics. Colourful chapters explore the earliest attempts to apply deductive methods to the study of the natural world. It then goes on to examine the development of classical conservation laws, including the conservation of momentum, the conservation of mass, and the conservation of energy.

This volume of the History of Mathematics series delves into the topic of how mathematical concepts are very much ingrained in the laws of nature.