TABLE

, in Architecture, a smooth, simple member or ornament, of various forms, but most commonly in that of a parallelogram.

Table

, in Perspective, is sometimes used for the perspective plane, or the transparent plane upon which the objects are formed in their respective appearance.

Table of Pythagoras, is the same as the Multipli- | CATION Table; which see; as also Pythagoras's Table.

Tables of Houses, among astrologers, are certain Tables, ready drawn up, for the assistance of practitioners in that a<*>t, for the erecting or drawing of figures or schemes. See House.

Tables

, in Mathematics, are systems or series of numbers, calculated to be ready at hand for expediting any sort of calculations in the various branches of mathematics.

Astronomical Tables, are computations of the motions, places, and other phenomena of the planets, both primary and secondary.

The oldest astronomical Tables, now extant, are those of Ptolomy, found in his Almagest. These however are not now of much use, as they no longer agree with the motions of the heavens.

In 1252, Alphonso XI, king of Castile, undertook the correcting of them, chiefly by the assistance of Isaac Hazen, a learned Jew; and spent 400,000 crowns on the business. Thus arose the Alphonsine Tables, to which that prince himself prefixed a preface. But the deficiency of these also was soon perceived by Purbach and Muller, or Regiomontanus; upon which the latter, and after him Walther Warner, applied themselves to celestial observations, for farther improving them; but death, or various difficulties, prevented the effect of these good designs.

Copernicus, in his books of the celestial revolutions, gives other Tables, calculated by himself, partly from his own observations, and partly from the Alphonsine Tables.

From Copernicus's observations and theorems, Erasmus Reinhold afterwards compiled the Prutenic Tables, which have been printed several times, and in several places.

Tycho Brahe, even in his youth, became sensible of the deficiency of the Prutenic Tables: which determined him to apply himself with so much vigour to celestial observations. From these he adjusted the motions of the sun and moon; and Longomontanus, from the same observations, made out Tables of the motions of the planets, which he added to the Theories of the same, published in his Astronomia Danica; those being called the Danish Tables. And Kepler also, from the same observations, published in 1627 his Rudolphine Tables, which are much esteemed.

These were afterwards, viz in 1650, changed into another form, by Maria Cunitia, whose Astronomical Tables, comprehending the effect of Kepler's physical hypothesis, are very easy, satisfying all the phenomena without any mention of logarithms, and with little or no trouble of calculation. So that the Rudolphine calculus is here greatly improved.

Mercator made a like attempt in his Astronomical Institution, published in 1676. And the like did J. Bap. Morini, whose abridgment of the Rudolphine Tables was prefixed to a Latin version of Street's Astronomia Carolina, published in 1705.

Lansbergius indeed endeavoured to discredit the Rudolphine Tables, and framed Perpetual Tables, as he calls them, of the heavenly motions. But his attempt was never much regarded by the astronomers; and our countryman Horrox warmly attacked him, in his defence of the Keplerian astronomy.

Since the Rudolphine Tables, many others have been framed, and published: as the Philolaic Tables of Bulliald; the Britannic Tables of Vincent Wing, calculated on Bulliald's hypothesis; the Britannic Tables of John Newton; the French ones of the Count Pagan; the Caroline Tables of Street, all calculated on Ward's hypothesis; and the Novalmajestic Tables of Riccioli. Among these, however, the Philolaic and Caroline Tables are esteemed the best; insomuch that Mr. Whiston, by the advice of Mr. Flamsteed, thought fit to subjoin the Caroline Tables to his astronomical lectures.

The Ludovician Tables, published in 1702, by De la Hire, were constructed wholly from his own observations, and without the assistance of any hypothesis; which, before the invention of the micrometer telescope and the pendulum clock, was held impossible.

Dr. Halley also long laboured to perfect another set of Tables; which were printed in 1719, but not published till 1752.

M. Monnier, in 1746, published, in his Institutions Astronomiques, Tables of the motions of the sun and moon, with the satellites, as also of refractions, and the places of the fixed stars. La Hire also published Tables of the planets, and La Caille Tables of the sun: Gael Morris published Tables of the sun and moon, and Mayer constructed Tables of the moon, which were published by the Board of Longitude. Tables of the same have also been computed by Charles Mason, from the principles of the Newtonian philosophy, which are found to be very accurate, and are employed in computing the Nautical Ephemeris. Many other sets of astronomical Tables have also been published by various persons and academies; and divers sets of them may be found in the modern books of astronomy, navigation, &c, of which those are esteemed the best and most complete, that are printed in Lalande's Astronomy. For an account of several, and especially of those published annually under the direction of the Commissioners of Longitude, see Almanac, Ephemeris, and LONGITUDE.

For Tables of the Stars, see Catalogue.

Tables of Sines, Tangents, and Secants, used in trigonometry, &c, are usually called Canons. See Sine.

Tables of Logarithms, Rhumbs, &c, used in geometry, navigation, &c, see Logarithm, and Rhumb.

Tables

, Loxodromic, and of Difference of Latitude and Departure, are Tables used in computing the way and reckoning of a ship on a voyage, and are published in most books of navigation.

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Entry taken from A Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary, by Charles Hutton, 1796.

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* TABLE
TACQUET (Andrew)
TACTION
TALUS
TAMBOUR
TAMUZ