Jacobi’s 1842 solution of the inverse-square problem

Abstract

In a memoir written in Latin, Jacobi published in 1842 a simple, concise, and elegant solution of the inverse-square problem. This note argues that Jacobi’s solution has not attracted the attention that it deserves and that it should prove valuable to teachers and students in introductory mechanics courses. A translation of the excerpt in which Jacobi describes his solution is given, and the method is then recast in the now more familiar language of vectors.