Estudio bibliométrico de las publicaciones relacionadas con el péndulo entre los años 1629 y 1885

Abstract

This paper reports a bibliometric analysis of a bibliography of works on the pendulum. Indicators of scientific activity were determined, including number of publications, author productivity, and collaborations. In addition, the percentages of works in the different majority languages (French, Latin, Italian, English and German) were calculated. The results show that: a) the growth of the number of works in the analysed period was exponential; b) author productivity did not follow Lotka's law; c) the number of signing authors per work is very low (index 1.1); c) French retained its linguistic hegemony for almost the entire period examined (1629-1885); d) Latin, which was very powerfully represented until the end of the 18th century, disappeared in the 19th century, coinciding with the spectacular growth of English and German. The change in the languages employed in these works is analysed with respect to the historical contexts of the corresponding countries.