Scientific Revolution: Part 3

   The late 17th century saw the arrival of Sir Isaac Newton, history's greatest scientist. Newton is most famous for his three laws of motion, the three laws we always learn in school: 1) An object at rest will stay at rest unless a force is applied against it, 2) F (force) = m (mass) x a (acceleration), and 3) For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction. These three laws plus his law of gravitation formed the staple of classical mechanics and is still used today. In 1687, his greatest achievement and one of science's most influential books was published, Philosophiæ  Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In it were his three laws and his law of universal gravitation. The success of Principia earned him a spot of fame among scientists of the era. Having already attained the prestigious Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, he was considered a chief authority of the sciences at the time.

   Newton is also famous for his development of calculus, although it was also founded independently by Gottfried Leibniz. Furthermore, we are all familiar with the story of Newton's observations of apples falling from trees motivating him to formulate his law of universal gravitation. This story is considered to be true by most historians, so you can tell that to your friends the next time they claim it's just a legend. After Newton formulated his law, heliocentrism started to become accepted fact by the public. Newton showed through his formulas how the Earth orbited the Sun, seemingly placing the Sun in the center of the universe. But Newton himself noted how the center of gravity seemed to be slightly off of where it was expected to be. Regardless, he viewed this center as unchanging and never moving, but it was still troubling that it was not located in the dead center of the Sun.This was of course accounted for by the tug of the other planets on the Sun, displacing it from its true center, just as the Earth's barycenter (the center of mass between two or more objects) between it and the Moon is located away from the center in the mantle or outer core.

   Newton became a superstar of science for his work. Every educated child can at least tell you he was a really smart scientist. Alexander Pope once wrote:

 Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night;

God said "Let Newton be" and all was light.

   So, the scientific revolution comes to a conclusion here. Newton's influence on our technology has had tremendous impacts on us, his three laws being largely responsible for the impending Industrial Revolution. Anyways, that's the story. On a more personal matter, I may be out for up to a week, I am currently in the middle of a move and I need to get back in the rhythm of things. Next post, I'm hoping for some talks about electricity and magnetism, along with some contributing scientists like Faraday, Clerk-Maxwell, Edison, and Tesla. Until then, salutations!

Scientific Revolution: Part 2

   When we last left off, Copernicus had had his influential book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, published with his fresh new theory of a heliocentric (Sun- centered) universe. As mentioned, his idea was considered blasphemous by the Church who held that God must have placed them in the center of the universe, for the possibility of Earth being one of the planets would have diminished its importance. This view was also held by the public who disregarded Copernicus's work. This is where we pick up....

   Johannes Kepler was a German scientist who supported the Copernican idea. He believed the same as Copernicus, that the center of our cosmos was the Sun. In 1596, 53 years after the theory was put in print, Kepler published his own work, Mysterium Cosmographicum. In it was the first evidence pointing towards a heliocentric universe. Later, he would also develop his three famous laws of planetary motion.

   Around the same time, Galileo Galilei was testing his new and incredible design for his telescope. In his observations of the solar system, he discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter. This was a breakthrough, it showed that Earth was not the only heavenly body that had the ability to be orbited by other objects. This was a blow to geocentrism and it received much opposition from many other astronomers. Later, Galileo would go on to write Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. In it, he appeared to insult Pope Urban VIII. As a result, he was placed under house arrest where he wrote his influential book, Two New Sciences. He died while still under house arrest.

   Heliocentrism spread throughout Europe as a common notion by the late 1600's. While still not widely accepted, it was beginning to take its roots as a new universal perspective. Well, that's all for today's post. It will be picked up in the next one with Isaac Newton, possibly history's greatest scientist. Until then, salutations!

Scientific Revolution: Part 1

   Before 1543, the Earth was the center of everything in a geocentric universe. Ptolemy's idea was widely accepted as fact and was further pushed onto the masses by the Church, who believed God had made them special in their position in the cosmos. Everything orbited the Earth, not just the Moon. The five planets known at the time, the Sun, and an orb with fixed points (stars) as well. They believed the universe was in perfect balance, with the Earth the center of its order. This is where we begin....

   Nicolaus Copernicus was among the few who first challenged Ptolemy's and Aristotle's concepts of the universe. He was essentially changing the way we would view ourselves forever. In 1543, the year of his death, his book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was published. In it, he put forth his theory of his heliocentric universe, a groundbreaking step in the direction for our modern view of our place in the cosmos. His proposal was met with vehement opposition from the Church for tearing humanity from its cherished position in the stars. His work was far from being widely accepted fact. It would take the help and provided evidence of many more scientists in the future before the public would even consider the heliocentric universe as a possibility. But this story will be picked up in the next post.

   So there you have it. Nicolaus Copernicus, a true visionary in science and physics. He is the framework for building up to a modern understanding of the universe. Anyways, more of this legendary story later. Until then, salutations!

Introduction

   Since I have a little bit of spare time, I thought I would give you all an introduction to this blog and what it will be about.

   I will endeavour to simply explain physics and astronomy in layman's terms to those who find the subjects interesting or fascinating. The first posts will be primarily about the birth of modern physics with anecdotes about such famed scientists as Kepler, Galileo, Newton, and Copernicus. These lessons will build the framework of later studies of the unification of electricity and magnetism in Maxwell's equations, Einstein's relativistic universe, Hubble's discovery of other galaxies and the fact they are moving away, the big bang theory, and other such discoveries. Then, we move into a realm where common sense in our everyday terms is violated and objects are in two places at once: the bizarre world of quantum mechanics. We will revisit electromagnetism here as well as quantum tunneling, the nature of the atom and its constituents, the weak and strong nuclear forces, quantum electrodynamics (QED), quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and quantum theory's impact on our technology. Later on, more in-depth discussions about the big bang theory will arise, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, antimatter, the newly developed negative energy, string theory, higher dimensions, parallel universes, wormholes, and the quest for the theory of everything and the unification of physics.

   Well, there you have it. Don't expect me to follow along that schedule precisely, I'm going to be tempted to skip some of the more dull subjects (yeah, I heard the people who just said, "It's PHYSICS, it's ALL DULL!"). Anyways, please stay tuned for more, I hope to post soon, Until then, salutations!

Hello Fellow Human!

   Hello comrades, I shall be posting some physics stuff on here when I have a little bit of that special fourth dimensional substance we call time. Until then, salutations!