June 04, 2018 Monday
Bedtime Story
Understanding the Origins of Newtonian Mechanics
It was Newton who clearly and eloquently
formulated the law of conservation of momentum as we study it in its modern
form.
Newton’s inertial frame of reference was
quite simple and absolute; in his own words “Absolute, true and mathematical
time, of itself and from its own nature flows equably without regard to
anything external, and by another name is called duration: relative, apparent
and common time, is some sensible and external (whether accurate or unequable)
measure of duration by the means of motion, which is commonly used instead of
true time…”
Newton considered time to be independent of
observer, much like what human apes even today believe, and something which
progresses at a constant pace throughout the universe.
To him, the time measured by us apes was
relative and not that “real time” which proceeds at a consistent pace
independent of us.
Similarly, about the absolute space he had
this to say:
“Absolute space, in its own nature, without
regard to anything external, remains always similar and immovable.
Relative space is some movable dimension or
measure of the absolute spaces; which our senses determine by its positions to
bodies: and which is vulgarly taken for immovable space…
Absolute motion is the translation of the
body from one absolute space to another: and relative motion translation from
one relative space to another…”
The implications of these sentences is that
there is something called absolute space and time and they do not depend on the
physical events, but rather like a theatre forms the background where all the
physical events unfold.
This meant that every object has an
absolute state of motion with respect to the absolute space.
With the onset of general relativity in
1915, the Conservation laws had to be reinterpreted taking into account
difference frames of references.
Great help came in understanding these
problems from mathematics and mathematical physics developed way back 1788 by
the Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange.
This very French-sounding name was acquired
later born as he was with a very Italian-sounding name (even though we are all
born nameless naked apes) of Giuseppe.
Lagrange is a mathematical giant, rather a
colossus born in Turin in 1736 who is perhaps as well known to mathematicians
and mathematical physicists as are William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter
Brattain to the computer scientists.
(Many may not be aware but it was the
attempt of William Bradford Shockley to commercialize a new transistor design
in the 1950s in California that changed the face of the San Francisco Bay Area transforming
it into the innovation engine of high technology that we now all know as the “Silicon
Valley.”)
Turin then was the de facto capital of the
Kingdom of Sardinia also known as the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which would
later go on to become the Kingdom of Italy after the Crimean War.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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