Monday, September 9, 2019

Modern Physics


Nicolaus Copernicus 1473-1543, Polish astronomer, believed that the Earth revolved around the Sun, This agreed with Aristarchus and disagreed with Ptolemy.  His conclusion was based on his work charting planetary motion and it would be confirmed later by Galileo. 

Galileo 1564-1642 was born in Pisa Italy, moved to Florence in 1570, was schooled in a monastery and admitted to Medical School in 1581. He was drawn to pursue Mathematics and Aristotelian philosophy and lectured in 1585.  He designed a scale to measure small quantities. He studied and lectured on motion, gravity and mechanics. He became a fan of Archimedes and Chaired Mathematics at Padua University from 1592 to 1610. He subsidized his own research by selling his compass and tutoring students. 

Galileo developed the scientific method requiring proof of theories through experimentation. Galileo’s insistence on measuring incorporated mathematics as the language of science. His early work in Physics established the law of gravity in 1609.

The telescope was invented by Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey in 1608.  Galileo improved the telescope in 1611 and began to publish his discoveries in astronomy.  His study of the movement of planets convinced that the earth revolved around the sun. The Bible didn’t take sides, but the Church interpreted in Genesis that the sun revolved around the Earth. He published his observations in 1632.

Isaac Newton 1643-1727, English physicist, mathematician and astronomer followed on Galileo’s work. He entered Cambridge in 1661 at age 18 and became Professor of Mathematics in 1669 at age 26. He was elected to Parliament in 1689, became Master of the Mint in 1699 and was knighted in 1705.  He experimented and published in optics, mechanics, gravity, chemistry and physics. He advanced mathematics. He continued the scientific method and established proofs.

Albert Einstein 1879-1955, published his gravitational field
equations of general relativity in 1915.  He was interested in the natural phenomenon that was not yet known or proven using the scientific method of proving theory using mathematical equations. He was only interested in answering the hard questions.  He was interested in light, how fast it traveled and what it was made of. Now that the dual nature of light as "both a particle and a wave" has been proved, its essential theory was further evolved from electromagnetics into quantum mechanics. Einstein believed light is a particle (photon) and the flow of photons is a wave. He was interested in gravity in space and how to measure it and prove his equations. He was interested in gravitational radiation, radio signals and electromagnetic science. He was interested in space and time and the nature of space and its ability to curve. He was interested in energy and its relationship to matter and concluded E=MC2.His work enabled others to develop radar, wireless communications, optical devices, nuclear power, space travel and further understanding of atoms.



Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

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