Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Isaac Newton's apple tree at Woolsthorpe Manor [1] [2] represents the inspiration behind Sir Isaac Newton's theory of gravity.While the precise details of Newton's reminiscence (reported by several witnesses to whom Newton allegedly told the story) are impossible to verify, the significance of the event lies in its explanation of Newton's scientific thinking.
Einstein's development of general relativity necessitated some means of empirically discriminating the theory from other theories of gravity compatible with special relativity. Accordingly, Robert Dicke developed a test program incorporating two new principles – the § Einstein equivalence principle , and the § Strong equivalence principle ...
The philosophy of self examines the idea of the self at a conceptual level. Many different ideas on what constitutes self have been proposed, including the self being an activity, the self being independent of the senses, the bundle theory of the self, the self as a narrative center of gravity, and the self as a linguistic or social construct rather than a physical entity.
1902 – Paul Gerber explains the movement of the perihelion of Mercury using finite speed of gravity. [31] His formula, at least approximately, matches the later model from Einstein's general relativity, but Gerber's theory was incorrect. 1902 – Henri Poincaré questions the concept of simultaneity in his book, Science and Hypothesis. [32] [33]
Before Newton's law of gravity, there were many theories explaining gravity. Philoshophers made observations about things falling down − and developed theories why they do – as early as Aristotle who thought that rocks fall to the ground because seeking the ground was an essential part of their nature. [6]
[99] [100] However the theory of gravity itself was not accepted quickly. The theory of gravity faced two barriers. First scientists like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz complained that it relied on action at a distance, that the mechanism of gravity was "invisible, intangible, and not mechanical".
In a note at the end of his work "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field", Maxwell discussed a model for gravity based on a medium similar to the one he used for the electromagnetic field. He concluded that the medium would have "an enormous intrinsic energy" and would necessarily have to be diminished in areas of mass.
The book is still considered influential in the physics community, with generally positive reviews, but with some criticism of the book's length and presentation style. To quote Ed Ehrlich: [4] 'Gravitation' is such a prominent book on relativity that the initials of its authors MTW can be used by other books on relativity without explanation.