Newton

Quote from: markjo on September 03, 2012, 05:02:43 PM

Quote from: rayman on September 03, 2012, 12:56:16 PM

Can FEers mathematically or empirically prove Newton wrong? or all they can do is assume that Newton was wrong ?

Actually, Einstein mathematically and empirically proved Newton wrong.

This.

furthermore, before einstein the theory had already been falsified because of the deviation of mercury from a derivation of its orbit frrom newton's theory. but there was not a better model until einstein came along and unified some disparate gropings at an explanation.

I think what raymen intends to say, is that we still use newton's theory for everyday earth sciences 1)because it is accurate enough for human scales 2) it is a million times easier to use.

Yea, relativity can get quite intense. Some of it makes my brain hurt, and the more I understand about it, the more I realize I don't understand it, and the more my head hurts.

Just because it's hard to understand though, doesn't mean it's wrong. I don't see how a "UA" is easier to comprehend than a bend in space-time. I can imagine space time. I cant also imagine a UA, it's an enormous set of rockets stuck to the earth's ass, with an unlimited fuel supply and breaking thermodynamics. It's a wonderful machine.

Newton's work was correct, but incomplete. He conducted thought experiments in "absolute space", where space was inert, and time was constant. It was off in extreme cases such as objects with high velocities or objects with high gravitational fields. It couldn't predict things like gravitational redshift. That doesn't make Newton wrong, it just draws a border around what it can be used for.

Newton's work was correct, but incomplete. He conducted thought experiments in "absolute space", where space was inert, and time was constant. It was off in extreme cases such as objects with high velocities or objects with high gravitational fields. It couldn't predict things like gravitational redshift. That doesn't make Newton wrong, it just draws a border around what it can be used for.

No, Newton was wrong. His theory does not explain observed effects. He was just flat out wrong, aside from the fact that "apples fall, something made it fall."

I'm not going to try and argue with you, since you obviously know very little about Newtonian physics given that response. Just know that here in the real world, people still make thorough use of Newton's equations with great success.

I'm not going to try and argue with you, since you obviously know very little about Newtonian physics given that response. Just know that here in the real world, people still make thorough use of Newton's equations with great success.

Newton's equations are only effective for calculating things on a small scale, because they didn't take any of the relativistic effects into account, or lagrange points, or anything like that. The voyager missions would not have been as accurate as they were under Newtonian physics, some of the gravity slings would probably have been missed, and the probes probably would not have made it out of the solar system. Space travel would be a mess under the Newtonian model. Also, the Newtonian model was missing much of what we know about the fundamental laws of physics now. Relativity is extremely important to our understanding of the basic fundamentals of the Universe we live in, and Newton's laws just don't cut it. He was wrong. That is why relativity replaced Newtonian Physics, because it's only good for calculating things like inertia and small, 1 body gravitational effects.