<[Bill Leach 950717.03:23 U.S. Eastern Time Zone]
Bruce Abbott
I meant to make a comment on one of your remarks...
How many scientists questioned Newton's work? It took better than 300
years for Einstein to come along and show that Newton's conception of
the universe was fundamentally wrong.
If possible, Einstein would turn over in his grave at that statement.
Whenever someone told him that he had "dethroned" Newton, he would almost
"go balistic". He would quickly point out that his relativity equations
reduce to Newton's equations at less than relativistic velocities.
-bill
[From Bruce Abbott (950717.1110 EST)]
Bill Leach 950717.03:23 U.S. Eastern Time Zone --
If possible, Einstein would turn over in his grave at that statement.
Whenever someone told him that he had "dethroned" Newton, he would almost
"go balistic". He would quickly point out that his relativity equations
reduce to Newton's equations at less than relativistic velocities.
Bill, I am aware of the fact that Newton's _equations_ emerge unscathed from
Einstein's theory (at ordinary speeds). What Einstein destroyed was
Newton's _theory_, the conception of the universe that lay beneath his
equations. Newton thought that empty space was truly empty and yet retained
rigid dimensions of length, width, and height, and that time was constant
everywhere. Einstein held that the dimensions of space and time are not
fixed but bend and warp.
Regards,
Bruce