Related papers: Aristotle, projectiles and guns
This work explores a classical mechanical theory under two further assumptions: (a) there is a universal dry friction force (Aristotelian mechanics), and (b) the variation of the mass of a body due to wear is proportional to the work done…
Following Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Castilian (Spanish) and Portuguese rulers engaged in heated geopolitical competition, which was eventually reconciled through a number of treaties that divided the world into two unequal…
Projectile motion is one of the most fundamental problems in introductory physics, offering a clear context to connect algebraic reasoning with conceptual understanding. This work presents a computational and pedagogical framework that…
In this article, I trace the early historical developments that ultimately led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Even after the completion of weapons, many scientists continued to argue that nuclear armaments were indispensable for…
Great opportunities arise for teaching physics, astronomy, and their histories when new discoveries are made that involve concepts accessible to students at every level. Such an opportunity currently exists thanks to the fact that notes…
When Kurt Goedel layed the foundations of theoretical computer science in 1931, he also introduced essential concepts of the theory of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although much of subsequent AI research has focused on heuristics, which…
In the context of physics didactics, alternative instructional approaches have often been employed to facilitate conceptual understanding of various topics. In this article, an alternative formulation for analyzing the motion of bodies on…
The mid-17th century saw unprecedented scientific progress. With the Middle Ages well and truly over, the Scientific Revolution had begun. However, scientific advancement does not always proceed along well-planned trajectories. Chance…
This Inaugural Lecture was given at Royal Holloway University of London in 1996. It covers an introduction to machine learning and describes various theoretical advances and practical projects in the field. The Lecture here is presented in…
Recently, [3], it was shown that Special Relativity is in fact based on one single physical axiom which is that of Reciprocity. Originally, Einstein, [1], established Special Relativity on two physical axioms, namely, the Galilean…
Einstein's theory of Brownian motion is revisited in order to formulate generalized kinetic theory of anomalous diffusion. It is shown that if the assumptions of analyticity and the existence of the second moment of the displacement…
I discuss the physical basis of classical mechanics, such as expressed commonly using the framework of Newton's Principia. Newton's formulation of the laws of motion is seen to have quite a few ambiguities and shortcomings. Therefore I…
Einstein's explanation of Mercury's perihelion motion has been verified by astronomical observations. His formula could also be obtained in Schwarzschild metric and was published already in 1898. Motion along a straight geodesic, however,…
A little known property of free-fall motion is the elliptic locus of the maximum heights attained by coplanar projectiles launched from a single point in different directions with the same initial speed. Another, less known and perhaps…
Physics textbooks assert that in the famous interferometer 1887 experiment to detect absolute motion Michelson and Morley saw no rotation-induced fringe shifts - the signature of absolute motion; it was a null experiment. However this is…
The Scientific Revolution sweeping through seventeenth-century Europe led to unprecedented intellectual and scientific insights and high-profile technological developments. Combined with a significant worldwide increase in naval commerce,…
In Plato's dialogues Republic and Laws, the most important disciplines for the best education of the rulers of the city are identified with arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Those disciplines, however, are not intended for practical…
Around 1930, both Gregory Breit and Erwin Schroedinger showed that the eigenvalues of the velocity of a particle described by wavepacket solutions to the Dirac equation are simply $\pm$c, the speed of light. This led Schroedinger to coin…
Boids, developed by Craig W. Reynolds in 1986, is one of the earliest emergent models where the global pattern emerges from the interaction between many individuals within the local scale. In the original model, Boids follow three rules:…
Spain was a scientifically backward country in the early 19th-century. The causes were various political events, the War of Independence, and the reign of Fernando VII. The introduction of contemporary physics into textbooks was therefore a…