In The Grip Of The Distant Universe: The Science Of Inertia The Science of Inertia

This is a book about the history of the science of inertia. Nobody denies the existence of the forces of inertia, but they are branded as “fictitious” because they do not fit smoothly into modern physics. Named by Kepler and given mathematical form by Newton, the force of inertia remains aloof because it has no obvious local cause. At the end of the 19th century, Ernst Mach bravely claimed that the inertia of an object was the result of its instantaneous interaction with all matter in the universe.Many other well-known physicists, including Aristotle, Galileo, Descartes and Einstein, are shown to have tackled this difficult subject. The book also concentrates on inertia research in the 20th century, taking place under the shadow of general relativity, which is seen as uncomfortable with Mach's principle. A Newtonian paradigm, based on action-at-a-distance forces, is discussed throughout the book, allowing the revival of Mach's principle as the only coherent explanation of the inertia forces which play such an important role in the laboratory and in the cosmos. Contents 12 Chapter 1 All Matter Instantaneously Senses All Other Matter in the Universe 13 Chapter 1 References 33 Chapter 2 Johannes Kepler - The Astronomer who Coined the Word Inertia 34 Chapter 2 References 52 Chapter 3 Free Fall - A Hardly Believable Story of Science 53 Chapter 3 References 82 Chapter 4 The Cartesian Interlude - A Novel Cosmology 83 Chapter 4 References 98 Chapter 5 Newton's Force of Inertia - The Basis of Dynamics 99 Newton's 3rd Law - Action and Reaction 106 Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation 111 Newton's 2nd Law - The Force of Inertia 118 Manifestations of the Force of Inertia 124 Relative Rotation 133 The Newtonian Legacy 135 Chapter 5 References 136 Chapter 6 A Century of Consolidation - The Early Practitioners of Newtonian Dynamics 137 Chapter 6 References 153 Chapter 7 Mach's Magic Principle - The Unique Inertial System 154 Chapter 7 References 177 Chapter 8 Albert Einstein - Inertia Obscured by Gravitation 178 Chapter 8 References 200 Chapter 9 Inducing Inertia - An Electromagnetic Analogy 201 Chapter 9 References 215 Chapter 10 Retarded Action at a Distance - A Short Lived Misnomer 216 Chapter 10 References 231 Chapter 11 Clock Confusion in the 20th Century - The Connection Between Inertia and Timekeeping 232 London Rebels 234 The Foundations of 20th Century Physics 239 The Michelson-Morley Myth 241 The Experimental Tests of Special Relativity 248 Chapter 11 References 266 Chapter 12 Machian Inertia and the Isotropic Universe - A New Force Law 268 A New Force Law 270 The Fractal Universe 273 A Return to the Newtonian Paradigm 278 Chapter 12 References 280 Index 281 This is a book about the history of the science of inertia. Nobody denies the existence of the forces of inertia, but they are branded as "fictitious" because they do not fit smoothly into modern physics. Named by Kepler and given mathematical form by Newton, the force of inertia remains aloof because it has no obvious local cause. At the end of the 19th century, Ernst Mach bravely claimed that the inertia of an object was the result of its instantaneous interaction with all matter in the universe. Many other well-known physicists, including Aristotle, Galileo, Descartes and Einstein, are shown to have tackled this difficult subject. The book also concentrates on inertia research in the 20th century, taking place under the shadow of general relativity, which is seen as uncomfortable with Mach's principle. A Newtonian paradigm, based on action-at-a-distance forces, is discussed throughout the book, allowing the revival of Mach's principle as the only coherent explanation of the inertia forces which play such an important role in the laboratory and in the cosmos "This is a book about the history of the science of inertia. The book also concentrates on inertia research in the 20th century, taking place under the shadow of general relativity, which is seen as uncomfortable with Mach's principle. A Newtonian paradigm, based on action-at-a-distance forces, is discussed throughout the book, allowing the revival of Mach's principle as the only coherent explanation of the inertia forces which play such an important role in the laboratory and in the cosmos."--Jacket