The Principia and its price
1.[3p] Io orbits Jupiter at 2.819e-3 AU with a period of 4.843e-3 years. Jupiter's mass is one part in how many of the sun's?
Io orbits Jupiter at 2.819e-3 AU with a period of 4.843e-3 years. Jupiter's mass is one part in how many of the sun's?
2.[3p] What does the combination of a satellite's distance cubed over its period squared measure?
What does the combination of a satellite's distance cubed over its period squared measure?
The answer is: The mass of the body it orbits
The answer is: The mass of the body it orbits
The answer is: The mass of the body it orbits
3.[3p] Which of these did universal gravitation account for that nothing before it could?
Which of these did universal gravitation account for that nothing before it could?
Select all that apply
The answer is: Two high tides a day, timed by the moon, The precession of the equinoxes, The oblate shape of a rotating earth, The return of a comet after 76 years
4.[3p] Why did Newton's predicted flattening of 1 part in 230 come out larger than the true 1 in 298?
Why did Newton's predicted flattening of 1 part in 230 come out larger than the true 1 in 298?
The answer is: He assumed uniform density, whereas the earth's mass is concentrated towards the centre
The answer is: He assumed uniform density, whereas the earth's mass is concentrated towards the centre
The answer is: He assumed uniform density, whereas the earth's mass is concentrated towards the centre
5.[2p] A degree of latitude measures 110.6 km at the equator and 111.7 km at the pole. What is the difference, in kilometres?
A degree of latitude measures 110.6 km at the equator and 111.7 km at the pole. What is the difference, in kilometres?
6.[3p] Why does Clairaut's perturbation calculation make the 1759 comet a stronger test than a bare prediction of return?
Why does Clairaut's perturbation calculation make the 1759 comet a stronger test than a bare prediction of return?
The answer is: It used the masses of Jupiter and Saturn to compute a specific delay, a question no rival theory could even ask
The answer is: It used the masses of Jupiter and Saturn to compute a specific delay, a question no rival theory could even ask
The answer is: It used the masses of Jupiter and Saturn to compute a specific delay, a question no rival theory could even ask
7.[2p] Newton regarded action at a distance as satisfactory and defended it as the natural way for matter to behave.
Newton regarded action at a distance as satisfactory and defended it as the natural way for matter to behave.
The answer is: False
8.[3p] What does hypotheses non fingo amount to, as a change in what counts as knowledge?
What does hypotheses non fingo amount to, as a change in what counts as knowledge?
The answer is: A mathematically exact law with confirmed predictions counts, even with no account of what produces it
The answer is: A mathematically exact law with confirmed predictions counts, even with no account of what produces it
The answer is: A mathematically exact law with confirmed predictions counts, even with no account of what produces it
9.[3p] Match each critic or advocate to their part in the reception of the Principia.
Match each critic or advocate to their part in the reception of the Principia.
Christiaan Huygens
Gottfried Leibniz
Voltaire
Emilie du Chatelet
promoted Newton's philosophy to a French readership in the 1730s
called gravitation an occult quality and a perpetual miracle
translated the Principia into French with her own commentary
admired the mathematics and called the principle of attraction absurd
Show the answer
Christiaan Huygens: admired the mathematics and called the principle of attraction absurd Gottfried Leibniz: called gravitation an occult quality and a perpetual miracle Voltaire: promoted Newton's philosophy to a French readership in the 1730s Emilie du Chatelet: translated the Principia into French with her own commentary