An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The arrangement of the seven colors of the rainbow on a disk. When the disk rotates very fast, the eye cannot distinguish between individual colors and the disk is perceived as white. This apparatus demonstrates the discovery made by Newton (Opticks, 1704) that light is composed of seven colors.

→ Newton; → color; → wheel.

Same as the → gravitational constant.

→ Newton; → constant.

A device consisting of a series of equal → pendulums in a row used to demonstrate the laws of → conservation of momentum and → conservation of energy.

→ Newton; → cradle.

→ Newton's color wheel.

→ Newton; → disk.

In → geometric optics, an expression relating the → focal lengths of an → optical system (f and f') and the object x and image x' distances measured from the respective focal points. Thus, ff' = xx'. Same as Newton's formula.

→ Newton; → equation.

A body continues in its state of constant velocity (which may be zero) unless it is acted upon by an external force.

→ Newton; → first; → law; → motion.

An approximate empirical relation between the rate of → heat transfer to or from an object and the temperature difference between the object and its surrounding environment. When the temperature difference is not too large: dT/dt = -k(T - T_s), where T is the temperature of the object, T_s is that of its surroundings, t is time, and k is a constant, different for different bodies.

→ Newton; → law; → cooling.

The universal law which states that the force of attraction between any two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them: F = G (m₁.m₂)/r², where G is the → gravitational constant.

→ Newton; → law; → gravitation.

The three fundamental laws which are the basis of → Newtonian mechanics. They were stated in Newton's Principia (1687). → Newton's first law, → Newton's second law , → Newton's third law.

→ Newton; → law; → motion.

Same as the → Newton-Raphson method.

→ Newton; → method.

Colored circular → fringes formed when light beams reflected from two polished, adjacent surfaces, placed together with a thin film of air between them, interfere. → interference.

→ Newton; → ring.

For an unbalanced force acting on a body, the acceleration produced is proportional to the force impressed; the constant of proportionality is the inertial mass of the body.

→ Newton; → second; → law; → motion.

In classical mechanics, an analytical method applied to a material sphere to determine the gravitational field at a point outside or inside the sphere. Newton's shell theorem states that: 1) The gravitational field outside a uniform spherical shell (i.e. a hollow ball) is the same as if the entire mass of the shell is concentrated at the center of the sphere. 2) The gravitational field inside the spherical shell is zero, regardless of the location within the shell. 3) Inside a solid sphere of constant density, the gravitational force varies linearly with distance from the center, being zero at the center of mass. For the relativistic generalization of this theorem, see → Birkhoff's theorem.

→ Newton; → shell; → theorem.

In a system where no external forces are present, every action force is always opposed by an equal and opposite reaction.

→ Newton; → third; → law; → motion.

The formula expressing the value of a → definite integral of a given function over an interval as the difference of the values at the end points of the interval of any → antiderivative of the function: ∫f(x)dx = F(b) - F(a), summed from x = a to x = b.

Named after Isaac → Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who both knew the rule, although it was published later; → formula.

The incompatibility between → Galilean relativity and Mawxell's theory of → electromagnetism. Maxwell demonstrated that electrical and magnetic fields propagate as waves in space. The propagation speed of these waves in a vacuum is given by the expression c = (ε₀.μ₀)^-0.5, where ε₀ is the electric → permittivity and μ₀ is the magnetic → permeability, both → physical constants. Maxwell noticed that this value corresponds exactly to the → speed of light in vacuum. This implies, however, that the speed of light must also be a universal constant, just as are the electrical and the magnetic field constants! The problem is that → Maxwell's equations do not relate this velocity to an absolute background and specify no → reference frame against which it is measured. If we accept that the principle of relativity not only applies to mechanics, then it must also be true that Maxwell's equations apply in any → inertial frame, with the same values for the universal constants. Therefore, the speed of light should be independent of the movement of its source. This, however, contradicts the vector addition of velocities, which is a verified principle within → Newtonian mechanics. Einstein was bold enough to conclude that the principle of Newtonian relativity and Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism are incompatible! In other words, the → Galilean transformation and the → Newtonian relativity principle based on this transformation were wrong. There exists, therefore, a new relativity principle, → Einsteinian relativity, for both mechanics and electrodynamics that is based on the → Lorentz transformation.

→ Newton; → Maxwell; → incompatibility.

A method for finding roots of a → polynomial that makes explicit use of the → derivative of the function. It uses → iteration to continually improve the accuracy of the estimated root. If f(x) has a → simple root near x_n then a closer estimate to the root is x_n + 1 where x_n + 1 = x_n - f(x_n)/f'(x_n). The iteration begins with an initial estimate of the root, x₀, and continues to find x₁, x₂, . . . until a suitably accurate estimate of the position of the root is obtained. Also called → Newton's method.

→ Newton found the method in 1671, but it was not actually published until 1736; Joseph Raphson (1648-1715), English mathematician, independently published the method in 1690.

Of or pertaining to Sir Isaac Newton or to his theories or discoveries.

Newtonian, from → Newton + -ian a suffix forming adjectives.

A particular solution of the → general relativity when the → gravitational mass is small. The → space-time is then approximated to the → Minkowski's and this leads to → Newtonian mechanics.

→ Newtonian; → approximation.

Same as the → gravitational constant.

→ Newtonian; → constant; → gravitation.