philosophy
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Mass of Nows: A Geometric Theory of Inertia and Gravity Abstract. We propose that inertial and gravitational mass arise from a single geometric mechanism: the resistance a particle encounters when its worldline is forced to cross successive “now-slices” of spacetime. These slices are required by the relativity of simultaneity. A particle at rest crosses one…
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Chapter Two Galileo’s Relativity Aristotle Alfred North Whitehead, the brilliant and somewhat mercurial 20th century philosopher and mathematician once said, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” In many ways the same can be said of Aristotle regarding science. Though he used…
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Chapter Three Maxwell and theLuminferous Aether In 1847 a sixteen year old boy name James Clerk Maxwell was taken to see what was considered one of the “scientific wonders” of the age. It was a special crystal from Iceland that had been cut into a prism. The prism acted as any other prism would, letting…
