Probing the Universe

The secret life of Sir Isaac Newton: Three things you didn’t know

Post published:November 6, 2020
Post category:Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727) might just be the greatest English physicist and mathematician of all time. According to a poll of scientists conducted by Physics World magazine in December 1999, Isaac Newton was voted the second greatest physicist of all time, only after Albert Einstein. But even Albert Einstein himself is said to have kept a picture of Isaac Newton on his study wall, along with those of James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday. Such is the influence of the great man.

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The Falling Apple Story: How Sir Isaac Newton Discovered Gravity.

Post published:October 25, 2020
Post category:Gravitation and Isaac Newton

As the legend goes, Isaac Newton was inspired to develop his ideas on gravity by taking notice of an apple falling from a tree.

This is how William Stukeley who visited Newton a year before his death recounts a conversation with him, “After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden and drank tea, under the shade of some apple trees … he told me he was just in the same situation, as when formerly the notion of gravity came into his mind …¹”.

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What is motion in physics?

Post published:October 11, 2020
Post category:Motion

Defining motion

We may define “motion” as the change in the position of an object with time. But what do we really mean by “change in position”?

The Statue of Liberty in New York does not change its position with time, our definition leads us to conclude that it is not in motion – yet it is. The Earth is rotating on its axis, it is also revolving around the sun, even our solar system is revolving around the center of our Milky Way galaxy, and the whole universe is expanding somehow.

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The definition of displacement in physics

Post published:September 21, 2020
Post category:On Vectors

Displacement is usually defined as a vector that relates the final position of an object relative to its initial position. But what exactly does this statement mean?

For that, let’s take a road trip.

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What are vectors in Physics?

Post published:August 26, 2020
Post category:Making Sense series On Vectors

In physics, vectors are quantities completely specified by magnitude and direction only. But why would physicists and mathematicians be interested in such quantities?

In this article I will show that vectors arise naturally as we try to understand the physical universe. And that the special feature of direction is both fundamental and consequential in developing physical quantities.

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Defining motion

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