The Mechanical Universe (1985)

Jan 1, 1985

This preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.

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Galileo's imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.

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The function of mathematics in physical science and the derivative as a practical tool.

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Galileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the universe with his law of inertia.

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Physics must explain not only why and how much, but also where and which way.

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Newton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.

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Newton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.

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The first real steps toward space travel are made as Newton discovers that gravity describes the force between any two particles in the universe.

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A look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.

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All physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces: two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.

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Shedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces.

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A dramatic recreation of Millikan's classic oil-drop experiment to determine the charge of a single electron.

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According to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither created nor destroyed.

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Potential energy provides a powerful model for understanding why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.

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What keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?

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The music and mathematics of periodic motion.

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Why a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a wine glass shatters with a higher octave.

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With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.

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An old momentum with a new twist.

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From spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.

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The discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.

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The deduction of Kepler's laws from Newton's universal law of gravitation is one of the crowning achievements of Western thought.

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The precise orbit of a heavenly body — a planet, asteroid, or comet — is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and angular momentum.

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Voyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets around the solar system.

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From Kepler's laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein's general theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.

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A last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections between old discoveries.

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The world of electricity and magnetism, and 20th-century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics.

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Eighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest of an audience with the principles of static electricity.

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Faraday's vision of lines of constant force in space laid the foundation for the modern force field theory.

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Franklin proposes a successful theory of the Leyden jar and invents the parallel plate capacitor.

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When is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?

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Volta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of different metals.

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The work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design and analysis of how current flows.

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Gilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet. Modern scientists have learned even more.

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The law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents, and Ampère's law.

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Force fields have definite properties of their own suitable for scientific study.

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The discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric power.

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Electromagnetic induction makes it easy to generate alternating current while transformers make it practical to distribute it over long distances.

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Maxwell discovers that displacement current produces electromagnetic waves or light.

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Many properties of light are properties of waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction.

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In 1887, an exquisitely designed measurement of the earth's motion through the ether results in the most brilliant failure in scientific history.

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If the speed of light is to be the same for all observers, then the length of a meter stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who measures it.

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Einstein is motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics, resulting in a new understanding of the meaning of space and time.

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The new meaning of space and time make it necessary to formulate a new mechanics.

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Hot discoveries about the behavior of gases make the connection between temperature and heat.

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The Carnot engine, part one, beginning with simple steam engines.

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The Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.

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With the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.

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A history of the atom, from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century, and a new challenge for the world of physics.

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Evidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to quantum mechanics, the new physics.

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Electron waves attracted to the nucleus of an atom help account for the periodic table of the elements and ultimately lead to the search for quarks.

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A last look at where we've been and a peek into the future.