Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is a giant in the world of science. The story about his discovery of gravity after watching an apple fall is probably that – a story. People already knew something made things fall toward the earth when nothing was holding them up. They already knew they had to hold on when they climbed a tree or a mountain.
What Isaac Newton did was to realize that gravity was the force that every material body exerts on every other body. Gravity is universal.
We need to start with the world view in Newton’s day. They saw the earth as the center of the universe. Copernicus (1473-1543) had proposed a Sun-centered model of the universe. Galileo (1564-1642) had studied the phases of Venus and the four bright moons of Jupiter and provided strong evidence against the Earth-centered model of the Solar System. Galileo also studied the motions of falling bodies and laid the experimental groundwork for Newton’s laws of motion.
Though many were beginning to believe the Sun was the center of the Solar System they still thought the celestial sphere was an enormous sphere to which the stars appeared to be fixed. There were other spheres that held the planets or “wondering stars.”
Newton did not discover gravity but he did realize that the same force that caused the apple to fall was the same force that acted on the moon and planets. Newton learned from Galileo and studied the careful observations of Tycho (1546-1601) and Kepler (1571-1630). Kepler had used Tycho’s careful measurements and developed three laws of planetary motion. Kepler made a significant revision of the Copernican model.
With the information from those who preceded him, added to his own studies of moving objects, Newton postulate that the same force that acted on the apple acted on the moon and the other planets. He came to believe that gravity really is universal. The same physical law that worked on Earth worked on the Sun, the Moon and the planets. Newton put these down as his three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation published in his book PRINCIPIA.
Newton did not try to speculate about the nature of gravity but he did rightly understand the effect it had on all material bodies.
Why should gravity be universal? Why would a ball thrown in the air on some far away world behave the same way it would behave on earth? Why should any physical law be universal?
The only answer is found in creation. There is one God who is also the Creator. The laws of nature are universal because the universe and all that is here was created by one God. The Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)
© 2010 Ed Handkins
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Copernican Revolution
The Copernican Revolution
By Ed Handkins
The advance of science has been a process of discovery. Little by little we have realized that the universe is a lot bigger and more complex than we ever imagined. We have learned that what seems to “common sense” may not even be correct.
When we look at the world, it really does look like the sun “comes up” in the east and “sets” in the west. We know it appears to be that way, not because the sun moves but because the earth rotates. Yes, from a local perspective the earth may even appear to be flat, stationary and it can look like the universe revolves around us. It took a series of discoveries to some of the things that are really happening.
Nicholas Copernicus, (1473-1543) a Polish astronomer, concluded the earth really did move around the sun – just like the other “wandering stars” or planets. He made his case that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe. He shook the world view of his time. “Common sense” was indeed common but it was not correct.
I suppose if Copernicus has lived in our time he would conclude that the universe really revolved around him.
Because we are “self aware” we focus on the world from our own perspective. It takes mental discipline to see the world and the universe from a new perspective. Copernicus helped change our point of view. The march toward a greater understanding of our universe and where we fit in continues today. The truth is we have not yet reached a full understanding of our universe and how it works – and may never reach that complete understanding.
Even as we realize how small and insignificant earth is in the grand scheme of the universe we are also realizing how unique earth is as a place where life, as we understand it, can exist. We are not too close to the sun and we are not too far away. Our sun is not too large nor too small. Just like Goldilocks everything appears “just right.” We have enough water, the right amount of air to breath and a biosphere that sustains itself.
What could account for our good fortune? I believe there is a design – and thus a designer. He has left clues for us to follow. In these blog I will explore some of these clues and show some of the ways God reveals Himself through His creation. We are not the center of the universe – God is!
None of the clues are considered “proofs” of the existence of God but when you put them all together I believe there is overwhelming evidence of God and his nature.
©Ed Handkins 2010
By Ed Handkins
The advance of science has been a process of discovery. Little by little we have realized that the universe is a lot bigger and more complex than we ever imagined. We have learned that what seems to “common sense” may not even be correct.
When we look at the world, it really does look like the sun “comes up” in the east and “sets” in the west. We know it appears to be that way, not because the sun moves but because the earth rotates. Yes, from a local perspective the earth may even appear to be flat, stationary and it can look like the universe revolves around us. It took a series of discoveries to some of the things that are really happening.
Nicholas Copernicus, (1473-1543) a Polish astronomer, concluded the earth really did move around the sun – just like the other “wandering stars” or planets. He made his case that the sun, not the earth was the center of the universe. He shook the world view of his time. “Common sense” was indeed common but it was not correct.
I suppose if Copernicus has lived in our time he would conclude that the universe really revolved around him.
Because we are “self aware” we focus on the world from our own perspective. It takes mental discipline to see the world and the universe from a new perspective. Copernicus helped change our point of view. The march toward a greater understanding of our universe and where we fit in continues today. The truth is we have not yet reached a full understanding of our universe and how it works – and may never reach that complete understanding.
Even as we realize how small and insignificant earth is in the grand scheme of the universe we are also realizing how unique earth is as a place where life, as we understand it, can exist. We are not too close to the sun and we are not too far away. Our sun is not too large nor too small. Just like Goldilocks everything appears “just right.” We have enough water, the right amount of air to breath and a biosphere that sustains itself.
What could account for our good fortune? I believe there is a design – and thus a designer. He has left clues for us to follow. In these blog I will explore some of these clues and show some of the ways God reveals Himself through His creation. We are not the center of the universe – God is!
None of the clues are considered “proofs” of the existence of God but when you put them all together I believe there is overwhelming evidence of God and his nature.
©Ed Handkins 2010
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