Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Physicists crack unsolvable three-body problem using drunkard's walk ... It has plagued scientists since the days of Isaac Newton.
https://www.livescience.com ^ | January 4, 2022 | By Ashley Hamer

Posted on 01/04/2022 12:20:44 PM PST by Red Badger

A physics problem that has plagued science since the days of Isaac Newton is closer to being solved, say a pair of Israeli researchers. The duo used "the drunkard's walk" to calculate the outcome of a cosmic dance between three massive objects, or the so-called three-body problem.

For physicists, predicting the motion of two massive objects, like a pair of stars, is a piece of cake. But when a third object enters the picture, the problem becomes unsolvable. That's because when two massive objects get close to each other, their gravitational attraction influences the paths they take in a way that can be described by a simple mathematical formula. But adding a third object isn't so simple: Suddenly, the interactions between the three objects become chaotic. Instead of following a predictable path defined by a mathematical formula, the behavior of the three objects becomes sensitive to what scientists call "initial conditions" — that is, whatever speed and position they were in previously. Any slight difference in those initial conditions changes their future behavior drastically, and because there's always some uncertainty in what we know about those conditions, their behavior is impossible to calculate far out into the future. In one scenario, two of the objects might orbit each other closely while the third is flung into a wide orbit; in another, the third object might be ejected from the other two, never to return, and so on.

CLOSE In a paper published in the journal Physical Review X, scientists used the frustrating unpredictability of the three-body problem to their advantage.

"[The three-body problem] depends very, very sensitively on initial conditions, so essentially it means that the outcome is basically random," said Yonadav Barry Ginat, a doctoral student at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology who co-authored the paper

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Computers/Internet; History; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; bidenswalk; catastrophism; gravity; isaacnewton; mathematics; nbodyproblem; physics; science; spirograph; stringtheory; threebodyproblem; xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-84 next last
To: Red Badger

Solved? Can they make predictions?

Somehow I doubt this. Will be interesting to see how things go with this.


61 posted on 01/04/2022 10:07:17 PM PST by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
"the drunkard's walk"


"It's green!"

Now we know the secret to Captain Kirk's success in space!

-PJ

62 posted on 01/04/2022 10:18:49 PM PST by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TexasGator

Has it been shown there is no closed form solution (e.g. like it’s been shown that an angle can’t be trisected using only a compass and straight edge) or is this still an open problem like the Reimann Hypothesis?


63 posted on 01/05/2022 12:04:29 AM PST by who_would_fardels_bear (This is not a tagline.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: shotgun

Close enough for government work...................


64 posted on 01/05/2022 5:20:44 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

That’s silly.


65 posted on 01/05/2022 5:26:47 AM PST by BubbaBasher ("Liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals" - Sam Adams)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: bunkerhill7

Frankly, there were no French in Julius Caesar’s time, just Bois and Gauls.................


66 posted on 01/05/2022 5:56:37 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: TexasGator

True about the probabilities... physical tolerances are defined so the product will assemble and function properly.
One of the most interesting manufacturing challenges I had was to grind a hemispherical shell of ceramic to the tightest tolerance I could. That included concentric position of the inner and outer hemisphere. Our CMM was a Zeiss with about a 3 micron accuracy and it showed everything spot on. The customer bought 4 of the grinders and had us build 2 frames so they could convert them to CMM’s. Fun project. the hemispheres were about 20” or 500mm across.


67 posted on 01/05/2022 8:02:14 AM PST by Waverunner (I'd like to welcome our new overlords, say hello to my little friend)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
A physics problem that has plagued science since the days of Isaac Newton is closer to being solved, say a pair of Israeli researchers.

We will DEFINITELY be a LOT closer to solving it when we receive our new grant money!

68 posted on 01/06/2022 5:45:48 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TexasGator; Kevmo
A solution was found using a power series but you would need to use 10^8000000 terms.

Kevin, you may want to jump in here.

Or not...

69 posted on 01/06/2022 5:50:58 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: TexasGator

We can thank our lucky stars that a FOURTH body hasn’t said, “Hello...”


70 posted on 01/06/2022 5:52:38 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: bunkerhill7
The French mathematician Vercingetorix solved this problem just before Julius Caesar invaded Gaul.

The web can show us many images of three bodies solving a particular problem, even when the initial conditions are unknown.

71 posted on 01/06/2022 5:59:25 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Lurker

See!


72 posted on 01/06/2022 5:59:44 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: TexasGator

But it IS one of the four possible starting positions.


73 posted on 01/06/2022 6:00:32 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Elsie

I wink in your direction, ma’am.

L


74 posted on 01/06/2022 6:03:38 AM PST by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: Elsie

There are now mathematical solutions being worked out on computers that could never be approached using humans, pen and paper. But this particular problem doesn’t look like they generated a real solution. This is a well known issue in mathematics, similar to a prior issue in math where it didn’t seem possible to calculate the area under a curve with any precision until Liebniz and Newton developed calculus. I think that this particular problem will generate its own new mathematical flourish similar to calculus.


75 posted on 01/06/2022 10:55:56 AM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger; 6SJ7; AdmSmith; AFPhys; Arkinsaw; allmost; aristotleman; autumnraine; bajabaja; ...
They got the idea from watching Joe Buy-Dung. Thanks Red Badger. Another three-fer!


· List topics · post a topic · subscribe · Google ·

76 posted on 02/10/2022 8:00:46 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·
Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·
X-Planets

77 posted on 02/10/2022 8:01:04 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; aragorn; ...



78 posted on 02/10/2022 8:01:28 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SuperLuminal

You need a nice, hot cup of tea /Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy>


79 posted on 02/10/2022 9:05:41 AM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Lurker

If one of the bodies is mine and the other two are attractive nubile females I’d have no difficulty solving this problem.

It would take repeated efforts and long term study, of course.

L
= = = = = = = = =

Doubtless your solution would include simple hormonic motion and the presence of degenerate modes...


80 posted on 02/10/2022 9:11:46 AM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-84 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson