Free Republic

So... it could still get us to Mars in 70 days? Physicists have just published a new paper that suggests the controversial EM drive - or electromagnetic drive - could actually work, and doesn't defy Newton's third law after all. In case you've missed the hype, here's a quick catch-up: a lot of space lovers are freaking out about the EM drive because of claims it could get humans to Mars in just 10 weeks, but just as many are sick of hearing about it, because, on paper at least, it doesn't work within the laws of physics. Despite that...

Sir Isaac Newton...came to the realization that the math that had been used thus far to describe physical motion of massive bodies, simply would not suffice... Newton developed the Calculus in which this way of approaching moving bodies, he was able to accurately model the motion of not only Halley’s comet, but also any other heavenly body that moved across the sky. ... Newton recognized that Kepler’s mathematical equation for planetary motion, Kepler’s 3rd Law ( P2=A3 ), was purely based on empirical observation, and was only meant to measure what we observed within our solar system. Newton’s mathematical brilliance...

Who was the smartest person to ever live? There are certainly many worthy contenders. Today, the very name of "Einstein" is synonymous with genius. Others may suggest Stephen Hawking. Those who appreciate literature and music may proffer William Shakespeare or Ludwig van Beethoven. Historians may recommend Benjamin Franklin. Before I submit my own suggestion, we must first discuss what we even mean by smart. Colloquially, we routinely interchange the words smart and intelligent, but they are not necessarily the same thing. There is an ongoing debate among psychologists, neuroscientists, and artificial intelligence experts on what intelligence actually is, but for...

Nearly three hundred years since his death, Isaac Newton is as much a myth as a man. The mythical Newton abounds in contradictions; he is a semi-divine genius and a mad alchemist, a somber and solitary thinker and a passionate religious heretic. Myths usually have an element of truth to them but how many Newtonian varieties are true? Here are ten of the most common, debunked or confirmed by the evidence of his own private papers, kept hidden for centuries and now freely available online. 10. Newton was a heretic who had to keep his religious beliefs secret. True. While...

The newest episode of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" dove into all things big and small including the history of modern science. Aired Sunday night (March 23), the third episode of the reboot of Carl Sagan's beloved TV show "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" explains how knowledge of the workings of gravity, comets and the solar system changed the way that humans look at the stars and science.

Israeli library uploads Newton's theological texts February 15, 2012 By ARON HELLER , Associated Press Israeli library uploads Newton's theological texts (AP) Israel's national library, an unlikely owner of a vast trove of Newton's writings, has digitized his theological collection, and put it online. More at the link...

January's Physics World features a fanciful re-imagining of the 10-year period in the life of the medieval Muslim polymath, written by Los Angeles-based science writer Jennifer Ouellette... In 11th-century Egypt, Aristotle's ancient thought that visible objects and our own eyes emit rays of light to enable our vision still held... As Ouellette writes, "This is a work of fiction -- a fanciful re-imagining of a 10-year period in the life of Ibn al-Haytham, considered by many historians to be the father of modern optics. Living at the height of the golden age of Arabic science, al-Haytham developed an early version...

Physics was the reason for the Big Bang, not God, according to scientist Stephen Hawking. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," the professor said in his new book, in a challenge to traditional religious beliefs. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," he wrote in his book "The Grand Design," extracts of which are printed in London newspaper The Times. The book, co-written by American physicist Leonard Mlodinow and published next week, sets out to contest Sir Isaac...

Preface. In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities; their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first. We see one nation suddenly seized, from its highest to its lowest members, with a fierce desire of military glory; another as...

JERUSALEM: Renowned British scientist Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics and astronomy, predicted the world would end in 2060. He made the prediction in a 1704 letter that went on show in Jerusalem on Sunday. A famed rationalist, who secured a royal exemption from the ordination in the Church of England that was normally expected of academics of his day so he would not have to follow its teachings, Newton nonetheless based his prediction on a Biblical text. Working from verses in the Book of Daniel, the elaborator of the classical laws of gravity, motion and optics argued...

Moscow, October 6, Interfax – The existence of God has been proved by scientific methods, Academician Anatoly Akimov, director of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics, has stated. ‘There is God, and we can see the manifestations of His will. This is the opinion of many scientists; they not only believe in the Creator but rely on certain knowledge’, he said in an interview published by the Moskovsky komsomolets daily on Friday. The scientist noted that in the past centuries very many physicists believed in God. Moreover, until Isaac Newton, there was no separation between science and religion; science...

Quix note: most color and bold is added for emphasis, by me—as signified by: [QC] for Quix Color. BIBLE CODE DIGEST PART II JULY/AUGUST 2006 Bible Codes: A Sign of the End Times? By Ed Sherman Map of Israel from Wikipedia.org. [was OMITTED as it wouldn't post] Is the discovery of substantive Bible codes a telling sign that we are living in the End Times? Most people intrigued by Bible codes seek predictions of the future. And the more detailed the prediction, the better. But what if the Encoder simply intended that Bible codes would only provide a general prediction...

Schools will be encouraged to hold lessons exploring the achievements of gay men and women throughout history as part of the first gay history month. The project, to be held in February, will highlight the hidden history of household names who would probably today identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, such as William Shakespeare, who was rumoured to be bisexual, and Florence Nightingale, who few people know was a lesbian. Other events covered during the month will include talks on the early years of gays and lesbians in British television and discussions of the history of the British LGBT...