I’ve discussed before how there may be two different one-way speeds of light since they are matters of convention. See here and here. This post is concerned with the transformation between two observers in such a case. I continue to work with the standard configuration, see here. The standard transformation of reference frames begins with […]
This post continues previous ones contrasting ancient and modern space and time, such as here. The above bronze-age depiction of the Sun on a chariot shows a common image from antiquity: the Sun crossing the heavens daily. The path of the Sun was also described as traversing a celestial circle (or sphere) and going around
With circular motion there is a radius and circumference that may be measured as distance or duration. Call the spatial circumference S, and the temporal circumference T, which is known as the period. Distinguish the spatial and temporal versions of the radius, R, and the angle of motion, θ, by using Rs and Rt, and
This post continues a series of posts. The previous one is here. Modern natural science attempts a systematic account of the causes of change in the physical world, and is willing to go against the appearance of the physical world if that will further its goals. This differs from the ancient Platonic attempt to “save
This post follows on the previous post here, as well as other posts such as here. The one-way speed of light is a convention (see John A. Winnie, Philosophy of Science, v. 37, 1970). The two-way (round-trip) speed of light is known to be c, but the one-way speed may vary between c/2 and infinity,
This post continues the topic of the previous post here. Every pair of contrary opposites may have one or more conventions associated with it. That is because there is a symmetry between the two that can be reversed. Note this is not the case with contradictory opposites: they are not symmetric. Note also that terms
This post relates to the previous post here, as well as posts on light conventions here and here. There comes a point in science in which a convention needs to be adopted in order to avoid confusion and ensure consistency. The tendency, however, is to think that the convention adopted is real, that is, that
A theory of levity might be hilarious but the basic sense of the word levity is lightness, the opposite of gravity’s heaviness. In Aristotle levity is like buoyancy, as some things in water float and others sink. Aristotle commits himself to gravity and levity as two distinct qualities, both of them positive. Fire has levity
This post is related to the one on circular orbits. I’ll continue to follow the exposition in Elements of Newtonian Mechanics by J.M. Knudsen and P.G. Hjorth (Spriner, 1995), this time starting with page 33. As before, the point is to derive a temporo-spatial theory that is symmetric with the spatio-temporal one. Although the parallel
I’ve written on my understanding of centrism here and here. The essence of centrism is an acceptance of a limit for everything. This means there are limits in all directions. The image of this is a closed convex curve with a center in the middle of the region enclosed. Without limits, there is no center.
