![]() The scientific method works in repeatable fashion, independent of one’s beliefs. However, at the moment the string broke, it was moving in the direction of 2, and Newton’s first law says that it will continue moving in that direction this result has been confirmed by numerous actual experiments.Įxperiments, careful observations, and measurements form the basis of the scientific method, and anyone can use it, Mormon or Muslim, Baptist or Buddhist. Initially the hockey puck was constrained by the unbalanced force of the string to move in a circle. Newton’s first law of motion can be expressed this way: An object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Newton generalized the results of many such experiments in his famous three Laws of Motion. It does not travel outward or continue in a circle. And when we actually perform the experiment, we find that the moving puck follows path 2. Approximately which way will the puck go-path number 1, 2, 3, or 4? When I have put this question to groups of people, the answers have included 1, 2, 3, and 4, with many not being at all sure what will happen.īut we do not do science by voting. Suddenly, at point P at the bottom the string breaks. Imagine a puck held by a string on a central peg so that it travels in a circular path on a “frictionless” air table like those used in air hockey games. Let us consider a quick thought experiment to get us thinking along Newtonian lines. In this paper we will examine some of Newton’s copious writings on religion. Eventually the remainder came forth when the manuscripts were auctioned off in 1936. ![]() Newton also believed that a general apostasy from Christ’s doctrines occurred early on in the history of the Christian church, and he wrote that a restoration of the Lord’s church would come at some future time.Īlthough none of Newton’s religious writings were published during his lifetime, after his death in 1727, John Conduitt, executor of Newton’s will, published some of his theological manuscripts. Notably, Newton concluded that the dogma of a Triune god was false doctrine and therefore refused ordination in the Anglican Church, a most unpopular decision that almost cost him his position at Cambridge University. We learn from his writings that he deeply studied the Bible along with writings of early Christian leaders. He rejected the authority of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and promoted experiment-based science.īut it is not commonly known that Newton was also a devout Christian who wrote extensively about Christianity. He wrote much about light and optics after performing his own original experiments on light. He discovered the law of universal gravitation, the famous inverse-distance-squared law. He laid out the three laws of motion in his extraordinary Principia Mathematica. Newton was certainly one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. Jones is a professor emeritus of physics, Brigham Young University.
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