A US scientist believes that we have misunderstood the fundamental law of physics for the last 300 years.

In 1687, Isaac Newton presented in Latin three main laws that explained how the motion of all objects in the Universe occurs. These laws have been translated into many languages ​​of the world and are used as the basis for understanding the basic principles of physics. But ScienceAlert writes that, according to a US linguist and mathematician, we may have slightly misinterpreted the formulation of Newton’s first law.

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A scientific article written by linguist and mathematician Daniel Hook from Virginia Tech, USA, was published in the Philosophy of Science publication. In it he points out that the translation of Newton’s laws from Latin to English in 1729 was incorrect.

Important

According to the scientist, many physicists interpret Newton’s first law to mean that an object will continue to move in a straight line or remain at rest until an external force intervenes. This explanation works until it becomes clear that external forces are constantly acting on the object. And Newton most likely took this fact into account when drawing up the law.

Hook checked the archives and found that the misinterpretation went unnoticed until 1999; until two scholars noticed the translation of an overlooked Latin word: quatenus, which meant “until.”

According to the scientist, Newton did not mean that an object maintains its momentum unless external forces act on it. Instead, the famous physicist meant that every change in the momentum of an object, that is, its push, fall, rotation, occurs under the influence of external forces.

Hook writes in his article that the correct interpretation of Newton’s first law returns one of the fundamental principles of physics to its original meaning. But this change was not accepted. Hook admits that the new interpretation of Newton’s law has not and will not change modern physics. But a careful study of Newton’s writings makes it clear what the scientist was thinking at the time, namely why Newton’s first law was presented.

If we take the generally accepted translation that objects move in straight lines until an external force forces them to behave differently, then the question arises: if there is no such thing, why did Newton write the law about bodies free from external forces? Are there always forces of gravity and friction in our universe? According to George Smith from Tufts University in the USA, the whole purpose of Newton’s first law is to reveal the existence of a force.

According to Hook, Newton presented three examples illustrating the first law of motion; The best example was the one at the top. It is known that the spiral slows down due to air friction. Hook, Newton clearly shows us how the first law, as he understands it, applies to objects subjected to forces and accelerating, that is, objects in the real world.

The scientist believes that the modified interpretation of Newton’s law reveals one of the scientist’s most fundamental ideas, which completely revolutionized the 17th century. That means planets, stars and other celestial bodies are subject to the same laws of physics as objects on Earth.

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