|
|
Griechische Physik Ancient Greek Physics and Meteorology The word “physics,” comes from the Greek word phusis (φύσις). This is usually translated as “nature,” but not nature in the sense that we usually use the word. Aristotle might say that phusis is the internal activity that makes anything what it is. Our word for nature comes from Latin roots having to do with birth and growth, and these associations are present in the Greek word as well. It is in the “nature” of a human embryo to develop into a fetus, to be born, and eventually to become a mature human being. This is the internal activity that makes it what it is. One of Aristotle’s most influential books is entitled simply Phusis, or as it is always translated, Physics. Alfred. W. Stetz , Beginning with Aristotle, Life, the Universe and Everything It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that even in 1900 the only new idea to Leucippus's theory was that each chemical element was identified with a separate atomic species. David Park, The How and the Why: An Essay on the Origins and Development of Physical Theory. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990. What I am going to tell you about is what we teach . . . you’re not going to be able to understand it. You see, my physics students don’t understand it either. That is because I don’t understand it. Nobody does. Richard Feynman. QED. The strange theory of light and matter Ancient Greek physics mainly started with Archimedes and his mechanics of the lever and hydrostatic discoveries. Democritus, Leucippus and other provided the first atomic model. Geometric optics was also developed and atmospheric physics phenomena were studied. Plato's mathematical Universe model using regular polyhedra and triangles as constituents of the world is the first theory of everything (TOE) similar to modern theories such as Superstrings, that are mathematical and symmetry based. Recently a dodecahedron shaped Universe is proposed. Even if some day maybe we will have a theory that explains everything probably it will predict almost nothing as the results depends so sensitive on the initial conditions and whatever our accuracy is we will only be able to make short terms predictions. I think that an ancient Greek said this also before 2000 years: , Socrates searching for explanations of natural phenomena and how he explains atmospheric phenomena (Aristophanes)
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Contact - Search - Statistics |