Philosophy of Space and Time Essay

At the end of the nineteenth century, physicists were looking back at an era of proceed unrivaled in known history. Classical, or Newtonian, physical science explained the motion of objects in space and on earth, Keplers laws accurately predicted planetary motion, and Maxwells electromagnetic unified electricity and magnetism theory and predicted, correctly, that electromagnetic waves be suck ind hardly like leisurely paving the way for the recognition that sapless itself was an electromagnetic wave.It appeargond that the world was explained. It was not to be. Two revolutionary theories were introduced that changed forever the way in which scientists and lay concourse alike view the universe. These were the Theory of Relativity and Quantum natural philosophy (Giancoli 730) . Physicists at the turn of the century assumed that any wave moldiness travel through some medium. This assumption required there to be some transparent substance in space that would allow trip out to prop agate through it, much like a ripple on the water.They knew that this could not be air, since light traveled from stars to the earth through the emptiness of space. Another medium had to be responsible. This medium was named the Ether and it was thought to hold out in all space. They understood that the ether had a zero density, since it was truly difficult to detect (Giancoli 731). Two physicists in the 1880s, Michelson and Morley, designed a tricksy try out that they thought would determine the speed of the Earth in bailiwick around the sun.They anticipated being able to measure the speed of light in different orientations. They anticipated that the speed would vary with the orientation of the light wave to the ether. What they discovered was that the speed was constant. They believed there experiment was a failure. What their experiment showed, although they did not accept it, was that the ether did not exist. In 1905 Albert Einstein proposed a theory that reconciled this a nd other issues.This theory would change how scientists and lay people viewed space, time, mass, and energy (Giancoli 730). Einsteins equation relating mass and energy, E = MC2, is easily recognizable. It brings together matter and energy as different forms of the same substance. This would impeach that mass could be converted directly to energy, and vice versa. This radical red from classical physics had several implications, both for scientists and for our culture. For scientists, the theory of relativity complete the ultimate speed limit.The speed of light in a vacuum, c, is as fast as anything can go (Giancoli 748). Culturally, the discovery of relativity and quantum physics made possible such things as nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and health check imagery such as MRI Scans, CAT Scans, and PET scans. The approach of nuclear weapons changed our monastic order. Nuclear attacks were a common theme in Hollywood films. Citizens built there own bomb shelters, argued the pros and cons of the nuclear power industry, and entertain enjoyed the advances in medicine.Indeed, our society now takes for granted these advances, and assumes that there will be a continued rapid advance as our knowledge run aground improves. Cosmology, or the study of the universe, has benefited from the theory of relativity. Many phenomenons, such as black-market holes, are only describable in terms of relativity and quantum physics. The approaching of space telescopes, radio telescopes, and optical telescopes that detect emissions outside of the visible spectrum have shown the world the images of a universe unlike the one that was believed to exist undecomposed a hundred years ago (Giancoli 914-942).The search for extra-terrestrial life was instigated with the federal official governments backing. The private citizens embraced this search, of 3 so much so that when the government digress funding SETI, individual citizens continued to support it. The discovery of relativity, q uantum physics, and the new reputation of cosmology has changed not only the scientific community but society as a whole. SETI, CAT scans, an Einsteins name are household terms. The changes in perception of the world around us authentically cannot be overstated.