![]() The average bag of English coins was just a hodgepodge of damaged and unrecognizable silver chunks. So what did people do? Why, they melted down the coins or "clipped" silver from the edges to sell to France.īy Newton's time, clipping had done a number on the nation's currency. The country's currency consisted entirely of silver coins, and that silver was often worth more than the value stamped on it. See, by the late 1600s, England's financial system was in full-blown crisis mode. No transmutations were reported.Īnd since counterfeiting was then a capital offense in Britain, the miscreants he brought to justice typically wound up at the execution block. In 2005, historian Newman reproduced this same stone by following Newton's 300-year-old notes. While not quite an invention, the stone illustrates much about the mind and times of this scientific icon. Ultimately a fruitless effort, Newton managed to produce a purple copper alloy. This led Newton to texts on the philosopher's stone, which he attempted to decode in order to produce the mysterious substance itself. According to historian William Newman, he sought "limitless power over nature." Thirty years' worth of experimental notebooks, however, reveal that Newton's sights were set on far more than chemical reactions or even the promise of gold. Alchemy hadn't quite been kicked to the curb as outdated quackery, and for all their occultism and mystical philosophy, alchemical texts also dabbled in very real chemistry. Since we have about 9 x 10 8 breaths, each breath of ours has about 7 molecules also breathed by Isaac Newton.Why did one of the greatest scientific icons involve himself with alchemy? To answer that question, you have to remember that the scientific revolution was just gaining steam in the 1600s. Multiplying by the fraction breathed by Newton, each breath of ours has about 6.08 x 10 9 molecules also breathed by him (D). The number of molecules in each breath of ours is the density 1/(3.3 x 10 -9) 3 = 2.78 x 10 25 m -3, multiplied by the volume of each breath, 10 -3 m 3, or 2.78 x 10 22 molecules. The fraction of air molecules ever breathed by the patron saint of Physics is thus 8.93 x 10 5 / 4.08 x 10 18 = 2.19 x 10 -13. The total volume of the atmosphere is 4 R E 2 h, where R E is the Earth's radius, and h is the height of the atmosphere, giving 4.08 x 10 18 m 3. We will assume that the air mixes well enough that we do not have to worry about air being breathed twice. If each breath of Sir Isaac's (and ours) is about 1 litre = 10 -3 m 3, and they are 3 seconds apart, then in 1727-1642=85 years, he will have had 85 x 365 x 24 x 3600 /3 = 8.93 x 10 8 breaths, for a total volume of 8.93 x 10 5 m 3. It'll take him 7.94 x 10 7 sec to get half-way, about 2.51 years, so the total time to get to Lovelon and then back to earth will be 4 times this, or 10.07 years. At the half-way point he'll be moving at 11.9 x 10 8 m/s, which is near enough Warp 4! This splits the journey exactly in half, due to the obvious symmetry of the motion. ![]() Romeo has to travel half-way to Lovelon, 5 light-years, then reverse his rockets to decelerate for another 5 light years at 15 m/s 2, so that he arrives at low speed for docking. If Romeo travels all the way there at 15 m/s 2, then 10 light-years will take him a time given by 10 x 9.46 x 10 15 = 1/2 x 15 (time) 2 giving 1.123 x 10 8 seconds, or 3.56 years, and he will be moving at 16.85 x 10 8 m/s, which in Startrek language is Warp 5.6! This won't do him much good of course, because he will pass Lovelon at this speed. It's easy to calculate the time to get to Lovelon, and each light year representsġ light-year = 365 days/year x 24 hours/day x 3600 seconds/hour x 3 x 10 8 m/s = 9.46 x 10 15 m. ![]() This is a straightforward s = (1/2)a t 2 problem, to ease students into the exam.
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