Classical Physics, Wk 8

Newton's 3 Laws & Me (Katy)

1) Objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion in a straight line at constant velocity.  A force must be applied to change the state of motion of an object.

This is how I would describe just one part of the pattern that is my life, and I'm sure everybody else's.  I feel like my spirit keeps going on and on, on a constant ride of life.  I'm just not sure how straight that line is, it seems pretty bumpy, but in a good way.  We could all use a little friction in our lives!

2) The acceleration (velocity, not speed) of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it, and inversely proportional to its mass.

I'm living for something, a big picture in my mind about who, what and why I'm here and I'm making those thoughts and goals a reality.  We are all capable of this.  This drive to be what we want to be is how I see this law.  If I put in the time, effort, love, understanding, patience, etc, I'll get that back and my life will be as bountiful as I made it to be.  This is my responsibility to myself.

3) It two objects interact, the force exerted by object 1 on object 2 is matched by a force exerted by object 2 on object 1 of the same size, but not in the opposite direction.  In other words, action and reaction.

This law just makes sense.  For every action, there is a reaction.  Brilliant!

Our "Energy Efficient" Culture

Energy efficient?  Unfortunately, not our culture.  I think we waste a lot of pretentious energy talking about how energy efficient we are.  Not everybody agrees completely that we are energy efficient, as they shouldn't.  Admittedly, on those nights when burning a candle seems more logical, I don't always think about it.  I'm too much into this culture to even think about it until after the fact, when I acknowledge my poor efforts to be energy conscious.  I can't give myself too much of a hard time, I mean, we're in the age of technology, right?  Well, technology has its positives and negatives, and it also leaves an imprint on our brains that energy isn't just a resource of luxury that should be valued and used appropriately.  Energy is wasted every day on stupid stuff, using our dryers as irons for 15 mins in the morning while showering.  Good trick, invest in a water bottle, spray and walk out of the house.  It's that simple!

I could be a smart-a$$ about all of this, but it is a serious issue and it deeply saddens me that there are cultures out there that haven't ever had a warm bath!  That's something that we take for granted everyday; we're just so wasteful.  I would like to think of myself as somebody removed from that greediness, but it's all around.  We're fortunate, but we're also extremely spoiled.  Of course there's a lot more to say, but that's all for now.  :o)  YANG!!!

DESCARTES

Whadda man!  I learned that Descartes abandoned his life in the army for a pursuit of truth, using mathematics for his explanations.  This doesn't seem like a wasted life to me.  I took this from an article I found online:

"In 1628 Cardinal de Berulle, the founder of the Oratorians, met Descartes, and was so much impressed by his conversation that he urged on him the duty of devoting his life to the examination of truth. Descartes agreed, and the better to secure himself from interruption moved to Holland, then at the height of his power. There for twenty years he lived, giving up all his time to philosophy and mathematics. Science, he says, may be compared to a tree; metaphysics is the root, physics is the trunk, and the three chief branches are mechanics, medicine, and morals, these forming the three applications of our knowledge, namely, to the external world, to the human body, and to the conduct of life."

Many men have contributed their life works to teaching for years to come.  Their teachings have become part of science, part of a tree and roots that we can derive more knowledge from.  If only he knew he was going on in history to become a major limb in the Tree of Science.