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Chapter4 Constants and Change

This document discusses how constants in nature generate change through mathematical processes like calculus and differential equations. It provides examples of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz developing calculus to describe changes in position, velocity, and acceleration over time. While Newton was able to use calculus and his laws of physics to approximately model systems like the moon's motion, fully solving systems of three or more bodies through integration and differentiation has proven impossible, exhibiting chaotic behavior instead.

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Micaela Torres
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1K views7 pages

Chapter4 Constants and Change

This document discusses how constants in nature generate change through mathematical processes like calculus and differential equations. It provides examples of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz developing calculus to describe changes in position, velocity, and acceleration over time. While Newton was able to use calculus and his laws of physics to approximately model systems like the moon's motion, fully solving systems of three or more bodies through integration and differentiation has proven impossible, exhibiting chaotic behavior instead.

Uploaded by

Micaela Torres
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 4:

The Constants of Change


Ian Stewart's novel, Nature's Number, was published in 1197, and it gave us an insight at
how a mathematician sees our natural world. In this chapter it talks about throughout
human history and two perspectives on nature have emerged.
• Fixed Laws
• Flexible Flux

The first perspectives have traditionally governed the growth of science, but as we develop as a
society, there have been growing indications that the dominant cultural context is beginning to
change to the second way of thought.

LAW GENERATE CHANGE


This is about the constant of this reality and how they generate change.
 
   
 

Isaac Gottfried
Newton Leibniz
• Calculus- the branch of mathematics that deals with the finding and properties of
derivatives and integrals of functions.
• Newton and Gottfried provided techniques of INTEGRATION and
DIFFERENTIATION.
• Between them, they tell you that if you know any of the functions- POSITION,
VELOCITY or ACCELERATION at every instant, then you can work out the other
two. (Page 54)
• Due to Newton's law of physics the change in nature can be describe using
MATHEMATICAL PROCESSES
• A rate of change is about the difference between some quantity now and its value
an instant into the future, equation of this kind is called DIFFERENTIAL
EQUATIONS. (Page 55)
It's not sorcery that holds us in place; it's the sun's gravity, which was
discovered over 300 years ago. Newton's discovery of the law of
gravitation was based on solving differential equations to explain the
universe and then solving them.

In those days, solving Newton's assumption that the same attracting


force would exist for any two bodies in the universe meant finding a
mathematical formula for the emotions and other examples that
depended on such a solution are :
• OHM'S LAW
• LAWS OF FRICTION
• JOULE'S LAW
Newton and his successors tried solving the equations for a system of three
or more bodies they failed to find exact solutions instead they tried to find
ways to CALCULATE APPROXIATE NUMBERS.

Example: Around 1860 Charles Eugene Delaunay filled an entire book with a
single approximation to the motion of the moon

Other problems that have approximate algorithms are:


• BILL PACKING PROBLEM
• VERTEX COVER
• SHORTEST SUPERSTING
In 1994 Zhihong Xia proved that a system of three bodies is not
integrable since it demonstrates arnold diffusion which was discovered
with vladimir arnold. This phenomena produces an extremely slow
random drift in the relative orbital positions.
However, this drift is not truly random, this behavior is now known as
chaos other examples of chaotic behavior include:
 
*Lord's Attractor
*Double Pendulum
*Bonimovic Stadium
 
 

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