What Goes Up... Gravity and Scientific Method

This book explores the history of gravity, from Aristotle to Einstein, as a detailed case study for explaining scientific method for non-specialists.

Peter Kosso (Author)

9781107129856, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 January 2017

232 pages, 56 b/w illus. 2 tables
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.5 cm, 0.62 kg

'I would say that it is about how scientific knowledge develops over time, using the historical evolution of our understanding of gravity as a guiding thread. … What Goes Up … is certainly an excellent guide to the science of gravity and its historical evolution, from the standpoint of a 21st century expert. It is interesting, for instance, to compare the 'theories of principle' of Aristotle and Einstein with the 'constructive theory' of Newton. … The text is well written and accessible. My teenage children learned about non-Euclidean geometry from figures in the book and were intrigued by the thought that gravity is not a force field but rather a metric field, which determines the straightest possible lines (geodesics) between two points in space-time.' Carlos Lourenço, CERN Courier

The concept of gravity provides a natural phenomenon that is simultaneously obvious and obscure; we all know what it is, but rarely question why it is. The simple observation that 'what goes up must come down' contrasts starkly with our current scientific explanation of gravity, which involves challenging and sometimes counterintuitive concepts. With such extremes between the plain and the perplexing, gravity forces a sharp focus on scientific method. Following the history of gravity from Aristotle to Einstein, this clear account highlights the logic of scientific method for non-specialists. Successive theories of gravity and the evidence for each are presented clearly and rationally, focusing on the fundamental ideas behind them. Using only high-school level algebra and geometry, the author emphasizes what the equations mean rather than how they are derived, making this accessible for all those curious about gravity and how science really works.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Forces and fields
3. Basic Newtonian theory
4. Gravity before Newton
5. Early modern astronomy
6. Connecting physics and astronomy
7. Connecting kinematics and dynamics
8. Testing the Newtonian theory
9. Challenging the Newtonian theory
10. Geometry and equivalence
11. The general theory of relativity
12. Testing the general theory of relativity
13. Using the theory to explore the universe
14. Dark matter
15. The structure of scientific knowledge
Glossary
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: History of engineering & technology [TBX], Relativity physics [PHR], Cosmology & the universe [PGK], History of science [PDX], Philosophy of science [PDA]