Neptune and Vulcan (Part 2): A not-so-random sample

Historical anecdotes and general thoughts on Neptune/Vulcan dilemmas [Follow-up to: Neptune and Vulcan (Part 1)] I In the first part of this series I introduced the Neptune/Vulcan class of dilemmas thusly: I also briefly discussed the following examples of Neptune/Vulcan dilemmas in modern physics/astronomy1: That post ended with the natural epistemological interrogation: So how should

Neptune and Vulcan (Part 1)

An astronomical lesson on epistemology I In 1846, Urbain Le Verrier made a historic presentation to the Parisian Academy of Sciences. He had calculated how the gravitational effect of each known planet in the solar system affected the orbit of each other planet, and shown that the orbit of Uranus was not fully consistent with

Things I learnt writing my thesis’ Introduction (Part 3): The arrow of time and the genesis of the Big Bang

(See also: Part 1 and Part 2) If there is one obvious landmark in the history of cosmology which my thesis‘ introduction absolutely couldn’t ignore, it is the Big Bang theory. The realisation that the Universe is in constant expansion may have challenged a certain view of the Cosmos as a static stage for physical

Poem for Galileo – António Gedeão

I am looking at your portrait, my old Pisan, that portrait of yours that everybody knows, in which your fair head blooms and blossoms over a modest cloth tippet. That portrait in the Gallery of the Offices in your old Florence. (No, no, Galileo! I didn’t say Holy Office. I said Gallery of the Offices.)

Things I learnt writing my thesis’ Introduction (Part 2): The Hubble Hustle

(Read part 1 here) The first half of the 20th century brought about an unprecedented revolution in astronomy. In a matter of mere decades, the accepted model of the Universe evolved from a static one, mostly limited by our galaxy, to an ever-expanding one where our galaxy is but one among myriads, like a drop

Things I learnt writing my thesis’ Introduction (Part 1): Einstein’s not so big blunder

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, the bulk of my Ph.D. thesis consists of a conglomeration of three fairly disconnected publications. In order to lend some semblance of coherence to the thesis as a whole, I had no choice but to write a fairly general Introduction section starting with a quick historical overview

Three sides of a special theory

Today’s post is all about Einstein’s theory of special relativity1. Fair warning: there will be basic mathematics. Usually, I would avoid mathematical detail in this sort of post, but I promise you that all you really need to know in advance is Pythagoras’ theorem and that speed is defined as distance divided by the time