Science 101 (part 3) - From Galileo to Apollo

Wikipedia.com/Apollo 11 Insignia

Man on the Moon - July 20, 1969

July 20th marks another anniversary of the moon landing of Apollo 11.  Neil Armstrong took the first steps and said these words while a large part of the world was watching -

Much has been written and recorded about his epic event.  And for the greatest moments, check out: Apollo 11: First Men on the Moon | The Greatest Moments in Flight | Space.com

The Saturn V carrying Apollo 11, the first crewed mission to the Moon, soared into space 

Almost a year ago, August 25, 2012, Neil Armstrong passed away, "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."  (reference:  Neil Armstrong Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com)   The video below is a "Blue and Beautiful" tribute.

Physics and Engineering for Apollo 11

It was a remarkable achievement of science and engineering as well as piloting skill and will power to take on this great leap of human exploration.

How did this all work? Here is abglimpse that explains some of the physics involved - How Hard Is It to Land on the Moon? New Space Game Gravitates Towards Space Physics « Mad Science

The physics of Galileo and beyond ...

Much of the moon shot was made possible by understanding the laws of physics.  And Galileo was a pioneer in modeling the effects of gravity on masses.  In the1500s, Aristotle's description of nature had reigned for 2000 years.  But Galileo challenged this model with his hypotheses - all objects fall (with no air resistance) fall at the same rate.

Such is seen below as this experiment carried out on the Leaning Tower of Pisa:



And Galileo wins!

For fun, try this game:  Wolfram Demonstrations Project: Galileo's Experiment at the Leaning Tower of Pisa

On the moon - practically speaking - there is no air resistance.  Here during  the Apollo 15 mission, Commander David Scott drops a feather and hammer.

Bazinga!    Galileo wins, again!

Galileo has been attributed to the assertion of the Equivalence Principle that says the inertial mass is proportional to the gravitational mass.

So we have an example of two experiments that corroborate the Equivalence Principle from the Tower of Pisa and the moon. (reference:  Millersville University - Experiment of the Month - Inertial and Gravitational Mass)

What's next?

STEP into the Future ...

A more sensitive experiment is taking shape in the STEP program:  The Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle (STEP).

Wikipedia - Spacetime Curvature

The proposed science experiment in space boasts an accuracy in measurement of 1 part in 10 to the18th power - that is, 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.  When or if this satellite launches, we will have an opportunity to gather more data. (reference:  STEP – The Satellite Test Of the Equivalence Principle (PDF) )

With this small STEP, will three be a charm and Galileo wins, again?

You betcha.

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Previous posts on this subject:


Roger Bacon - a scientist ahead of his time (2009)

October Sky 2010 (2010)

Touching the Face of God ... (2011)

For want of a thermistor the Moon was lost .... 41 years ago (2011)

AI (part 1) - American Ingenuity (2012)

AI (part 2) - How Curiosity got our groove back (2012)

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Previous posts in this series:

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox  (2013)

Science 101 (part 2) - The Sound of Music? (2013)

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Photo from:  Wikipedia - Apollo 11 Insignia; Spacetime curvature

Roger Bacon - a scientist ahead of his time

Continuing from the past 2 blogs ....

This summer, I had read the Dan Brown's novel Angels & Demons and was fascinated by the renewed Science vs. Religion debate. Science and the Bible are some of my favorite topics.

During research of life in the Middle Ages, I discovered that the Church did not see Science and Religion as poles apart as we may view them today. In the Medieval Church, pursuing Science was encouraged as a means to better understand God. One of the most remarkable Churchmen and Philosophers of those times was Roger Bacon.

Roger Bacon (c. 1214–1294) was a Franciscan Friar who wrote his Opus Magnus for Pope Clement IV. In the area of science, he was hundreds of years ahead of his time.

The Earth is Round:
Two centuries before Christopher Columbus sailed for America, Roger Bacon wrote that the curvature of the earth explained why we can see farther from higher elevations.

Splitting White Light into a Rainbow:
Four hundred years before Sir Isaac Newton's experiment (in the 1660s) that split white light with a prism into the spectrum of the rainbow, Roger Bacon in the 13th century passed light through a glass bead to produce the rainbow.

Father of Modern Science:
"Isaac Newton's discoveries were so numerous and varied that many consider him to be the father of modern science." Yet, a few scholars credit Roger Bacon as a pioneer in the advancement of natural science, who emphasised the importance of mathematics and "experimental science." In his works, Bacon mentions gunpowder and lenses and proposals for horseless carriages and flying machines.

The telescope:
In the "The Starry Messenger," Galileo had improved the telescope (invented by Flemish spectacle-maker Hans Lipperhey in 1608) and turned it to the heavens to observe such things as the craters on the Moon and the four satellites about Jupiter. In the Cipher of Roger Bacon, the manuscript suggests Roger Bacon was in possession of a reflecting telescope, which he observed and drew a spiral nebula.

To sum up the Medieval philosophy of the Church concerning Science: If the Bible contained the truth, how could the Church be threatened by understanding the truth better? Only later, during the time of Galileo, the Church became frightened of Science. (That could be the subject of another blog. )

A great find on the Science vs. Religion debate was the Terry Jones' (of Monty Python fame) series - Medieval Lives. Medieval Philosophers were the scientists of the "Dark Ages" which were not as dark as they seemed.

For a humorous history lesson of Medieval Science, check out youtube video on episodes of Medieval Philosophers:
Medieval Lives: The Philosopher

Related link:
Roger Bacon photo from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roger-bacon-statue.jpg