Lesson 27 Beyond the Mechanical Universe

Levi-Civita and Einstein exchanged letters concerning the Theory of Relativity because Levi-Civita had a strong basis in mathematics while Einstein has a basis in Physics. Levi-Civita found errors in Einstein's theory concerning tensors, or a generalized vector describing the magnetic field, and how those tensors change from coordinate system to coordinate system.

On the other hand, Franklin and Faraday revolutionized the sciences and paved the way for physics and many theories. Faraday discovered that like gravity, electricity and magnetism decrease with the square of the distance. Faraday also found tht any forces described by (1/r^2) must radiate outward. These forces repel and attract, and became known as electric and magnetic fields.

James Clark Maxwell built upon Faraday's discoveries and developed the electromagnetic field theory:

1.) integral(integral(E dA)) = q/E(o)

2.) integral(integral( B dA)) = 0

3.) integral(E dr) = -d (Phi)/dt

4.) integral(B dr) = Mu(o) (I + (Epsilon)(o) d(Phi)/dt)


All of these ideas flourished during the Industrial Revolution. Franklin expanded upon the field of electricity through the use of Leyden jars and found that a positive and negative electrical force will attract each other, and if the two forces are positive they will repel each other. Franklin developed the terms "positive charge" and "negative charge."

Luigi Galvani was the world's first neurobiologist and studied frog's legs and their response to an electrical charge.

As other resources faded out during the Industrial Revolution, electricity slowly achieved dominance.

Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic induction states that by increasing or decreasing the current in one electric circuit the changing magnetic field induced a current to flow in a second circuit.

Thomas Edison soon developed the phonograph, "ticker-tape," and the light bulb. This discovery led to the controversy and question of whether alternating or direct current would propel the world into the future.

Michelson set out to disprove Galileo's theory by discovering the absolute motion of the Earth. Michelson was the first American to win the Nobel Prize, however failed at his experiment because of the fact that regardless of motion, the same speed of light is always observed.

These numerous discoveries and perceptions led into the Theory of Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, past the mechanical universe, and beyond.