Mistranslation of Newtonβs First Law Discovered after Nearly 300 Years
A new interpretation of Isaac Newtonβs writings clarifies what the father of classical mechanics meant in his first law of motion
A subtle mistranslation of Isaac Newtonβs first law of motion that flew under the radar for three centuries is giving new insight into what the pioneering natural philosopher was thinking when he laid the foundations of classical mechanics.
I don't quite see what the fuss is about. Anyone with an elementary understanding of physics knows that the First Law describes the motion of an object in the absence of any outside force. And anyone with an elementary understanding of the universe knows that there is no such condition; no matter how minutely, every object is at the very least affected by the force of gravity, along with possibly atmospheric friction, friction from contact with a surface, collision with other objects, even dust particles. This doesn't change our understanding of Newtonian physics.