Saturday, September 11, 2010

[eqtjivfg] Newton and General Relativity

Isaac Newton was a pretty bright guy.  (Yeah, understatement.)

I wonder if, in an alternate universe, had he not been distracted by other things, he could have derived our-universe-Einstein's theory of general relativity after his "first" theory of gravitation. 

He would have needed Maxwell's equations (perhaps derived himself also, given already his interest in "Opticks").  Did Maxwell's equations require ultraprecise modern experiments to inspire / derive?

He would have also needed to invent differential geometry.  Piece of cake for the man who invented calculus, right?

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