Topics, Pre-lecture Readings, and Assorted Miscellany for PHYS 1011 - 2021


"The last clause of your second Position I like very well. Tis unconceivable that inanimate brute matter should (without the mediation of something else which is not material) operate upon & affect other matter without mutual contact; as it must if gravitation in the sense of Epicurus be essential & inherent in it. And this is one reason why I desired you would not ascribe {innate} gravity to me. That gravity should be innate inherent & {essential} to matter so that one body may act upon another at a distance through a vacuum without the mediation of any thing else by & through which their action or force {may} be conveyed from one to another is to me so great an absurdity that I beleive no man who has in philosophical matters any competent faculty of thinking can ever fall into it. Gravity must be caused by an agent {acting} consta{ntl}y according to certain laws, but whether this agent be material or immaterial is a question I have left to the consideration of my readers."
from a letter written by Isaac Newton to Richard Bentley (February 25, 1692/93) where his disdain for "instantaneous action-at-a-distance" is clearly expressed.

Completely random stuff

Lectures and Tutorials
All chapter section numbers are from University Physics - Volume 1.
Simulations are from the University of Colorado's PhET project.