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Published byZoe Cain Modified over 9 years ago
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PTOLEMY Best planetary model in the ancient world Trigonometry Maps
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Parameters: r d = radius of deferent r e = radius of epicycle e = rotation rate of epicycle d = rotation rate of deferent Deferent O Epicycle P DEFERENT-EPICYCLE SYSTEM
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d = 360 0 /yr, e = 0 0 /yr EXAMPLE
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d = 360 0 /yr ccw, e = 360 0 /yr cw EXAMPLE
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d = 1 rev/yr ccw e = 2 revs/yr ccw EXAMPLE
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E SUN: 1 ST TRY S
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E Q SUN AGAIN: EQUANT OR ECCENTRIC CIRCLE
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S E Ma Ve Me E
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ALMAGEST “The Greatest” Largest science compilation to date. Describes order of presentation Gives arguments why earth is spherical. Argues earth is stationary Best planetary model for next 1400 years
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COPERNICUS Canon lawyer dedicated to the Church. But spent evenings working out a model of the solar system that disagreed with Church dogma.
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COPERNICUS Realist (Copernicus): Model is meaningless unless it is or could be physically real Instrumentalist (Ptolemy): A model is useful if it describes observations. It need have no reality.
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COPERNICUS
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DISTANCES OF THE PLANETS TO THE SUN 46 0
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PLANETARY DISTANCES AND PERIODS PLANETRADIUSPERIOD Mercury0.38780 days Venus0.7239 mo Earth1.001 yr Mars1.522 yr Jupiter5.2012 yrs Saturn9.5430 yrs
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RETROGRADE MOTION
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SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS He followed Platonic principles Lots of quantitative analysis (comparable to Ptolemy)
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SUPPORTING AGRUMENTS Specific responses to several objections (spinning Earth should burst, clouds left behind, stellar parallax) Geometric simplicity
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OPPOSITION Central position of Earth in Creation Celestial Objects made of aether
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OPPOSITION No stellar parallax (too much empty space) No smoking gun
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CRITERIA FOR A GOOD THEORY IN SCIENCE Correlates many separate facts Suggests new relations and stimulates research Makes new testable predictions Hypotheses are few and plausible Flexible enough to grow. When it dies, it leaves an even better descendant
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