Circumventing Newton: A study in scientific creativity

Abstract

Is there a parallel between the creative work of Newton and of Beethoven? This question provides the background for a specific case study in a natural sciences course for nonscience students. The case study shows how Kepler’s three laws can be derived either from the standard Newtonian concepts, or alternatively from conservation laws. The latter approach does not use concepts of force or inertial straight-line motion. By demonstrating an alternative physical framework to explain certain basic celestial phenomena, Newton’s accomplishment becomes more personally his own. There is no necessity in nature that the Newtonian world system had to be found. Newton’s Principia is a personal achievement that places him in the same creative class as Beethoven or Shakespeare.