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Was Newtonian Cosmology Really Inconsistent?

Vickers, P

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Abstract

This paper follows up a debate as to the consistency of Newtonian cosmology. Whereas Malament [(1995). Is Newtonian cosmology really inconsistent? Philosophy of Science 62, 489–510] has shown that Newtonian cosmology is not inconsistent, to date there has been no analysis of Norton's claim [(1995). The force of Newtonian cosmology: Acceleration is relative. Philosophy of Science 62, 511–522.] that Newtonian cosmology was inconsistent prior to certain advances in the 1930s, and in particular prior to Seeliger's seminal paper of Seeliger [(1895). Über das Newton'sche Gravitationsgesetz. Astronomische Nachrichten 137 (3273), 129–136.] In this paper I agree that there are assumptions, Newtonian and cosmological in character, and relevant to the real history of science, which are inconsistent. But there are some important corrections to make to Norton's account. Here I display for the first time the inconsistencies—four in total—in all their detail. Although this extra detail shows there to be several different inconsistencies, it also goes some way towards explaining why they went unnoticed for 200 years.

Citation

Vickers, P. (2009). Was Newtonian Cosmology Really Inconsistent?. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 40(3), 197-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2009.05.001

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2009
Deposit Date Aug 26, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
Print ISSN 1355-2198
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue 3
Pages 197-208
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2009.05.001

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Copyright Statement
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Studies in history and philosophy of modern physics. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Studies in history and philosophy of modern physics, 40/3, 2009, 10.1016/j.shpsb.2009.05.001





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