Introduction
The scenario of Mandy’s airplane trip to Rome offers an excellent opportunity to explore the classical physics principles underlying aviation and their connection to the groundbreaking works of Galileo and Newton. The laws of motion on earth and the law of gravity have been applied in many endeavors in the field of physics. The pioneers of these laws have allowed the prediction of how the moon, Planets, and other objects work in space. Therefore, analyzing the three key classical physics principles observed during Mandy’s journey and how they are applicable to both Galileo’s and Newton’s contributions is important.
Principle of Gravity – Galileo and Newton:
The principle of gravity, a fundamental concept in classical physics, was extensively explored by both Galileo and Newton. Galileo’s pioneering experiments, likely apocryphal, involving dropping various objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, challenged the prevailing notion that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. He demonstrated that, in the absence of air resistance, objects of different masses fall at the same rate. Newton’s significant contribution to our understanding of gravity was built upon Galileo’s work (Toribio, 2022). Newton’s articulation of the law of universal gravitation proposed that the attractive force acting between two masses is directly related to the multiplication of their masses and inversely related to the square of the distance separating them. This fundamental principle became a cornerstone of classical mechanics and significantly advanced our comprehension of gravity and its effects on celestial bodies.
As Mandy’s airplane descends towards its destination, the principles of aerodynamics and Bernoulli’s principle collaborate to sustain the aircraft’s flight, effectively countering the force of gravity, which constantly endeavors to pull it down toward the ground. The aircraft’s weight and the lift generated by its wings interact in a delicate balance, allowing for stable flight. The comprehension of gravity and its impact on aviation is not only vital for safe air travel but also serves as the foundation for space exploration and satellite technology, revolutionizing communication, navigation, and weather forecasting in our daily lives.
Optics – Newton:
Apart from his remarkable contributions to the understanding of gravity, Newton significantly shaped the field of optics. Through his experiments with prisms, he demonstrated that white light is composed of a spectrum of colors. His theories explained how light interacts with different materials, providing valuable insights into the nature of color and light. During Mandy’s trip, as she observes the setting Sun and the rising full moon on the horizon, the dispersion and scattering of light in the atmosphere become evident (Kravets et al., 2019). These phenomena, based on Newton’s optics theories, contribute to the vivid colors of sunrise and sunset and the blue appearance of the sky during the day. Beyond these natural wonders, Newton’s principles of optics find applications in various optical instruments, such as telescopes and microscopes, which have become indispensable tools in scientific research and medical fields, affecting our lives in countless ways.
Newton’s Laws of Motion – Newton:
The laws of motion formulated by Newton have had a profound impact on classical mechanics, unveiling the fundamental principles governing motion and forces. Newton’s three laws are cornerstones of classical physics: The first law of inertia states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. In the field, this law of inertia may be described by an incidence where a ball is rolled. Unless something or friction is applied to it to force it to stop, it keeps on rolling. The second law expresses that the speed increase experienced by an object is directly proportional to the net power applied to it and inversely relative to its mass. When we make an increment in both the force acting on an item and its mass, the acceleration of the object will also increase, as suggested by Newton (Budiarti & Tanta, 2021). The third law establishes the principle of action and reaction, stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law suggests that if two objects had a chance to interact, there is a force applied between each other in a different direction but on an equal magnitude.
Throughout Mandy’s airplane journey, Newton’s laws are evident. The plane’s engines produce thrust to propel it forward, adhering to the second law, which correlates the acceleration with the applied force and the plane’s mass. Simultaneously, the aircraft experiences air resistance, adhering to Newton’s third law, where the reaction opposes the forward motion. In our everyday lives, the impact of Newton’s laws is immeasurable. These principles govern the activity of vehicles, hardware, and different mechanical gadgets, ranging from bikes and vehicles to lifts and elevators, affecting present-day transportation and engineering practices.
References
Toribio, J. (2022). More Steps Towards an Innovative Concept of Structural Integrity: Between Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei. Procedia Structural Integrity, 37, 977-984.
Budiarti, I. S., & Tanta, T. (2021). Analysis of students’ scientific literacy of Newton’s law and motion system in living things. Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Indonesia (Indonesian Journal of Science Education), 9(1), 36-51.
Kravets, N., Aleksanyan, A., & Brasselet, E. (2019). Chiral optical Stern-Gerlach Newtonian experiment. Physical Review Letters, 122(2), 024301.
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