Publication details
THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS FROM EARLY COSMOLOGY FOR STUDENTS
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | INTED2023 Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://library.iated.org/publications/INTED2023 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.21125/inted.2023.0114 |
| Description | A thought experiment represents a theoretical intermediate step in situations where the physical realization of the experiment is impossible or would not yield convincing results at a given level of knowledge and technology. Our students first become familiar with a specific historical thought experiment, looking to see what assumptions were made and what supporting arguments were advanced to support the author's conception. The analysis, moreover, helps students understand that sometimes, until science obtains empirical data that decide in favor of one concept or another, different explanations can persist side by side in parallel. In this paper, we will present and discuss 3 assignments compiled from historical sources. 1. Aristotelian thought experiment to show the earth could not move. Aristotle puts the stationary Earth at the centre; that the Earth does not move is evidenced by the fact that a stone thrown vertically upwards returns along the same trajectory to the same place from which it was thrown. 2. Galileo's thought experiment "On Falling Bodies" as an argument against Aristotle's conception where bodies fall at different speeds 3. In Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, Galileo speculate on the origin of the planets. |