Physics Without Blinders: Revealing the Errors that Crippled a Science

Copyright © 2025 Don Amplier.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6657-6704-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-6703-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-6702-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024921490

Archway Publishing rev. date: 2/3/2025

To A, B, C, and O

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

Important Notes

Introduction

Chapter 1     Newton’s Laws of Motion

Chapter 2     Momentum’s Best Friend

Chapter 3     Hiding in Plain Sight

Chapter 4     Mathematical Trickery

Chapter 5     Kinetic Energy’s Origin Story

Chapter 6     The s’Gravesande Experiment

Chapter 7     The Cart Experiment

Chapter 8     The Astronaut Wrench Experiment

Chapter 9     Definitions

Chapter 10   Illusion Theory

Chapter 11   The Dynamic Effort Hypothesis

Chapter 12   The Law of Conservation of Energy

Appendices List

Appendix A   Secrets to Understanding

Appendix B   Mathematics Simplified

Appendix C   The Scientific Method

Appendix D   The Academic Experiment

Appendix E   Momentum and Kinetic Energy

Appendix F   Negative Work

Appendix G   Historical Figures

Glossary

PREFACE

Every scientific discovery occurred because someone thought to ask the right questions. This is so true that it even applies to accidental discoveries. Take the case of Dr Alexander Fleming (1881 – 1955), who upon returning from summer vacation came across a moldy petri dish. Instead of washing it and continuing his work, he asked about the bacteria that should also have been there. After he asked a few more questions, he discovered penicillin, aka the world’s first antibiotic.

In the author’s case, he posed a perfectly reasonable question; he wanted to know why a particular physics formula was valid. At the time, he was re-acquainting himself with high school physics and noticed something odd. It was not that he did not understand the formula; he understood it perfectly and had no difficulty using it. The problem had to do with the premise behind the formula; it did not seem to align with reality. And to make matters worse, the book wanted its readers to take its statements on faith. It said nothing about the formula’s origin or any experiment confirming it.

At first, the author’s focus revolved around finding the source of the formula; where did it come from and why? Thereafter, he continued to ask other relevant questions. Some of them were answered in the books he had on hand. Others required rummaging through libraries and speaking with physicists.

The answers the author uncovered are surprising to say the least. For example, one involved noticing an experimental error no competent physicist would tolerate today. It was however an easy mistake to make in the distant past. Shockingly, that error is so egregious it is enough to foreshadow a physics revolution like no other. If any physicist thinks the author is misguided, or a fool, they need only jump to Chapter 3. There, they will encounter three scenarios, the second of which easily dispels such unflattering thoughts. And as astonishing as Chapter 3 is, it is merely a teaser for what is to come.

By now, the reader might be wondering about the book’s title, Physics Without Blinders, when questions seem to be the order of the day. The thing is that blinders have the unfortunate effect of making it difficult to see. And if you cannot see clearly, it becomes nearly impossible to ask the right questions. Anyone can ask questions but, the trick is in asking the right ones.

Blinders can also tell people there is nothing to see which, prevents them from even looking. Today, physicists run afoul of this all the time. Some fellow offers an intriguing insight into physics and summarily gets ignored. In most cases, those insights have little to no value and so, the blinder causes no harm. However, occasionally someone surprising arrives on the scene who offers a remarkable insight that changes everything. Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) was one such individual. He was the undereducated son of a blacksmith who contributed so much to physics that Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) kept a picture of him as a reminder.

Blinders can also prevent someone from accepting the answers to important questions. For example, Dr William Harvey (1587 – 1657) made a revolutionary medical discovery. When he revealed his findings in 1628, no one believed him. The blinders his contemporaries wore would not allow them to accept his impeccable research.

In summary, the author posed the questions no one ever thought to ask. This resulted in answers that conflict with a physicist’s education. Consequently, the blinders physicists wear will be an issue. They will tell physicists to put more faith in the lessons they learned in high school than the overwhelming evidence the author provides.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No one accomplishes anything important in science without the help of others. In the author’s case, he had the benefit of those historical figures described in Appendix G. Each of them, directly or indirectly, made this book both possible and necessary.

The author also wishes to acknowledge David Bodanis who wrote, E=MC²; A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation. His book emboldened the author by corroborating his historical research.

IMPORTANT NOTES

All readers should examine Appendix A, Secrets to Understanding, as the first step in reading this book. Public schools do not offer classes on how to learn. Teaching someone the mechanics of how to read is not the same as teaching someone how to understand. Fortunately, extremely useful techniques do exist. The most important of these can be found in Appendix A; ignore them at your own peril.

Non-physicists must avoid thinking the information presented herein is beyond them; it is not. They need only set aside any fears they might have with respect to math or physics. If someone’s grasp of the simplest forms of mathematics is weak or even nonexistent, they need only read the information given in Appendix B, Mathematics Simplified. The thing is that math is an important part of physics and so, mathematics must be included in this book. Fortunately, the author does all the calculations meaning the reader’s only job is to get some small sense of the math. Believe it or not, this could be as simple as seeing which variables are in the given equations and formulas. This is an easy thing to do and it can be surprisingly informative. In short, non-physicists need not focus on the math; let physicists worry about the numbers.

Physicists should know that they will not be asked to take anything on faith but rather, they are expected to verify everything. If the standard demanded for an extraordinary claim is extraordinary proof, that standard has been met and then some.

The one thing physicists must not do is underestimate this book. Yes, it was written using simple math but, that does not mean it has nothing valuable to offer. The profound is not complicated and hard to understand; it is always simple and easy to grasp.

INTRODUCTION

Individuals who question the accepted laws of physics are generally ignored. More than that, they are often the subject of jokes and insults. On rare occasions, a kind physicist will try to correct a misguided soul. From a physicist’s viewpoint, such responses are quite reasonable. They do not believe outsiders can contribute to the science of physics. So, what is someone to do if he or she did the impossible?

About the only thing such an individual can do is publish a book detailing irrefutable evidence and hope for the best. The other option is to submit a Paper to an official Physics Journal but, that is far less likely to succeed. Such esoteric publications never consider Papers from outsiders. Physics Journals only want Papers submitted from insiders like those working at major universities, large corporations, and government entities like NASA. Moreover, they only seem to publish Papers detailing the most obscure ideas ever recorded. The thing is that precious few of those Papers advance physics. They do however allow physicists to say they are published authors.

To encourage the physics community to examine the author’s research, this book begins with a teaser. It manifests as a challenge that culminates in a remarkable revelation in Chapter 3. If it is beyond reproach, which it is, physicists will have no choice but to read on. This is of course predicated on their willingness to set aside their blinders, at least temporarily. The challenge itself goes to the validity of something surprisingly simple that every physicist believes is true.

To ensure that anyone can be a witness to a set of historic revelations, everything in this book gets explained. In simple terms, the physics only involves looking at how objects change their motion. Understanding this information will be easy, especially if the reader uses the proven techniques given in Appendix A.

The author’s challenge involves something simple, well established, and still taught as fact. Specifically, it questions the validity of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. The challenge begins by reviewing each of those laws individually and then examining them as a unified package. Shortly after that, the author takes physicists somewhere they never go and reminds them of those things they seem to have forgotten. Obviously, there is no sense in re-examining Newton’s Laws if we only visit the same places physicists have.

At this point, physicists are apt to be supremely confident; they know Newton’s Laws have been around a long time. If those laws were wrong in any way, surely someone would have noticed long before now. On the other hand, if any physicist has ever won a bar bet, or even lost one for that matter, they might be getting a tiny bit nervous. A bar bet is where someone makes a statement that cannot possibly be true. After agreeing to a wager, the impossible happens as the bet’s originator employs an unforeseeable gimmick and wins the bet.

Generally, fairness is not part of winning bar bets. For example, if someone says they can stay underwater without any breathing apparatus for ten minutes or longer, walk away. This only requires someone holding a glass of water above their head, hardly fair. As for the author’s challenge, he promises no underhanded tricks or weird gimmicks; they are not needed. He does however have two rather important historical facts on his side. To begin, kinetic energy was unknown to Newton when he formulated his Three Laws of Motion. The Kinetic Theory of Heat was likewise a mystery to him. The longevity of Newton’s Laws may be on the side of conventional wisdom but, the sequence in which certain key physics discoveries were made are not.

In the interest of expediency, physicists may jump to Chapter 3 if they think they know all there is to know about Newton’s Laws, momentum, kinetic energy, and magic. Yes, the word magic was placed in the same sentence as Newton’s Laws, and it is not as strange or as crazy as it sounds. Consider the one indisputable similarity between a magician and a physics teacher. Magicians have been known to say they can circumvent the laws of nature. They then demonstrate this ability, usually quite dramatically. Some physics teachers are known for performing entertaining experiments showing their students the laws of physics are indeed valid. In each case, an entertaining demonstration proves a claim is true.

Magicians use misdirection along with smoke and mirrors to fool their audiences. Obviously, no one believes science teachers knowingly employ such tactics; they simply pass on the accepted laws of nature. The thing is that teachers only teach what they were taught themselves. If one or more of the earliest discoveries in physics was flawed in some small way and that flaw went unnoticed way back when, they might still be teaching the same faulty lessons today. If the reader does not believe this could happen, consider the standard relationship between a student and a teacher. The student, knowing less than the teacher, has no choice but to accept anything their teachers teach. If a student knew everything the teacher knew, there would be no point in being the student.

Occasionally, a rebellious student turns up. He might question everything a political science or an economics professor says but, his skeptical attitude never follows him into the physics course room. And even if it did, physics professors are pretty sharp. They can easily debunk an uninformed student’s ideas or answer any naïve questions. Moreover, these educators believe they are relaying the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This adds up to a situation where a rebellious student does not stand a chance; a physics professor will always prevail. Most importantly, students simply do not know enough about physics to ask the right questions. And finally, there is the fact that these educators decide who passes the class and who does not. This can be a powerful incentive to tow the party line and particularly so in a physics class at an expensive university.

Physicists are aware of certain scientific missteps that went undetected for centuries. That one or two such mistakes could remain undetected today sounds impossible and yet, far stranger things happen all the time on this blue marble we call Earth. For example, the Flat Earth Society is still alive and well in the 21st century; they even have their own shiny website. We also have the odd societal situation where many athletes, movie stars, and other entertainers earn incredibly large sums of money. At the same time, many extremely valuable workers in our society sometimes struggle to make enough just to get by. And as sad as these two examples are, there are many others, some of which, are far stranger.

The thing is that if someone developed a hypothesis that appeared perfect, it might go unchallenged for quite some time. If no one thoroughly tested it due to its apparent axiomatic nature, it might become something everyone thinks is true. In short, a slightly flawed hypothesis could, under the right conditions, transform into an accepted scientific fact. Should this happen, physicists would ignore, ridicule, or try to correct anyone who dares suggests looking into its validity. It would remain true until the right rebellious soul comes along.

Could this have happened to Newton’s Laws? Could those laws contain a flaw so small that no one noticed it before? Physicists say no and yet Chapter 3, with a small assist from Chapter 4, conclusively demonstrates the opposite is true. Before getting to that point, it is first necessary to explain Newton’s Laws of Motion and one other physics concept in simple terms. As previously offered, physicists may jump to Chapter 3 if they wish. They can also review the information intended for non-physicists (Chapters 1 and 2) to make sure the author is not pulling a fast one. Who knows, the physicist who dares to examine the simplest ideas in physics explained in a simple straight forward manner might see something they had not previously considered; stranger things have happened.

CHAPTER 1

Newton’s Laws of Motion

This chapter assumes the reader knows nothing of math or physics and so, everything gets explained in simple terms. If the reader runs into any difficulties, they should follow the recommendations given in Appendix A, Secrets to Understanding. If they are uncomfortable with mathematics, they should also read Appendix B, Mathematics Simplified. While the math given throughout this book is important, readers need not be concerned if they feel it is beyond them. For non-mathematicians, they need only read and understand the explanations the author