In short, they've been falsified. :^)
> Indeed, the First Law can't even in principle be verified.
Actually, the first law can not only be falsified, it is actually false. Quantum mechanics requires that all objects be to some extent in motion at all times because of uncertainty in their position.
> They're
> presuppositions of the system that cannot be demonstrated, but need to be
> taken on faith if Newtonian mechanics is going to get anywhere. Same thing
> goes for the assertion of the existence of absolute motion and space.
Nope. All three of Newton's laws (actually the first one is Galileo's) are falsifiable, and false. Absolute motion and space aren't falsifiable per se because you can never prove that they don't exist, but with relativity we don't need them any more and even in Newton's day, this wasn't something you had to take on faith. It was just something they couldn't test. Centuries later, the invariability of the speed of light provided falsifying evidence (which doesn't constitute proof of their non-existence, just of their measurability.)
Scott Martens
---
Envoyé par Moncourrier.com Vous aussi obtenez gratuitement votre adresse électronique sur Moncourrier.com